Builder of the Year 2022 is Taavi Lipp

Yesterday, the most important construction conference of the year, Ehitus 2023+, took place in Tallinn, the culmination of which was an award ceremony to recognise the best in the industry over the course of the year.

This year, the title of Builder of the Year was awarded to civil engineer Taavi Lipp, project director at Merko Ehitus Eesti, under whose supervision the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet MUBA building was completed this summer after almost two and a half years of construction.

Taavi is a civil engineer with extensive experience, and even the most complex objects are completed with impeccable quality under his oversight. The construction of the MUBA building with its extremely demanding project solution had to be organised in the heart of the city in the middle of heavy traffic, and every movement on the site had to be planned in detail. In total, approx. 1,500 people were involved in the construction works, and at peak times up to 250 people were working on site at the same time. On certain occasions, the work had to be organised in two shifts.

Music and dance education is a specific field, which is why there were many special solutions in the MUBA construction project. The requirements for sound insulation and acoustics were significantly more complex than usual. The special building, completed on time, is testament to both the high work culture of the project team and Taavi’s contribution to ensuring it.

Tallinn School of Music and Ballet MUBA also won the title of the Best Construction Project this year. The overall design of MUBA is by 3+1 architects; the architectural solution was created in cooperation between Atelier Thomas Pucher and 3+1 architects. The building was commissioned by Riigi Kinnisvara and built by Merko Ehitus Eesti.

Tarmo Sinisaar, project director at Merko Ehitus Eesti, was also nominated for the title of Builder of the Year this year, under whose leadership the first stage of the south-eastern border of the Republic of Estonia was completed this summer. Tondiraba Park, built by Tallinna Teede AS, a subsidiary of the Merko Group, was nominated in the competition for the Best Nonbuilding Structure Construction Project.