The Estonian Centre for Architecture (ECA) has announced that Stuudio TÄNA and Mark Aleksander Fischer will curate the 8th International Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB 2026), after winning the curatorial competition with their proposal titled "How Much?". The winning concept explores the critical question of what affordability truly means in contemporary architecture, challenging conventional notions of cost-effectiveness in the built environment. The biennale is scheduled to take place in Estonia's capital city from September 9 to November 30, 2026.
The Tallinn Architecture Biennale has established itself as Estonia's premier international festival dedicated to architecture and the built environment since its inception in 2011. Over the years, the event has featured exhibitions, lectures, seminars, architectural tours, satellite events, and installations throughout Tallinn, creating a comprehensive platform for architectural discourse and innovation.
Among ten submissions to the curatorial competition, "How Much?" distinguished itself through its critical examination of the modernist concept of "cheapness," where supposedly cost-effective solutions have often proven expensive in social, environmental, and cultural terms over extended periods. The curators acknowledge an international context dominated by short-term efficiency and market-driven solutions that frequently overlook the true complexity of costs associated with architectural projects.
The curatorial team's primary objective for TAB 2026 is to explore how architecture can maintain affordability not only during the construction phase but throughout its entire lifespan, spanning decades or even centuries. This comprehensive approach to cost consideration represents a significant departure from traditional architectural economics that focus primarily on initial construction expenses.
The exhibition will investigate the concept of affordability through several interconnected themes, including shared investment strategies, efficient space utilization, systematic repetition in design, longevity of materials and structures, adaptability to changing needs, simplicity in execution, reuse of existing materials and structures, and compactness in planning. These themes will be examined within broader contexts of resource scarcity, resilience planning, and architectural innovation.
Drawing on both Estonian and international examples, TAB 2026 aims to bring together architects and related professionals in a critical dialogue about how "cheap" can be transformed into a positive and sustainable quality in shaping future built environments. This approach seeks to redefine affordability as a virtue rather than a compromise in architectural practice.
The Estonian collective Stuudio TÄNA consists of four founding members: Tristan Krevald, Kertu Johanna Jõeste, Ra Martin Puhkan, and Siim Tanel Tõnisson. Established in 2022 and based in Tallinn, the studio approaches cities, landscapes, and buildings as interconnected systems, designing for real users and everyday life rather than abstract theoretical models.
Stuudio TÄNA's methodology combines extensive fieldwork, stakeholder engagement, prototyping, cost-benefit analysis, and post-occupancy evaluation. The practice integrates policy research when relevant and shares results through exhibitions and educational initiatives. Working frequently in conditions of periphery, scarcity, and demographic decline, the studio emphasizes pragmatic solutions that support daily life and address real community needs.
The studio's housing projects specifically address the housing crisis through scalable strategies designed to expand access and affordability. They also focus on the renovation and reconstruction of Soviet-era buildings through targeted research and adaptive reuse strategies, contributing to sustainable urban development practices.
Additionally, Stuudio TÄNA's educational practice functions as research-in-action, complemented by projects ranging from strategic spatial planning to temporary public space interventions. This multidisciplinary approach allows the studio to address various scales of architectural and urban challenges.
The winning concept was selected by a distinguished jury that praised its clarity, urgency, and relevance beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. The panel included Kristiina Reidolv, Director of the Estonian Centre for Architecture; Aet Ader from B210 and President of the Association of Estonian Architects; Jaan Kuusemets from DAGOpen and member of the TAB 2024 curatorial team; Sille Pihlak from PART Architects and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts; and Roland Reemaa from LLRRLLRR, who serves as a visiting lecturer at both the Estonian Academy of Arts and Central Saint Martins in London.
The jury commended the proposal's capacity to address the social implications of austerity and scarcity, taking them as both a starting point and an asset for spatial practice. The panel noted that the concept challenges architects to make difficult decisions about what to forgo and what to prioritize, asking how compelling architecture can emerge under constraint while sustaining local spatial cultures.
TAB 2026 promises to deliver a diverse program that will include the main Curatorial Exhibition, an academic Symposium, the Tallinn Vision Competition for emerging architects, and a comprehensive Installation Programme. These core events will be complemented by an interdisciplinary Satellite Programme featuring additional exhibitions and events throughout the city.
The themes explored in the two previous Tallinn Architecture Biennales have also addressed transdisciplinary issues, demonstrating the event's commitment to broader cultural and social questions. The 2022 edition focused on "Edible; Or, The Architecture of Metabolism," while the 2019 biennale explored "Beauty Matters: The Resurgence of Beauty" in contemporary architectural practice.
This focus on affordability aligns with global trends in architectural discourse, as other recent architecture events worldwide have similarly invited reflection on new directions for practice. The XXIII Chilean Architecture and Urbanism Biennial organized around the concept of "understanding architecture not as the production of the new, but as the ability to reactivate what already exists," using a restored church ruin as its main pavilion. Meanwhile, the 5th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism featured installations responding to the theme "Radically More Human," envisioning architecture that behaves more like a living organism than a static object. The first Copenhagen Architecture Biennial recently concluded by inviting reconsideration of the pace of transformation in the built environment amid global pressures including rapid urbanization, resource consumption, and climate change.
