Estonian National Museum, Tartu

How to imagine a building form or language that can possibly represent the complexities of ENM? How to build a ‘big’ building without compromising the intimate scale of Tartu?

These two questions were the most pressing concerns we faced in the design of the ENM. We came to a conclusion that it is almost impossible to represent the complexities of ENM with a suitable building form or architectural language. We decided instead to dissolve the idea of a prominent building completely and to excavate the required spaces for ENM from a series of artificial hills.

Two artificial hills rise from the east and west of the site and culminate with an 18m high peak to mark an X-crossing for the whole museum site.