Estonian Centre for Architecture has announced the curatorial competition for the 6th international Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB 2021. 

Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB) is an international architecture festival which addresses relevant issues in architecture and delves into the present and the future of the field. TAB is intended for both experienced and young architects as well as members of the general public interested in architecture.

The aim of the TAB 2021 curatorial competition is to find an innovative and responsive theme related to the context of Estonia and relevant in the contemporary world of architecture.

The general goals of TAB are:

• popularising a quality built environment;
• internationalising Estonian architecture – offering an international platform for architecture;
• presenting new ways of thinking and creating a new vision in architecture.

Deadline for submissions: 29 May 2020 at 4PM Estonian time + 2GMT

TAB 2021 will take place from September to November and will consist of a main programme led by the head curator and a satellite programme led by co-curators. 

Image courtesy of TAB

TAB offers a various event programme to professionals in the field, students and everyone interested in architecture. Throughout the previous four biennales, the core of TAB has been the curatorial exhibition, symposium, and the Tallinn Vision Competition. The best examples from previous years are moments when the curatorial exhibition and the symposium complemented each other and interwove into an integral whole and that is accompanied by TAB Catalogue.

TAB 2019 “Beauty Matters” was curated by Dr Yael Reisner. The biennale focused on the subject of how beauty matters again, reflecting on a cultural shift, after nearly eighty years of dormancy, as beauty was a tabooed, denigrated subject. 

Image courtesy of TAB

TAB 2017 titled “bioTallinn”, curated by Claudia Pasquero (ecoLogicStudio), challenged the typical assumptions of what constitutes the boundaries between the natural and artificial realms. TAB 2015 “Self-Driven City”, curated by Marten Kaevats, explored the future cities with self-driven cars and TAB 2013 “Recycling Socialism”, curated by Aet Ader, Kadri Klementi, Karin Tõugu, Kaidi Õis, redefined the Soviet-era urban environment in Tallinn.

Participation

The competition is public and open to all teams. We recommend that you include in your team at least one person who is well-versed in Estonian architecture and proficient in the Estonian language. If the people wishing to take part in the competition do not have such a person in their team, the Estonian Association of Architects can provide appropriate contacts upon request ([email protected]).

The competition is held in two stages. Stage I consists of submitting the competition project in writing and stage II is an oral presentation of the project in front of a jury. If the jury finds that a winner can be chosen in stage I, the jury is entitled to cancel stage II.

Questions may be submitted in Estonian or English; competition entries must be submitted in both Estonian and English. The deadline for developing the concept of the biennale and submitting the corresponding draft in writing is on 29 May 2020 4PM Estonian time + 2GMT. Competition entries must be submitted digitally at [email protected]. 

The competition may not be entered by the chairman, members, back-up members and experts of the jury, or the individuals who have been involved in drafting the terms and conditions of the competition, those who have participated in the preparation of the competition and those who are clearly in a privileged position due to the preparation and organisation of the competition and/or who could influence the decisions of the jury.

The following are also not allowed to enter the competition: close relatives (spouses, partners, direct relatives, siblings) of the above mentioned individuals, as well as business partners related to the chairman and members of the jury, who are shareholders of a company operating in the same field of activity.

The first meeting of the jury will take place on 10 June 2020. 

The stage II meeting will be held on 17 June 2020.

TAB Curatorial Competition Brief can be downloaded from here: 03_brief.pdf

Download the document for Power of Attorney here: Power of attorney_curatorial call_TAB2021.docx

Top image: Steampunk's installation, winner of 2019 Tallinn Architecture Biennale. Image courtesy of TAB

> via TAB