- Reset +

President Ilves announced the winner of the Young Architect Prize

12.02.2009

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves announced Siiri Vallner as the winner of Young Architect Prize at the general meeting of the Union of Estonian Architects held at the Kumu Art Museum.

The Head of State recalled that the works of architects influence our public space and thereby shape our value judgments and worldview. At the same time, architecture preserves history, and through architects, our public space shapes the future face of Estonia.

“I wish you individuality and daring, because this is what our society sorely needs today. Moreover, you can help to create it with your work by expanding the vistas of our ideas and awareness,” said President Ilves. “Narrow uniformity is imperial mentality and its antithesis is diversity. We have a considerably greater need for new and creative ideas than for just getting things done. In Estonia today, we must not be satisfied with just getting things done.”

The Head of State encouraged architects to use more wood in its various forms and configurations, bringing the wooden dwellings of Tallinn, Tartu and Haapsalu as an example. “Wood has formed our living environment for a very long time and it has shaped our worldview much more than the residential districts of Lasnamäe,” he said.

The Young Architect Prize is awarded by entrepreneur Heldur Meerits and the Go Travel agency in cooperation with the Union of Estonian Architects.

Office of the President
Public Relations Department
Phone +372 631 6229