Tallinn Architecture Biennale

“Beauty Matters: The Resurgence of Beauty” is the topic for the next Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB 2019.  Many architects still associate the word beauty with shallowness, old world, or non-progressive values, cultural bias expressed in architecture and also in politics, psychology, poetry and music. Paradoxically, the first measure of good architecture continues to be its capacity to create a great aesthetic experience.  The pursuit of beauty ceased to be a leading generator in architectural design in the early 1940s, when objective considerations were promoted as rational and pragmatic and subjective decision making seen as irrelevant. Advances in disciplines such as neurobiology suggest that civilisation could not exist in the absence of pleasure, including the experience beauty. Beauty is part of the neurobiological structure that makes us not only happier, but healthier.The first buds of a new interest in aesthetics are emerging in architectural discourse. This cultural shift returns us towards the individual’s role in generating fresh knowledge; its importance in decision making is coming to the fore in many disciplines, breathing new life into the status of aesthetics and beauty

The selected head curator is Dr Yael Reisner, a registered architect in Israel, who works and lives in London (Yael Reisner Studio). Curators‘ assistants roles in the TAB curatorial team has been appointed to architect Liina Soosaar(Tallinn), who has recently graduated from Architecture and Urban Design at the Estonian Academy of Arts and architect Barnaby Gunning (London), from Principal, Barnaby Gunning(London).

Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB is an international architecture and urban planning festival with a diverse programme that promotes architectural culture. TAB encourages synergy between Estonian and foreign architects as well as between architects and the general public by way of creating contacts and exchanging ideas. The core programme consists of five main events: Curatorial Exhibition, Symposium and Vision Competition (all curated by TAB head curator Dr Yael Reisner), an International Architecture Schools’ Exhibition and Installation Programme. Moreover, the programme is accompanied by a diverse Satellite Programme, that consists of exhibitions, lectures, installations, architectural film projections and other events spread around the city. 

The curatorial topic was selected from the international open call for the 5th installment of TAB. The winning entry was proposed by Dr Yael Reisner and Johanna Jõekalda.

TAB is organized by Estonian Centre for Architecture.