Construction works on the new building at the Arvo Pärt Centre have reached an important milestone: most of the building is now covered with a roof, and so reaches the maximum height of 10.55 metres.
In celebration of this event, the Arvo Pärt Centre held a topping-out party to thank and treat the builders and the main contractor of the construction works, AS Ehitustrust.
The topping-out wreath was brought down from the roof by Anu Kivilo, the Managing Director of the Centre, Immanuel Pärt, Member of the Board, and the composer Arvo Pärt.
“In the past year I have experienced every day that the art of building is a real art form, where each meticulous action creates something visibly new. We are truly grateful to the builders for their devotion, accuracy and thoughtfulness,” said Anu Kivilo praising the builders.
The construction of the Arvo Pärt Centre’s new building started in March 2017 and it should be completed by May 2018 after which the interiors will be furnished and the exhibition will be laid out before the opening. In autumn 2018 during the 100th birthday celebrations of the Republic of Estonia the Centre should be open to the public.
The architects of the new building for the Arvo Pärt Centre are Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano from the Spanish architecture firm NietoSobejano Arquitectos, S.L.P, whose work “Tabula” was declared winner of the 2014 international architectural competition. The construction designs for the building were completed in collaboration with the architecture firm Luhse & Tuhal from Estonia.
The area of the new building will be 2,348 m2, and it will house the archives, a library, a 140-seat auditorium, an exhibition area, a video room, classrooms, and rooms for the employees.
The new building will provide an opportunity to carry out various activities related to the work of Arvo Pärt. On the one hand, it is an integral personal archive; on the other, it is a research and learning environment open to a wider range of topics with ‘creating’ and ‘creativity’ at the heart of the Centre.
The Arvo Pärt Centre’s new building is financed by the Estonian government.