Tarty Downtown Cultural Centre Architecture Competition

Tartu city government in cooperation with the Estonian Association of Architects will organize the international architecture competition for the Tartu downtown cultural center. Architects from all over the world are invited to design one of the most important future cultural spaces in the second biggest city of Estonia, in the very heart of the university town Tartu.

The purpose of the competition is to find the best architectural design for the building and outdoor space of the cultural center, which suits the given location and milieu the most and creates a whole with the urban space along the river Emajõgi.

Moreover, Participants are invited to design a building for the city library, art museum, and event center with a multifunctional black box, and other activities supporting the cultural center with a biologically diverse and active park and human-scale public space.

Urmas Klaas, Mayor of Tartu, expressed his hope that the interest in the architecture competition is high. “There has been a lot of talk about the Downtown Cultural Centre in Tartu and elsewhere,” claimed the mayor. “We expect architects to come up with solutions that take into account the sensitive location of the building and offer opportunities to bring together various cultural fields and communities.”

The competition is organized during the city’s detailed plan process and the winner’s solution will form the basis of it. The winner will be awarded a design contract for the preparation of the construction project.

The prize fund is as follows:

First place 60,000 euros, second place 40,000 euros, third place 20,000 euros, and three special rewards of 10,000 euros each.

Furthermore, the Jury: Urmas Klaas, Mayor of Tartu (chairman of the jury); Kristina Pai, director of the Tartu Public Library. Joanna Hoffmann, director of the Tartu Art Museum; Priit Metsjärv, head of the Construction Service of the Tartu City Government. Moreover, Tartu city architect Tõnis Arjus; architect Enrique Sobejano (Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, Spain); architect Lina Ghotmeh (Lina Ghotmeh—Architecture, France). Additionally, architect Tõnu Laigu (QP Arhitektid, Estonia); landscape architect Martin Allik (MARELD landskapsarkitekter, Estonia/Sweden).

The submission deadline is on May 5, 2023. Conditions of the competition and other materials are available on the competition’s web page at https://www.tartu.ee/en/downtown-cultural-centre-architectural-design-competition.

Entries must be submitted via the Public Procurement Register.