TAB 2017 Installation Programme is offering emerging architectural talent the opportunity to design and build an experimental wooden folly in the heart of Tallinn.

The international open two-stage competition is challenging participants to develop creative designs for a temporary outdoor installation, making innovative use of the fabrication capacities with the Estonian wooden house manufacturers. The aim is to promote synergy between emerging designers and industry.

Curators of the TAB 2017 Installation Programme, architects Sille Pihlak and Siim Tuksam (part.archi) say that the installation should be driven by TAB 2017 main topic of bio-technology in architecture and urban design: “We are looking for visionary models using principles of biological self-organization, computational material logic and the embodied algorithms of the future of the bio-city for the TAB Installation Programme.” As the chief curator of TAB17 Claudia Pasquero explained: “The convergence of biotechnology and IT, applied to landscape and urban design is one of the more promising future developments for our civilization.” TAB 2017 will provide a showcase for the most interesting emergent actors in the field.

The folly will be built in August 2017 in front of the Estonian Museum of Architecture in Tallinn, on an all-grass area, with a flat area of 17x17m on top of a slightly elevated area. Penetrative foundations cannot be used on the site; the folly can have a maximum height of 5m and should have a lifespan of at least 23 months. Participants are asked to use local sustainable material – timber – and winners have a chance to co-produce it with local timber industry, where there is machinery available for lam-wood, 5 axis CNC milling for timber or planar surfaces, lasering, etc. The use of local industrial CNC capabilities is encouraged.

TAB 2017 WINNING PROPOSAL is Belgian architect Gilles Retsin‘s installation. The winning proposal is characterized by outstanding aesthetic and is intellectually challenging, as it questions current beliefs and trends in architecture, says jury member Martin Tamke (CITA KADK).
Second place in the competition was awarded to Tom Svilans and Paul Poinet (Denmark), the third place to FLOW Architecture (UK) and honorable mentions to both APPAREIL (Spain) and LINKSCALE (UK).

Timeframe
15 October 2016 – I stage digital portfolio submission;
November 2016 – II stage participants selected;
1 February 2017 – II stage design submission;
February 2017 – winner announced;
August 2017 – construction;
September 14th 2017 – Installation Opening

Finalists
The Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB 2017 curatorial and organising team is happy to announce that 16 architects and/or teams have been selected to proceed to the second stage of the TAB 2017 Urban Installation Programme competition. The international jury of the competition received 200 portfolios from emerging architectural talent who are looking to design and build an experimental wooden folly in the heart of Tallinn in August 2017.
The teams and architects selected for the 2nd round of the competition, are:

• APPAREIL (Spain)
• A-TEAM (Russia)
• Belen Torres and David Andres Leon (Denmark)
• Tom Svilans and Paul Poinet (Innochain ETN) (Denmark)
• E&L (Sweden)
• FLOW Architecture (UK)
• Gilles Retsin Architecture (UK)
• GUN Architects (Chile-Germany)
• Keiti Lige and Ann Kristiin Entson (Estonia)
• LINKSCALE (UK)
• Ludovico Lombardi LDVC and Lisa Kinnerud (UK)
• Mirco Becker (Germany)
• MisoSoupDesign (Taiwan)
• NYXO (UK)
• Raul Kalvo, Inphysica Technology (Estonia)
• Risa Kagami (Japan)

All entries qualified for the second stage will be published and exhibited at TAB 2017.

The winner will have a 10000 € budget to realise the project.

Open Call (closed)
Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2017 is announcing TAB 2017 Urban Installation Programme Open Call, offering emerging architectural talent the opportunity to design and build an experimental wooden folly in the heart of Tallinn. The competition has two stages – digital portfolios can be submitted for the first competition stage until October 15th 2016.

The international open two-stage competition is challenging participants to develop creative designs for a temporary outdoor installation, making innovative use of the fabrication capacities with the Estonian wooden house manufacturers. The aim is to promote synergy between emerging designers and industry.

Curators of the TAB 2017 Installation Programme, architects Sille Pihlak and Siim Tuksam (part.archi) say the open call is driven by TAB 2017 main topic of bio-technology in architecture and urban design: “By the end of the competition, we are looking for a visionary model using principles of biological self-organization, computational material logic and the embodied algorithms of the future of bio-city for the TAB Installation Programme. The convergence of biotechnology and IT, applied to landscape and urban design is considered by many pioneers as one of the more promising future developments for our civilization. TAB 2017 will provide a showcase for the most interesting emergent actors in the field.”

The folly will be built in August 2017 in front of the Estonian Architecture Museum in Tallinn, on an all-grass area, with a flat area of 17x17m on top of a slightly elevated area. Penetrative foundations cannot be used on the site; the folly can have a maximum height of 5m and should have a lifespan of around 12 months. Participants are asked to use local sustainable material – timber – and winners have a chance to co-produce it with local timber industry, where there is machinery available for lam-wood, 5 axis CNC milling for timber or planar surfaces, lasering, etc. The use of local industrial CNC capabilities is encouraged. Further information and terms of the competition can be found at http://www.tab.ee/, where digital portfolios can also be submitted until 15th October 2016 to enter the first stage of the competition.