Taru is being built next to the Maritime Museum in the Noblessner quarter in Tallinn. Taru is a complex consisting of three buildings. It houses a nature museum and environmental institutions. Taru will open in November.
Taru means 'smart space'. The complex consists of a dock building, a city building, and a museum building. The dock building and city building are close to each other. The museum building is partially underground.
Taru is the largest wooden structure in Estonia. The building's structures and walls are made of wood. The dock building has arched ceilings made of laminated wood. The dock building is by the sea and draws inspiration from shipbuilding.
The dock building provides access to the nature museum. Construction will be completed in November, but the museum itself will only open at the end of next year. The museum exhibition will take another year to prepare.
Early visitors to Taru can use the café in the dock building. The café is located by the sea. The dock building also houses office spaces and facilities for organizing events.
The city building is reserved for environmental institutions. People work there. The city building is not open to the public.
Around Taru are plots where plants reminiscent of Estonian nature grow. Plants are also cultivated in the dock building lobby and on the museum walls.
Taru is being built based on the winning entry of the 2019 architecture competition. The project was designed by the architecture firm Kavakava. The building is constructed by Nordecon. The cost of Taru is 54.4 million euros. The complex has an area of 24,600 square meters.