Nominees for the Association of Estonian Architects annual award are announced

This year, there are four nominees vying for the Association of Estonian Architects (EAA) annual award: the Narva Joaoru beach building and surrounding recreational area, Kohtla Mining Park, the Pärnu Rannastaadion (Beach Stadium) building and the area of the Viljandi Crematorium where religious and traditional rites are carried out. The awarding of the annual award is supported by AS Merko Ehitus. The award winners will be announced at a gala ceremony on 9 December to be held at NO99 Theatre.

“Whereas the architects were quite reticent in nominating works in the first year of the award, this year, there was much more reason to cheer, said the Association of Estonian Architects president Katrin Koov. “A total of eight works were nominated, of which four were selected as nominees in the final round.”

Koov said the calibre of the nominated work was very high, comparable to an international architecture competition. “It’s gratifying to see the bold and personality-filled approach to complicated terms come to the forefront in all of these works. After all, giving recognition to fresh new ideas is the broader goal of such competitions,” said Koov.

The Association of Estonian Architects handed out the first annual award last year, in 2015. An independent architecture expert from outside Estonia decides the winner. This year, the Spanish architect Fuensanta Nieto is in that role. Among Nieto’s own achievements with the practice of Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos is the first place in the architecture competition for the Arvo Pärt Centre. The annual award, handed out in conjunction with Merko Ehitus, has a monetary value of 5,000 euros.

The Association of Estonian Architects(www.arhliit.ee, EAL) is an organization uniting Estonian architects. EAL is the legal successor of the Estonian Architects Association, founded on 8 October 1921. EAL has 394 members, and its president since 2016 is Katrin Koov.