Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB 2026 Curatorial Competition , Tallinn/ Estland

Press release | MINT LIST | 14.10.2025

Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2026 (TAB 2026) announces Curatorial Team and Winning Proposal "How Much?"

The Estonian Centre for Architecture is pleased to announce Stuudio TÄNA and Mark Aleksander Fischer as the Winners of the Curatorial Competition for the 8th international Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB 2026) www.tab.ee, which will be held in the Estonian capital city from 9 September to 30 November 2026.

Since its founding in 2011, the Tallinn Architecture Biennale has become Estonia’s leading international festival dedicated to architecture and the built environment. The 2026 edition promises to offer a rich and diverse programme, including the main Curatorial Exhibition, a Symposium, Tallinn Vision Competition, and Installation Programme, alongside a rich interdisciplinary Satellite Programme, all designed to foster dialogue, experimentation, and critical reflection on the future of architecture.

Among the ten submissions, the winning proposal titled “How Much?”, was submitted by the Estonian collective Stuudio TÄNA www.stuudiotäna.ee — composed of Tristan Krevald, Kertu Johanna Jõeste, Ra Martin Puhkan and Siim Tanel Tõnisson — and Mark Aleksander Fischer which challenges us to rethink what affordability truly means in architecture today. In a world dominated by short-term efficiency and market-driven solutions, the curators question the modernist idea of “cheapness”—where what seems cost-effective often proves expensive socially, environmentally, and culturally over time.

Rather than offering simple answers, the TAB 2026 opens a space to reflect on how we can create architecture that remains affordable not only at construction but across decades or even centuries. The exhibition explores affordability through interconnected themes including shared investment, efficient use of space, systematic repetition, longevity, adaptability, simplicity, reuse, and compactness.

Drawing on both Estonian and international examples, the TAB 2026 places these ideas in a broader context of scarcity, resilience, and innovation. The accompanying symposium will gather architects and experts from diverse fields to engage in a critical dialogue on how “cheap” can become a positive and sustainable quality in shaping the future built environment.

The winning concept was selected by a jury of leading figures from Estonia’s architectural and cultural spheres, who were particularly drawn to the proposal’s clarity, urgency, and resonance beyond disciplinary boundaries. Bringing together experience in architectural practice, education, and curatorial work, the panel included Kristiina Reidolv (Director of the Estonian Centre for Architecture), Aet Ader (B210, President of the Association of Estonian Architects), Jaan Kuusemets (DAGOpen, member of the TAB 2024 curatorial team), Sille Pihlak (PART Architects, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts), and Roland Reemaa (LLRRLLRR, visiting lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Arts and Central Saint Martins, London).

“In the face of current urgencies, we are facing globally such as geopolitical security issues, climate crises or increasing social and economic inequalities, it is important that the curatorial concept should resonate more broadly with what is happening in the society and spatial culture both in Estonia and the Nordic and Baltic countries. These relevant issues can and should be tackled through culture or history.”
— Kristiina Reidolv, Director of the Estonian Centre for Architecture.

The jury collectively recognized the theme’s importance and its broad societal implications:

“How Much?” takes austerity and scarcity as its starting point and asks how they might become assets in spatial practice. Stuudio TÄNA — a young architecture office — has decided to pursue this theme, a timely and well-judged choice. The question reaches beyond architecture or our region; it resonates across society and other disciplines. We want to know what to forgo and what to prioritise, how to produce compelling architecture under constraint, and how to sustain local spatial culture. Perhaps this isn’t possible at all. In any case, I look forward to the programme’s next steps over the coming year."
— Sille Pihlak, architect and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts, member of the TAB 2026 jury.

Further details about the programme and participants will be announced in the coming months.

CREDITS
Tallinn Architecture Biennale – TAB 2026
“How Much?”
TAB 2026 Dates
9 September — 30 November 2026
Curatorial Team:
Stuudio TÄNA (Tristan Krevald, Kertu Johanna Jõeste, Ra Martin Puhkan, Siim Tanel Tõnisson) and Mark Aleksander Fischer
Production:
Estonian Centre for Architecture
Curatorial Exhibition Production:
Estonian Centre for Architecture
Graphic Design:
Stuudio Stuudio