the Tonal Center rakvere

the Tonal Center

1 written description

content

2 copies of the boards

3 CD

the Tonal Center 1

the Tonal Center: The city of Rakvere has a long history. Today it is a quickly developing city. However, there has always been a lack of a ‘classic centre’ at Vabaduse Square and this absence needed to be addressed urgently. The plan “tHE Tonal Center” consists of a series of cultural buildings around a high quality public space.

ARVO PÄRT’S HALL: St Paul’s church, as an important work among Alar Kotli’s creations, is preserved as an individual landmark. The physical connection between the historic church and the new annex building (with Dance Hall, Café, Art Gallery etc.) is limited to minimum. According to best ceremonial and functional needs, a small transparent bridge connects the two buildings on the first floor only, leaving the ground floor free of obstacles to circumwalk the church.

When implementing the Concert Hall into the existing church hall, the initial design intensions by Alar Kotli were restored and underlined as far as possible. New additions and alterations are exceptions, only allowed when strictly needed for optimal acoustics, multipurpose function of the hall and contemporary building physics.

VABADUSE SQUARE: Due to economic fluctuations, the building components of Vabaduse Square as proposed in the competition programme may frequently change in future, switch or move. In the scheme of “THE TONAL CENTER” a landscape like public park is located in the center of the Vabaduse Square. The new volumes for public buildings are located at the periphery of the square. Looking from the monuments at Vabaduse Park and at Vennaskalmistu Park the St Paul’s church is kept fully in sight and kept free of obstruction by the new development.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPT: The target for this project is to design a CO2-neutral building complex that has low energy-use, low operation cost and a low-tech approach to technical infrastructure. In order to achieve CO2-neutrality, a wide range of measures are incorporated into the proposal. Passive measures make up a large part of the sustainable approach. As a general rule ‘natural’ solutions should proceed over complicated technical solutions. The simple and straight forward design of rectangular boxes with an efficient volume to surface ratio reduces the use of materials and allows optimized solar orientation. The facade of the annex building allows for deep penetration of natural light at all four sides of the building. A roof light provides additional daylight.

A series of green roofs at annex building and new developments op Vabaduse Square maintain natural evaporation of rainwa-ter and act as a heat buffer, thus reducing cooling loads. As much as possible the design should allow for natural drainage of rain water.

This allows a ecological development of soil fauna which in return is crucial for the establishment of vegetation on the site. Also the reduction of sealed surfaces contributes positively to mitigating the urban heat island effect. Apart from the technical benefits the green roofs support a healthy working environment and visual quality. These roofs will be visible from the surrounding buildings, including the new public platform at St Paul’s church.

written description

“I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat, or a moment of silence, comforts me. I work with very few elements - with one voice, two voices. I build with primitive materials - with the triad, with one specific tonality.” (Arvo Pärt)

A3 boards

the Tonal Center 2

2 floor plans of the church and the annex 1:200

3 sections 1:200 elevations

4 illustration of Vabaduse Square

1 site plan of the competition area 1:500 sectons of the cityscape 1:500

the Tonal Center 1rakvere

night view of the site

site plan 1:500

N

"I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat, or a moment of silence, comforts me. I work with very few elements - with one voice, two voices. I build with primitive materials - with the triad, with one specific tonality." (Arvo Pärt)

circulation scheme of different functions

concept: independent and seperated paths for performers and audience/visitors

public

performers

facilities

connection

open floor plan

public space inside

However, there has ben a lack of a “classic centre” at Vabaduse Square and this absence needed to be addressed urgently.

The plan “the Tonal Center” consists of a series of cultural buildings around a high quality public square.

the Tonal Center: The city of Rakvere has a long history. Today it is a quickly developing city.

north 1

north 2

west

north 1

north 2

west

sections of Urban Area 1:500

rakvere

floor plans 1:200

the existing and new adaptions

new

removed / existing

(optional)

underground floor ground floor first floor

ARVO PÄRT'S HALL: St Paul's church, as an important work among Alar Kotli's creations, is preserved as an individual landmark. The physical connection between the historic church and the new annex building (with Dance Hall, Café, Art Gallery etc.) is limited to minimum. According to best ceremonial and functional needs, a small transparent bridge connects the two buildings on the first floor only, leaving the ground floor free of obstacles to circumwalk the church.

When implementing the Concert Hall into the existing church hall, the initial design intensions by Alar Kotli were restored and underlined as far as possible. New additions and alterations are exceptions, only allowed when strictly needed for optimal acoustics, multipurpose function of the hall and contemporary building physics.

interior views of the annex ground floor first floorthe Tonal Center 2

rakvere

sections 1:200

west and east view

section B section A

west east

section C moavable stage (optional) concert situation with acoustic curtain

section C regular situation

the Tonal Center 3

the Tonal Center 4rakvere

potential oragnisation of Vabaduse Square

church and annexground floor with view to cafe

VABADUSE SQUARE:Due to economic fluctuations, the building components of Vabaduse Square as proposed in the competition programme may frequently change in future, switch or move.

In the scheme of "the Tonal Center" a landscape like public park is located in the center of the Vabaduse Square. The new volumes for public buildings are located at the periphery of the square. Looking from the monuments at Vabaduse Park and at Vennaskalmistu Park the St Paul's church is kept fully in sight and kept free of obstruction by the new development.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPT:The target for this project is to design a CO2-neutral building complex that has low energy-use, low operation cost and a low-tech approach to technical infrastructure. In order to achieve CO2-neutrality, a wide range of measures are incorporated into the proposal.

Passive measures make up a large part of the sustainable approach. As a general rule ‘natural’ solutions should proceed over complicated technical solutions. The simple and straight forward design of rectangular boxes with an efficient volume to surface ratio reduces the use of materials and allows optimized solar orientation.

The facade of the annex building allows for deep penetration of natural light at all four sides of the building. A roof light provides additional daylight. A series of green roofs at annex building and new developments op Vabaduse Square maintain natural evaporation of rainwater and act as a heat buffer, thus reducing cooling loads. As much as possible the design should allow for natural drainage of rain water. This allows a ecological development of soil fauna which in return is crucial for the establishment of vegetation on the site. Also the reduction of sealed surfaces contributes positively to mitigating the urban heat island effect.

Apart from the technical benefits the green roofs support a healthy working environment and visual quality. These roofs will be visible from the surrounding buildings, including the new public platform at St Paul's church.

This layered principle showing the organi-sation and arrangement of the Vabaduse Square with the Annex of the existing church.

CD

the Tonal Center 3