The winner of the design contest of the presidency venues was the entry “Vool” (“Flow”)

The winner of the design contest for the design and furnishing of venues for high-level presidency meetings was the entry named “Vool” (Flow) by Vaikla Stuudio OÜ (authors Urmo Vaikla, Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla, Mikk Meelak).

As the key presidency events in Estonia will be held in the Tallinn Creative Hub, the Government Office welcomes ideas for the interior design of the working premises that would match with other venues in Estonia and in Brussels. The interior design also had to match the visual identity of the presidency, i.e. support the image of Estonia as a smart e-country with beautiful nature and clean environment. Seven concept proposals were submitted to the design contest, five of which met the requirements of the contest.

“The contest was very successful and we were able to choose between a number of unique and exiting concepts that highlighted both Estonian nature and our digital success,” said the head of the selection board Klen Jäärats, Director for European Union Affairs at the Government Office. “We decided in favour of the “Vool” entry because it was something entirely new and interfered with the attractive industrial interior of the Creative Hub as little as possible - only as much as was absolutely necessary. The authors found a balance between new and old, experimental creativity and the work environment. It was this bold, yet gentle interference that clearly distinguished this entry from others. The winning entry’s flexible and multifunctional solution was also the most suitable for the presidency events,” added Jäärats.

The entries were evaluated by a selection board consisting of Klen Jäärats (head of the selection board, the EU Secretariat of the Government Office), Toomas Korb (the Estonian Association of Interior Architects), Kristi Lents-Esnar (the Estonian Association of Interior Architects), Hannes Praks (the Estonian Academy of Arts), and Veronika Valk (the Ministry of Culture).

The author of the winning entry, Vaikla Stuudio, received a prize of €3,000. The Government Office will start negotiations for the award of a contract for the development of interior design and furnishing solutions with the winner.

The runner-up of the contest, the entry “Koda” (House) by Kadri Tamme Sisearhitektuur OÜ (authors Kadri Tamme, Harri Kaplan, and Liis Mägi), received €2,000. Third place, and €1,000 were awarded to the entry “Mõttelõng“ (The Thread of Thought) by PIN ARHITEKTID OÜ (authors Jaan Port, Katrin Kaevats, and Neeme Tiimus).

Estonia will hold its first term as the EU presidency from July to December 2017. The presidency is responsible for driving the Council's work forward, i.e. guiding the 28 EU member states towards common decisions. About 20 high-level events, attended by ministries of other countries, EU leaders and top executives will be taking place in the Tallinn Creative Hub during Estonia’s presidency.

Further information:

Triin Oppi, Media Adviser of the Estonian presidency of the Council of EU, 5025120