TARTU DOWNTOWN CULTURAL CENTRE ‘Kultuuripark’
Tartu, Estonia

The proposed Cultural Centre for the city of Tartu is designed to be an inclusive and sustainable hub that caters to people of all backgrounds, reflecting a philosophical attitude towards the site and its environment.

‘Kultuuripark’ is the key architectural and urban concept. Designed as “a place to get together”, our proposal for Tartu Downtown Cultural Centre aims at a holistic integration of the public space with the new building program. As a seamless and transparent approach to architecture, the project is thought beyond the building envelope itself. The architectural concept is centered around creating relative small-scale buildings with minimal visual impact, blending seamlessly into the existing surroundings while fulfilling the program requirements, but minimizing the impact on the plot.

The design for Tartu Culture Park is based on a thorough analysis of the historic city structure, an examination of the architectural grain of the city today, and a wider understanding of the green network within Tartu. Our design achieves a repair of this green network, transforming the existing site into a biodiverse, richly programmed, and interconnected whole. Within this whole, the ensemble of architectural pavilions reflects the human scale of Tartu’s urban fabric and existing public buildings, creating a forward-looking cultural centre that embeds itself into a new interconnected park landscape.

Architecturally, the different functions of the buildings relate to a series of smaller public spaces within the park, guaranteeing indoor/outdoor exchange on all fronts. And within the cluster of buildings itself, a double-layer courtyard allows for varied seasonal activation through programming. The courtyard features an elliptical wooden stage and performance space which doubles as a meeting point and activator in warmer seasons and as an ice rink during cool weather. The lower part of the courtyard evokes the memory of the Estonian forest, with a calm atmosphere that welcomes quiet activities like reading alongside public outdoor exhibitions from the museum. The buildings all feature typical Scandinavian sod roofing, which provide eco-friendly insulation while creating habitat value on the level of the buildings themselves.