Green Tracks Installation Competition
The "Green Tracks" installation competition brings environmentally friendly public art to Linnahall with the aim to enliven the seaside in the year of the green capital. The winning works "Linn-masin", "Las Algas" and "KA MA" were selected from 13 proposals and are described by keywords like architectural heritage, waste matter, algae and barley.
Background
”Proposals for site-specific, environmentally friendly art or architectural installations were expected for the competition. The main idea of the seaside spatial interventions created as part of the “Green Tracks” project is to connect the interrupted seaside promenade in Kalaranna with the cruise terminal and tie the area into a single whole with other seaside objects. It is important to open the city to the sea and create various opportunities for spending time and places of rest for both local residents and visitors to Tallinn,” explained Deputy Mayor of Tallinn Vladimir Svet, who curates the field of the environment.
“Last year, excellent installations were completed at Putukaväil, and this year we decided to follow the example of this successful pilot. Spatial interventions are one of the ways to highlight the values of Tallinn as the European Green Capital in an exciting way in order to make Tallinn’s urban environment greener and more people-friendly”, Svet described the background of the project.
Creatives in the fields of art, architecture and urbanism were invited to participate in the competition. When creating concept designs, the principles of environmental sustainability and the life cycle of materials had to be taken into account. The competition work had to be feasible and fit within the predetermined budget of 42,000 euros.
The prize fund was 10,000 euros. One winner was selected, whose installation was opened in the autumn of 2023 and will remain up until at least the end of 2024.
The leader of the project and the creator of the competition task is the Spatial Design Department of the Tallinn Strategic Management Office. The competition is based on the principles of public art in Tallinn, the goals of Tallinn as the European Green Capital 2023 and the development strategy “Tallinn 2035”. The competition task was approved by the Public Art Committee of the Tallinn City Government.
The jury of the competition included the deputy mayor Vladimir Svet, the head of the “Green Tracks” project Hannes Aava, public art curator of Tallinn Strategic Management Office Kati Ots, the representative of the Estonian Artists Association Anna Mari Liivrand, the representative of the Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art Johannes Säre and the representative of the architectural practice LLRRLLRR Laura Linsi.
More information about the “Green Footprint” project is here: greentallinn.eu/en/green-tracks.
I prize „Linn-masin"
"Linn-masin" ("City-Machine") rising by the sea (authors Mariann Drell, Villem Sarapuu, Ruuben-Jaan Rekkor) is a contemporary installation that values the postmodernist architectural heritage of the adjacent Linnahall and reuses discarded materials on site in an original way. According to the authors, the purpose of the work is to continue and emphasize the material reality of the City Hall. The jury highlighted the design's sense of form, conceptual clarity and resourceful use of materials. Although the artwork uses old architectural techniques, the submitted work felt fresh and contemporary.
Design proposal:
II place „Las Algas"
Second place winner "Las Algas" (by Iiris Tähti Toom) explores the possibilities of using algae and its resilience in the Estonian climate. The multifunctional pavilion, which would be created as part of public workshops led by international artists, presents the role of algae in both archaic construction methods and future materials. The jury highly appreciated the public programming, experimentalism and material handling.
III place „KA MA"
The third prize winner "KA MA" (authors Triinu Amboja, Mari-Triin Kirs, Roosmarii Kukk) aims to reduce "plant blindness" by highlighting the importance and multipurpose use of the archaic barley plant. In the barley gallery created from bales of barley straw, you can observe the sprouting of barley plants and organize community events like porridge Sundays, oat Tuesdays and wheat Wednesdays. The jury praised the design's conceptual strength and thorough research.
