On the banks of Emajõgi which flows through the town of Tartu, the competition site occupies a position at a junction between two distinct types of urban fabric. On one side the fine-grained Tartu Old Town heritage conservation area and on the other where larger plots have recently been developed with department stores and shopping centers. Kaubahoovi Plats, a leafy oasis in the center of Tartu lined with rows of linden trees, bisects these territories. This sanctuary does not reflect the site’s history in its current state, as it was previously occupied by building structures that among other things housed a market before the second world war. On an urban scale the proposal takes all these aspects into consideration, becoming an extension of the existing and historic conditions of the site and its surroundings.

The proposed Cultural Centre is located in the southern part of the site, preserving the more archeologically sensitive parts. The building’s plinth aligns with the grid plan of the city on three sides, with the fourth facing the old yet new Kauba Street. The highest part of the building is within the limits of the detailed planning terms of the competition and aligns with the surrounding buildings.

The competition task calls forth balancing different interests. With the given set of parameters in terms of size of the program and restrictions in height, the interest in preserving trees and nature suggest a small building footprint with much of the programme buried underground. Another interest, that of building an eco-friendly and sustainable Cultural Centre may suggest another approach. A third one is meeting the budget. This proposal balances these criteria to create a space that serves and benefits both the community and the environment.

The motto of this proposal, Laputa, is in reference to Jonathan Swifts Gulliver’s Travels, in which the protagonists encounter an island that defies gravity and floats in the sky. The imagery being that, in order to preserve as much of the existing park as possible, the part of the park being cut out to make room for the building is then placed back onto the roof, with the appearance of the park floating above ground. Introducing multiple storeys to the park provides habitats for more species, along with offering more views of the city.