On Monday, international procurement for the design of the largest hospital complex in Estonia - Tallinn Hospital - was announced with the deadline of 27 May 2021. The estimated cost of the procurement is 11 million euros.

According to Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart, a very important milestone has been reached during the five-year preparation period of Tallinn Hospital. “Since the Tallinn Hospital is a large project, we are expecting both Estonian and international companies to participate in the design procurement in order to find the best possible solution for the new and modern medical campus. Joint offers from Estonian and foreign companies are also welcome, which are hoped to increase the knowledge of Estonian architects and engineers in the design of modern world-class medical institutions by way of a joint consortium,” said Kõlvart. "As a result of the procurement, we aim to find an experienced and capable design team, under whose leadership the main project of the hospital building will be completed on time, ie by 2023, on the basis of which a construction procurement can already be carried out."

The design procurement of Tallinn Hospital was prepared in co-operation with the Estonian Association of Architects. Along with the price offer, the tenderer must submit the concept of the proposed hospital building and landscape architecture to the evaluation committee, and the quality of the concept will be assessed as a separate part of the tender. In addition to the architectural part of the tender, hospital design experience of the leading architects involved in the project will be assessed, which must include at least one 20,000 m2 acute care hospital over the last 15 years. In the next stage of the evaluation, the collective volumes of the three largest hospital projects by lead architects that were implemented in the last 10 years will be compared.

Design companies from Estonia and other countries are expected to participate in the procurement. The companies participating should be specialized in large-scale hospital design and carry prior experience with successful hospital projects. The companies' average net turnover over three years should be at least €3 million. As this is a very large design volume, joint bidders are expected to participate in addition to large design companies. The winner of the procurement is expected to be announced at the end of June this year.

Andro Mänd, President of the Estonian Association of Architects, stated that such an extensive building is completely unique in the Estonian context and will become the main dominant of the entire surrounding region. "Therefore, the urban spatial and architectural quality of this building is crucial. Looking at the bigger picture, I am also pleased to say that the new planned hospital will have a positive impact on the development of the entire Lasnamäe district, ”said Mänd.

The applications will be evaluated by a seven-member committee, three members of which were appointed by the Estonian Association of Architects and four members by Tallinn City Government.

A prize is awarded to the three best bidders for a spatial and architectural solution - €40,000 for the bidder who received the most points, €35,000 for the second bidder and €25,000 for the third best score. If any of the above-mentioned tenders receive the most points in the total amount on the basis of the evaluation criteria and are thus declared successful along with the signing of contract, the prize amount will not be paid.

The estimated total cost of Tallinn Hospital is €520 million (including VAT). The prospective cost of planning, design and construction is €450 million and the remaining €70 million is made up of investments into facilities and equipment. The estimated area of the hospital complex is 127,000 m2.

With the construction of Tallinn Hospital, the city plans to create a comprehensive hospital establishment and to build a new modern medical campus at Narva mnt 129, 129b instead of the depreciated hospital buildings of the current Eastern Tallinn Central Hospital and Western Tallinn Central Hospital. The new hospital near Tallinn Song Festival Grounds will improve the availability and quality of medical care for the residents of Tallinn and Harju County as well as the whole of Estonia in the future.

According to the existing plan, the Tallinn Hospital project is set to be finished in 2027 and construction will be coordinated by the state and Tallinn itself.