About the architecture competition
Tartu city government in cooperation with the Estonian Association of Architects will organize the international architecture competition for the Tartu downtown cultural centre. The purpose of the competition is to find the best architectural design for the building and outdoor space of the cultural centre, which suits the given location and milieu the most and creates a whole with the urban space along the river Emajõgi.
A total of 105 tenders with 107 works were submitted to the international architecture competition for the Downtown Cultural Centre. Twenty-eight of the competition works were from Estonia and 79 were from abroad. Works were submitted from 26 different countries. A total of 102 works were presented to the jury for judging.
The jury is composed of Urmas Klaas, Mayor of Tartu and Chairman of the Jury; Kristina Pai, Director of the Tartu City Library; Joanna Hoffmann, Director of the Tartu Art Museum; Priit Metsjärv, Head of the Construction Service of the Tartu City Government; Tõnis Arjus, Tartu City Architect; architect Enrique Sobejano (Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, Spain); architect Veronika Valk-Siska (Estonian Association of Architects); architect Tõnu Laigu (QP Arhitektid, Estonia); and landscape architect Martin Allik (MARELD landskapsarkitekter, Estonia/Sweden).
First prize - Paabel
Authors
3+1 architects: Lisette Eriste, Gert Guriev, Markus Kaasik, Helin Kuldkepp, Karl Erik Miller, Jana Pärn, Siim Tiisvelt ja Ilmar Valdur.
Kino maastikuarhitektid: Karin Bachmann, Kaisa Masso, Liis Pihl, Liina-Kai Raivet, Kristjan Talistu, Mirko Traks, Juhan Teppart.
Authors: Designing in the context of the city, we consider the whole city as a space, symbolically setting aside the plot boundary. Taking the location into account, we see several influencing factors in the vicinity: the old town, the park, the “new town” and the river. Being located in the center of all these influences, they must be addressed accordingly. Nature is of paramount importance in the Estonian sense of space. Here, we consider nature as a continuous extension from Toomemägi to the Emajõgi, leaving the greenery that remained on the way untouched. By positioning ourselves between the old and new town, we find a solution in recreating the block structure, defining the interior as the heart of the building. We ensure access from all sides and active communication with the surrounding environment.
Jury: In the opinion of the jury, Paabel clearly stands out from other works with its well-thought-out architectural solution. The work was best able to capture the goals of the competition and provide solutions using elegant architectural language and professional technical execution. In the opinion of the jury, the building fits in well with the urban space, the interior solution is impressive and tasteful, and the outdoor space is well designed and balanced, fulfilling all important goals from the point of view of both biodiversity and the practical use of urban space.
Second prize - Tarte Tatin
Authors
Kadarik Tüür arhitektid: Ott Kadarik, Kerttu Kõll, Kaarel Künnap, Aleksei Petrov, Mats Põllumaa, Mihkel Raev, Indrek Rünkla, Jaanika Sau, Marleen Stokkeby, Aleksandr Špakov, Mihkel Tüür, Maarja Tüür ja Eik Hermann.
Authors: It is a meeting point for park landscape, roofed outside public space, public inside space (foyer) and the spaces for cultural services. We reveal the foundations of the buildings destroyed in the World War II, which were hastily covered with the green carpet after the war. We restore the sloping riverbank to follow the trend of bringing people closer to the river.
Jury: The conceptual design is distinguished from other works by its clear and well-developed modular architectural handwriting. The pacing of the building into modules creates diverse facades and articulates a large volume of buildings in the urban space. The cantilevered building front facing the park has an attractive and inviting effect, making the large building volume more human-dimensional and friendly.
Third prize - Roheline kultuurikeskus
Authors
Atelier Lorentzen Langkilde (Denmark): Kristian Langkilde, Kasper Lorentzen
Authors: Stretching from the main pedestrian street of Küüni towards the river, visually connecting the river promenade with the main street. The Culture Hub has a soft movement into the park by gentle terraced curves showing the park entrance and creating attractive terraces. The curves are determined by diagonal crossing of the park and improving the views and connection to the riverscape. Park, River and Hub are interlinked.
Jury: The clear placement of the building on the Department Store side leaves vacant a large spacious park area, which increases biodiversity and creates a very strong connection between Barclay Park and the green area along the river.
Incentive prize - Aed
Authors
Arkkitehtitoimisto ALA (Finland): Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki, Samuli Woolston
Authors: „Aed“ is not just a building, it is an integral part of the park and the river promenade. The transition between indoors and outdoors is soft and seamless. The
topography of the area extends into the interior of the library space. The existing trees in the park become the actual façade of the new cultural centre.
Jury: The conceptual design Aed is a professional work, the concept of which is very clear, with urban spatial decisions that are well perceived. The strength of the project is the interior, with its rather elegant solution.
Incentive prize - Puidust siluett
Authors
UNISM (Poland, Great Britain), Narrative Architects (Korea): Konrad Weka, Zusanna Antczak, Artur Zakrzewski, Piotr Zalewski, Michal Polak, Kim Sihong, Hwang Namin.
Authors: Tartu’s cultural centre is set to be more than just a building - it’s a vision to create a sustainable and innovative hub that respects the site’s rich historical context. The existing park is a missing piece in the puzzle of the old town’s urban fabric.
Jury: The architectural concept is very clear and stands out from other works with its strong idea of a rooftop landscape silhouette.
Incentive prize - The Line and the Dot
Authors
IMPLMNT architects (Lithuania): Aurimas Syrusas, Greta Brimė, Aurelija Kniukštaitė, Kotryna Bajorinaitė, Jonė Virbickaitė, Eglė Gečaitė, Ieva Sirijatavičiūtė
Authors: The project is located in a diverse context. The site is surrounded by historic buildings, public spaces, and the natural environment – the Emajõgi River. With the
volume of the building, we are not aiming for contrast, but rather for interaction with the nearest urban environment. The building as a volume is not egocentric,
but gives priority to public space.
Jury: The placement of the building in the urban space is distinguished from all other concepts, creating a strong front along Küüni Street and leaving a complete park area in the direction of the riverbank.
