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Thursday, 13.02.2025, 18:11
Latvian architectural firm wins competition for Tallinn Old City Harbor bridge
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The competition was held with the aim of finding the best innovative,
architectural and conceptual solution for a pedestrian bridge to be built over
the channel of the Admiralty Inlet, and received nine anonymous projects which
fit the criteria, the Port of Tallinn said.
The winner of the competition was a conceptual design titled "New
Balance 100," which outshone other projects with its beautiful engineering
solution, in which large power games have been brought forward and exposed.
Different opening mechanisms have been suggested for the perpendicularly and
diagonally located bridge. The project offers a well thought through and
traditional bridge with a modern twist. The bridge offers for interesting views
both when open and when closed.
Members of the evaluation panel of the competition included Peeter Nogu and Hele-Mai Metsal from the Port of Tallinn, Endrik Mand, deputy head of the City of Tallinn urban planning
authority, Tomomo Hayashi and Urmas Muru, representatives of the
Estonian Association of Architects, and Siim
Idnurm, professor emeritus at the Tallinn University of Technology.
Three of the nine projects were picked by the panel to receive prizes,
while one work was mentioned.
Second place was given to a project titled "Golden Crane" by Salto AB OU. The solution of the
company stood out for its simplicity, which merges the history of the port,
recycling and functional transformation, in which a crane necessary for the
loading of goods at the port has been turned into a lifting mechanism for the
bridge.
Third place was given to a project titled
"Silmad" ("Eyes") by OU Stuudio Tallinn, whose work offered a technically special "two
in one" solution with an effective design, which has the effect of an
attraction in which the bridge's counterweights and the functioning of them
have been exposed.
The Port of Tallinn is planning to build a bridge across the channel of the
Admiralty Inlet in order to allow for the more comfortable movement of
pedestrians in between two passenger terminals and areas bordering the
terminals. The bridge will be movable in order to ensure the future functioning
of the Old City Harbor marina. The aim of the Port of Tallinn is that the
bridge would also act as an attractive architectural object in the area in
order to improve the surrounding urban space.
The bridge is expected to be finished at the end of 2018. The idea
competition, further design and construction will be co-financed by the
European Union in the framework of a Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) project.