Thamme Villa was named after one of Estonia's most esteemed architects, Johann Nicolai Thamme, who was born in Tallinn in 1834. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1860. From 1872, he worked as an architect in Tallinn, where he designed many buildings in the Old Town and City Center – many of them which have been preserved and protected as cultural heritage sites. At that time, Nikolai Thamm was only one of eight architects practicing in Tallinn. Later schools of Estonian architects emerged from this generation.

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Among Thamme’s best-known works include the two-story wooden villa at Narva Maantee 32, designed in 1875. It is one of the oldest two-story wooden houses in Tallinn that is still standing and preserved with rich detailing, similar to Thamme Villa. This was followed by the renovation of the stone building at Pikk 16/Pühavaimu 1 in 1876, the reconstruction of the building at Rataskaevu 3 in 1878, the building at Vana-Viru 12 in 1879, the reconstruction of the building at Lai 7 in 1882, and Fr. Wiegand's Tallinn Machine Building buildings in modern Ilmarise Quarter in 1883.

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Thamme Villa, with elements of historical Neo-Renaissance, was completed in 1885. The composition of the building's facade is emphasises symmetry, while its proportions are based on classical stone architecture. All four corners are Renaissance Revival in style and it boasts a has a half-tower with a broad cornice resembling a mezzanine floor – a feature rarely seen in timber buildings.  In its day, the Villa was At the time, Mardi 3 was one of the biggest and grandest timber buildings in this part of Tallinn.

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The history of architecture has found an exciting reflection in the present day, and the reconstruction of of Thamme Villa has been designed by the AB Ansambel team under the guidance of Chartered/Principal Architect Toivo Tammik.