A-terminali kvartali arhitektuurivõistlus

The goal of the architectural competition was to find the best architectural concept for Old City Harbor's Terminal A, the Port of Tallinn's (AS Tallinna Sadam) new office building, a parking garage for the building complex as well as the adjacent urban public space and a linear park. Terminal A is an important passenger hub with numerous departures to Helsinki every day.

Furthermore, the client wants to bring the city to the port, creating an opportunity for city residents and tourists to spend quality time in the city center by the sea in the Old City Harbour areas. The project aims to offer a versatile new welcoming place that provides a pleasant stay in an exciting urban space and an experience of visiting buildings with outstanding architecture. For those arriving by sea, it is an eye-catching gateway to Estonia. For those approaching from the city, it is a friendly gateway to the world.

The chair of the competition jury, Hele-Mai Metsal, said that the winning conceptual design offers the best combination of the volumetric composition of the overall building complex and the functionality prescribed in the brief.

“The urban landscape imagined in the design is varied and supports both the architecture of the buildings and biodiversity. What strikes me about the terminal is the honest architecture underpinning the architectonics of the passenger walkways, or galleries, where the function and architectural aesthetics of the terminal are clearly balanced. The jury also appreciated the architectural composition of the existing and the new office building, where both building volumes are displayed simultaneously in their own special way while forming a single functional and architectural unit.”

The Port of Tallinn is Estonia’s biggest cargo and passenger port complex and plays an important role in the Estonian transport system and in the Estonian economy. The Port also has the aim of bringing the city closer to the harbor by offering citizens and tourists the opportunity to spend quality time in the city center by the sea.

The architectural design competition was public, anonymous and took place in two stages. The contract is valued at €2 million exclusive of VAT.