Zaha Hadid Architects and Esplan have won a competition to design Tallinn's new rail terminal with a fluid connecting public bridge. Called Rail Baltic, the project has been awarded with the first prize in the design competition. 

The fluid structure leaks in the existing city fabric as a new intervention and a connecting hub for different types of transport systems which will serve for bus, tram and rail lines. 

The new Rail Baltic is a planned 870 km electrified railway from Tallinn in Estonia to the Lithuanian-Polish border. The terminal will be the starting point of the Rail Baltic line connecting Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius with the European high-speed rail network.

Designed as "a connecting public bridge", the Ülemiste terminal will be used by the local community as well as multi-modal transport hub for commuters, national and international rail passengers in addition to air travelers using the adjacent Tallinn airport. 

"Circulation routes through the building have determined the station's spatial geometry to aid navigation and the smooth integration of bus, tram and rail lines that intersect at the terminus," said Zaha Hadid Architects in its project description. 

"Incorporating a modular structural system built in phases to enable ongoing operations on the rail lines throughout construction, the station has been designed and planned to BREEAM benchmarks and guidelines."

"I have been constantly informed about the developments in the Ülemiste area and in light of the works presented to the public today, I am more than convinced that the area is becoming one of the most attractive and, in terms of infrastructure, synergistic in Tallinn," said Taavi Aas, Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure.

"A true multi-modal transport hub is emerging, with rail, bus and air traffic coming together there in the future."

Image © ZOA studio

Rail Baltic Estonia announced the international design competition for the terminal station in Ülemiste in May 2019. The competition ended on September 3.

The nine-member jury included Rail Baltic Estonia manager Riia Sillave, Pro Kapital Eesti AS board member Allan Remmelkoor, Estonian Railways development manager Andrus Noor and member of the supervisory board of Mainor Ulemiste Andrus Kaldalu. 

Image © ZOA studio

Architects on the jury included former chief architect of Tallinn Endrik Mand and the author of the structural plan for the Ulemiste area, Mattias Agabus, Janis Dripe, former Latvian minister of culture, and Danish architects Jesper Gottlieb and Thomas Grave-Larsen.

Image © Zaha Hadid Architects

Image © Zaha Hadid Architects

Image © Zaha Hadid Architects

Image © Zaha Hadid Architects

Image © Zaha Hadid Architects

Project facts

Client: Rail Baltica Estonia
Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
ZHA Design: Patrik Schumacher
ZHA Director: Gianluca Racana
ZHA Project Directors: Ludovico Lombardi, Michele Salvi

ZHA Project Team: Luciano Letteriello, Kate Revyakina, Serra Pakalin, Yuzhi Xu, Anthony Awanis, Hendrik Rupp, Davide del Giudice

Local Executive Architect: Esplan

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