Securing history in Tallinn

ASSA ABLOY came up with a tailor-made solution when asked to provide door solutions for the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn.

The Estonian National Opera house is a Jugendstil building designed by Finnish architects Armas Lindgren and Wivi Lönn – the largest building in Tallinn when it was opened in 1913. Today it is facing new challenges, and contacted ASSA ABLOY to provide security solutions.

Peeter Pajusalu, project manager at ASSA Security Center Palmett Lukud, says: “The Opera House is a historical site, so the locks and accessories had to have both a historic feel and contemporary functions. So for the locking of the theatre hall doors we used, for the first time in our company’s history, a suiting solution that combines the necessary functions of secure locking and safe exiting with the historic look. The latch hook bolt lock ASSA 640 with split spindle function was combined with the ASSA Epok 1930 handles and the ASSA Epok 4230 decorative plates.”

The implementers worked on a short deadline to finish the installation of all products, which called for flexibility and creativity. The biggest challenge was fixing the handles and cylinder accessories to the extremely thick soundproof doors in the theatre hall (12.5-13 cm), because there are not long-enough bolts manufactured. However, this was solved by using nuts to lengthen the bolts.

Read more about the opera house >>