Pere: Tallinna hospital’s new design procurement should be cancelled in Estonia

Tallinn has announced a new international design tender for the main works and the preparation of the architectural and interior architectural work programme for the largest hospital complex in Estonia, the Tallinn Hospital.

The family told ERR on Monday that unfortunately the wishes of the Estonian Association of Architects and doctors were ignored when preparing the tender.

“In both the coalition agreement and the city government’s action plan, it was very clearly stated that the design of the Tallinn hospital could continue to be done in cooperation with the Estonian Association of Architects. I was unhappy when I read that on Friday
“I read a press release about the design procurement, then I called Sven Kruub, who was in charge, and found out that they had deliberately ignored this agreement. They didn’t even call or write to the Estonian Association of Architects to discuss what kind of cooperation could be possible,” Pere said.

Family members said Tarin was building a giant structure out of mud.

“Tallinn Hospital is one of the largest and most expensive buildings in the city and the country, and in the future it should be able to cure almost all of Estonia. Doctors need a new hospital, a new building. Therefore, we have to order the best solutions that take into account their needs,” Pere said.

“That’s why we architects are not concerned with aesthetics, but with the functionality of a building and its surroundings. For example, how well lit a hospital is, or what the layout of the building’s rooms is. How does all this contribute to people’s treatment, for example, and how do we solve spatial planning and therefore doctors’ concerns?” Perret continued.

“At the time, when we chose this building, or when the previous municipality chose the project for this building — the cheapest solution — the architect was not involved until a week before the tender was announced,” Perret said.

According to the deputy mayor, Tallinn is now in a situation where it has burned through money and abandoned the original designer. “Why – because the city ordered the cheapest solution, not the best one for the needs of the medical sector,” Pere said.

“At the moment, our situation in Tallinn has probably ordered a lot
“My suggestion is to resolve the current situation by cancelling the tender announced on Friday and taking a break for two to three months, and the Estonian Association of Architects will conduct a review in cooperation with doctors, analysing what we need to order and whether it is completely necessary to order a completely new building project,” Pere said.

“Because if we commit €500 million, about €5 million will be reinvested in the organization of the tournament.
It’s 0.1% of this amount, and if we order the cheapest solution, in the first year or two we will start patching or building more buildings, or building on clay foundations somewhere,” the deputy mayor said.

In the summer of 2021, an international open tender for the design of the Tallinn Hospital was launched. The joint bidders ATIproject srl and 3TI Progett won the bid and signed the design contract in November 2021.

In March this year, SA Tallinna Haigla Arendus and the designer terminated the design contract by mutual agreement because the city of Tallinn was dissatisfied with the designer’s work. According to the agreement, the designer transferred the project documents and all copyrights related to the subsequent use of the project to the client.