Master's Thesis: Tallinn's Cellars Could Serve as Both Playroom and Shelter

Interior Architecture Master's graduate Gert Kristjanson found in his thesis that apartment building shelters should be daily-use shared spaces, not locked cellars. Drawing on Finnish experience, he recommends integrating shelters into the living environment as sports halls, playrooms, or event venues. Daily use ensures the space is maintained, familiar, and ready for use in a crisis.

Estonian Academy of Arts Interior Architecture Master's graduate Gert Kristjanson recently concluded in his defended thesis that an apartment building shelter should not be a dimly lit cellar opened once a year, but one of the building's most vibrant shared spaces-whether as a playroom, workshop cellar, event hall, or shared office.

Daily use is key

According to Kristjanson, the current approach to shelters is problematic: spaces are locked, unfamiliar to residents, and only activated during emergencies. "If it's simply locked up, then it doesn't live. It's also important how these spaces relate to residents' everyday lives," he said on Vikerradio's "Huvitaja" programme.

In his view, regular exposure to the space offers a clear advantage during a crisis. "If a person has already spent time in that space before, then in a crisis situation they'll know better where to go and what to expect from it," Kristjanson explained. A maintained and familiar space means less confusion when sirens start sounding.

During his thesis work, he conducted fieldwork in Tallinn apartment buildings. While technical requirements were often met, one pattern emerged consistently: spaces were locked and residents never used them. This turned shelters into essentially passive technical rooms devoid of everyday life.

Finnish model

What impressed Kristjanson most was the Finnish experience. There, shelters are treated as community centres that can function as sports halls, gyms, playrooms, or music studios, and which can switch to shelter mode within minutes if needed. Having analysed experiences in Estonia and Denmark, the Master's student found that our northern neighbours are setting a clear example in this field.

The topic is particularly timely in Estonia: new national requirements for establishing shelter solutions recently came into force. Kristjanson does not question the Rescue Board's technical recommendations, but believes that current guidelines could benefit from an interior architecture perspective-namely, how to make these spaces valuable during peacetime as well.

Furniture serving dual purposes

Dual-use does not necessarily require major renovations. Kristjanson proposes a clever dual-purpose furniture principle: benches could also serve as storage, and shelves could double as seating. "This multi-use can extend to very small details: a shelf can be a bench and a bench can be a shelf," he explained.

His design project proposes four multi-use models for Soviet-era apartment buildings: a reading room, playroom, workshop cellar, and event hall. All serve a community function during peacetime, yet can be quickly adapted for shelter use if needed.

Trust and community

In his thesis, Kristjanson also raises a social dimension. During fieldwork, he visited, among others, a Tallinn apartment building on Vase Street where shared spaces are continuously open to residents-a choice that reduces suspicion among neighbours and strengthens community spirit.

However, he highlighted a common concern among apartment associations: if shelters are discussed publicly, neighbouring buildings' residents might try to enter them during a crisis. "If we don't set an example, we only foster the feeling that others want to access our shelter," noted Kristjanson, adding that apartment building shelters are primarily intended for that building's residents, and openness can encourage neighbouring apartment associations to develop their own solutions.

The thesis's main conclusion is clear: "The best shelter may not be the one with the thickest walls, but the one where people go even when there's no danger."