Tallinn, Estonia
When the Ülemiste Terminal opens in the capital of Estonia (projected for 2026), the ultra-modern transportation hub will be an international transit station, a public pedestrian overpass, and yet another unbelievably beautiful train station in Europe.
The sleek design was selected as the winning entry in a 2019 international competition held by Rail Baltica, a planned railway system that will integrate Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—as well as Finland, indirectly—into Europe’s high-speed rail network.
The submitted entries were evaluated by a nine-member jury headed by Riia Sillave, the CEO of Rail Baltic Estonia. The jury also included Allan Remmelkoor (Pro Kapital Eesti AS), Andrus Noor (AS Eesti Raudtee/Estonian Railways Ltd), Andrus Kaldalu (Mainor Ülemiste), Tallinn’s longtime chief city architect Endrik Mänd, Mattias Agabus (author of the structural plan of the Ülemiste area), Janis Dripe, former Latvian Minister of Culture and also an architect, as well as Danish architects Jesper Gottlieb and Thomas-Grave Larsen.
The winning designs include:
• 1st place and € 28 000 – LIGHT STREAM. Joint submission by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and OÜ Esplan.
• 2nd place and € 21 000 – THE ÜLEMISTE LEAF. Submitted by Innopolis Insenerid OÜ.
• 3rd place and € 14 000 – VIDEVIK/TWILIGHT. Joint submission by DBA Progetti S.p.A. and HML Project Management OÜ.
• The fourth place was awarded to the concept design titled SIHT/DESTINATION submitted by Molumba OÜ who received a € 7000 encouragement prize.
The winning high-speed train terminal is helmed by Zaha Hadid Architects—the namesake firm of the late British Iraqi architect behind some of the world’s most famous modern buildings—in collaboration with Estonian architecture firm Esplan.
Located in the heart of Tallinn, Estonia, the futuristic transportation hub will also function as an elevated public walkway above the capital city’s streets.
The proposal imagines the station as a giant sinuous bridge, snaking perpendicularly to the railway tracks and gradually twisting 45 degrees at its centre.
This form was dictated by the layout of the station’s circulation routes, which will include a public pedestrian bridge, and the intersection of bus, tram and rail lines.
“I am more than convinced that the area is becoming one of the most attractive and, in terms of infrastructure, synergistic in Tallinn,” said Taavi Aas, Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure.
“A true multi-modal transport hub is emerging, with rail, bus and air traffic coming together there in the future.”
When completed, Tallinn’s transit hub will mark the starting point for this 540-mile railway system between the Estonian capital and the Lithuanian-Polish border, which will connect the city directly with Riga, the capital of Latvia, and Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
The high-speed train terminal in Tallinn, Estonia, is slated for completion by 2026.
Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Design Team: Patrik Schumacher, Gianluca Racana, Ludovico Lombardi, Michele Salvi, Luciano Letteriello, Kate Revyakina, Serra Pakalin, Yuzhi Xu, Anthony Awanis, Hendrik Rupp, Davide del Giudice
Executive Architects: Esplan
Client: Rail Baltica Estonia
