What is innovative about this project?

  • Project Planning & Management: Tackling renovation of multi-apartment blocks, including multi-ownership challenges.
  • Technical: Putting in place modular building systems.
  • Technical: Promoting industrialised packages

In the district, multi-ownership challenges were overcome through informative meetings and visits to best practices in the neighbourhood. The Tallinn University of Technology is developing different technologies to be used in renovations such as modular building and industrialised building systems, which have been tested on a pilot project in the district.

Local Partnership

  • Company: different SMEs
  • Municipality: Municipality of Tallinn
  • Housing provider: EKYL, apartment organisations
  • Other: Tallinn Technical University

In Mustamäe, each home renovation is part of a large project, as there are different elements which are developed in parallel. The Mustamäe district administration is responsible for the urban planning and mobility and encourages apartment associations and private apartment owners to carry out renovations. They initiate and manage the procurement processes for the architect and contractors to carry out the renovation, usually SMEs. Furthermore, the Tallinn Technical University was involved in researching and developing new technologies and approaches to be used in renovations.

Key Facts

  • Year of construction: 1957 planning, 1964 first building
  • Renovation period: 2010
  • Area of intervention (m²): there are different neighborhoods, difficult to estimate.
  • Number of dwellings (before/after): the number of dwellings remained the same.
  • Housing typology: multi-apartment buildings
  • Housing tenure:  multi-ownership
  • Number of residents: 66.000
  • Shared facilities: Green areas and parks, district administration, cultural centre, library, and kindergarten.

Financial information

  • Funding sources: different, depending on stakeholders. The district administration has its own funding. Apartment associations use loans (in Estonia there is a special financial product for renovation – KredEX) and state renovation grants. KredEX both facilitates access to bank loans and provides grants for renovations.
    The Tallinn Technical University receives EU funding by participating in European projects.
  • Total cost of renovation (€): a typical 5 storey building renovation cost around 2 million €
  • Subsidies received (€): buildings in Mustamäe receive 30-40% of renovation costs as a grant from KredEx (on average).
  • Rent before and after renovation (€/month): the district is mostly resident owned. Prices of properties go up after renovations, and this is a reason for renovating for residents. Many young families move there because it is still more affordable than market rates real estate.
  • Energy bill (€/month):lower after renovation. The amount varies according to the building typology and specific factors.

Context

Mustamäe district, the « black hill » district in Estonian, was built in the South-West of Tallinn in 1952. It was the first soviet district to be built in the country after World War II, during which 53% of housing was demolished in Tallinn. The famous “Khrushchyovka” model (named after Nikita Khrushchev) was used for the construction of its 330 apartment buildings. These prefabricated panel buildings were spread all over the Soviet Union in the 1950s and the 1960s.
The functionality of the district changed when Tallinn University of Technology was moved to Mustamäe in 1962. Along with the high immigration from other parts of the Soviet Union, setting up a university in the district contributed to an already fast growth of population. From 7,000 residents at the beginning of the construction, the neighbourhood reached 80,000 residents in 1972. At that time, living in the district was a synonym for modernity and comfort for the residing families and students. However, by the 1990s, the image of the district had deteriorated altogether, as well as the conditions of the buildings. This led to a first wave of renovation including the renewal of heating units and insulation of facades.

Goals

  • Update the housing stock and improve the energy efficiency of buildings.

Interventions

  • Improvement of the insulation.
  • Rebuilding of the heating systems.
  • Installation of solar panels and heat pumps (but district heating remained the main source of energy).
  • Installation of a new ventilation system.
  • Awareness Raising of the homeowners and apartment managers on how to implement renovations through consultations organised by EKYL.
  • Organisation of events to inform and motivate apartment associations to initiate renovations, by the district administration.
  • Development of a standardized renovation solution model based on modular processes and prefabricated panels, which is often used in renovations by the Technical University of Tallinn. The pilot project was the renovation of a dormitory for postgraduate students, which became the first multi-apartment building renovated with prefabricated panels in Estonia. The project deployed prefabricated wooden modular elements and a 3D laser scanning technology to obtain highly precise geometry of the building façades and balconies. Solar panels for electricity and hot water were also installed, together with a greywater heat recovery system, sensors and internet-based logging system to monitor energy and water consumption. The dorm now classifies as a nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB).

Impact

  • The objective of improving buildings’ conditions in the district is being achieved, as more than 210 apartment buildings have undergone full façade renovation and 84 partial renovations (data from November 2022).
  • Thanks to the installation of new ventilation systems compliant to today’s standards, the apartments have now quality indoor air and comfortable temperature.
  • The use of the prefabricated models designed by the Tallinn Technical University makes renovation quicker and easier, and this enables inhabitants to remain home during renovation works.
  • Another outcome of the renovations is that the district is now considered safer. Crime level started dropping after the regeneration of the area, which is now more suitable for families.

Advice to future “Lighthouse Districts”

  • Provide financial incentives to residents. These incentives, even minimal, motivate people to move forward and make decisions in terms of renovations. The complementary funding which came with university involvement (Tallinn Technical University) was a determinant of success, as it connected scientific thinking with practical work.
  • Showcase renovation best practices. This was proven beneficial, especially to homeowners potentially interested in renovating their property.
  • Bear in mind reaching consensus is a lengthy process.
  • Collaborate with local authorities.
  • Seek aggregated renovations. In Estonia it is not possible yet to apply for a reconstruction grant for aggregate apartment associations, which means that each apartment association had to apply for the grant separately, but, ideally, it is something that should be sought.