State Real Estate Ltd, in cooperation with the Ministry of Climate Change, announced an art competition to find the best artwork for the representative square of the Loodusmaja Quarter, which would enrich the surrounding environment and create a positive mood for the visitors of the Loodusmaja. The expected artwork must be related to current environmental themes or express the relationship between man and nature.
The art competition is looking for an installation or sculpture that can be viewed from all angles. The artwork to be created will be located in a central position in front of the main entrance of the Loodusmaja. The deadline for submission of applications and designs is 18 September 2024 at 15.00. The competition guidelines can be found on the website of the State Real Estate Ltd: https://www.rkas.ee/et/hanked-ja-konkursid/kunstikonkursid.
The work may combine different art forms, styles and materials. The proposed artwork should be made of a material or materials that will stand the test of time. The dimensions of the artwork are not specified, but the artwork must be visible and striking in the urban space, and fit in with the building and its surroundings.
The jury that will decide on the final selection of the work of art includes Siiri Vallner, the architect of the Loodusmaja, chair of the jury, Kaja Pae, Head of the Department of Construction and Living Environment of the Ministry of Climate Change, Anne Rudanovski and Paul Mänd, representatives of the Estonian Artists' Association, Epp Lankots and Kati Ots, representatives of the Estonian Association of Art Historians and Curators, who is also the curator of Tallinn's urban art. In addition, Evelin Pääsukene, Head of the Exhibitions Unit at the Estonian Museum of Natural History, and Hindrek Werder, Project Manager for Real Estate Development at State Real Estate Ltd, will participate in the jury as non-voting experts.
Once the winner of the art competition has been selected, State Real Estate Ltd will conduct a negotiated procedure without prior announcement to award the winning work to the author(s) of the work for a contract for the commissioning and installation of the work for the amount of EUR 110 000 plus VAT. The total prize fund for the second and third prizes is EUR 5 500. No prize will be paid for the first prize winning design, which will be included in the cost of the contract to be awarded to the winner.
Loodusmaja, to be built at 12 Vesilennuki Street, in the neighbourhood of Tallinn's Seaplane Harbour, will be a building of near zero energy standard. The Estonian Museum of Natural History will be the future main user of the Loodusmaja and will open its doors with a new permanent exhibition in 2027. In addition, the premises of the Estonian Nature House complex will be used by the Estonian Environment Protection Agency, the Environmental Agency, the Environmental Investment Centre, the new Estonian Land and Space Agency (MARU), KEMIT and several other institutions caring for Estonia's natural environment.
The Nature House complex is based on the winning architectural competition entry "Kilometre", designed by Kavakava architects, with interior architecture by PINK interior architects and landscape architecture by Kino landscape architects. The main contractor is Nordecon.
In 2011, a law on the commissioning of works of art entered into force, which stipulates that at least 1% of the cost of public building works must be for works of art. The price of works of art will be capped at €110 000 from 2021.
