Six best projects for the Downtown Cultural Centre architecture competition have been revealed
Tartu City Government Press Release
/ At the international architecture competition for the Downtown Cultural Centre in Tartu, the keywords for the six best projects have been announced. The winning work will be revealed and the envelopes containing the names of the authors of the best works will be opened at the award ceremony on 14 July at 14.
According to the jury’s decision, the keywords for the six best works in alphabetical order are: „Aed“, „Paabel“, „Puidust siluett“, „Roheline kultuurikeskus“, „Tarte Tatin“ and „The Line and the Dot“. Take a look at the pictures of the six best projects.
The jury also decided to acknowledge the concept designs of „Maastikuga seotud mälestused“ and „Väike mets“, which will not be rewarded with a monetary prize, but whose architectural concepts deserve separate recognition.
Six prizes will be awarded: first place €60,000, second place €40,000, third place €20,000 and three incentive prizes of €10,000 each.
The award ceremony will take place on 14 July at 14, on the stage of the Car Free Avenue (Vabaduse Avenue), in Tartu, where the jury’s decision regarding the winning work and the distribution of the remaining awards will be announced. The envelopes containing the names of the authors will also be opened. On the same day, an exhibition of the six best works will be opened on Car Free Avenue, and all the submitted works will be available for viewing online.
There will also be a live broadcast of the award ceremony, and the link can be found on the official website of the City of Tartu or on the Facebook page of the City of Tartu.
According to Urmas Klaas, Chairman of the Jury and the Mayor of Tartu, it was quite pleasing to see the high level of interest among architects in designing the Downtown Cultural Centre. ‘The large number of submitted competition projects certainly made the decision-making process more challenging, but at the same time it gave us the confidence that we would find the one right work that Tartu ultimately needs,’ added the Mayor.
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).
The Tartu City Government and the Estonian Association of Architects announced the international architectural competition for the Tartu Downtown Cultural Centre on 2 January 2023. The deadline for the submission of entries was 5 May 2023.
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 aim of the one-stage public architecture competition is to find the best architectural solution for the building and outdoor space of the Tartu Downtown Cultural Centre. The challenge facing participants is to come up with a conceptual design for the Cultural Centre, one which includes rooms for the Tartu City Library, the Tartu Art Museum, an events centre and other functions supporting the Cultural Centre, and a vibrant and diverse park landscape and human scale public space around it. The building must fit in with the given location and milieu, and create a whole with the urban space along the Emajõgi River.
Last changed 12.07.2023
