The 8th edition of Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB 2026) will question cost, value, and sustainability in architecture with the theme “How Much?”. Curated by Kertu Johanna Jõeste, Ra Martin Puhkan and Siim Tanel Tõnisson from Stuudio TÄNA (Estonia) together with Mark Aleksander Fischer (Estonia) and Mira Samonig (Austria), TAB 2026 will run from September 9th – November 30th, 2026.
TAB 2026 examines the paradox of “cheapness” in architecture, encouraging architects to innovate within financial constraints while considering the broader, often hidden, costs of construction: social, ecological, and temporal. Rather than simply focusing on the price of materials or construction, TAB 2026 challenges architects to think about the long-term consequences of design choices, including their impact on communities and the environment.
Through the main exhibition and a programme of competitions, a symposium and collaborations across academic and artistic fields, TAB 2026 tells various tales of how “cheap” is a critical, even generative mode of practice.
Divorced from its narrow financial connotation, it challenges an architectural production submitted to a fundamental mechanism of capitalism – of getting more out for less put in.
MAIN CURATORIAL EXHIBITION
The main curatorial exhibition presents nine projects by nine architectural practices—three local, three regional, and three international—responding to the binding question “How much?” through spatial practice. All contributors work from the same brief, establishing shared parameters: the wider cost of architecture across its lifespan, a common context of a slowly dissolving architectural structure inhabited by natural decomposers, within which the works must persist, and a narrative format, using the tale as a medium capable of accommodating both speculative and built approaches. Rather than proposing a single programmatic answer, the exhibition stages contrasts, showing how frugality at different scales, from large urban interventions to more intimate architectural works, can generate social, ecological, and design value over time.
Building on this diversity of approaches, “How Much?” unfolds through five thematic interconnected sections. It looks at how working together can reduce costs while enhancing quality, how repetition and thoughtful efficiency can preserve integrity, and how simple, adaptable systems allow architecture to be both flexible and resilient. It considers the power of compact, dense design to minimize waste, and celebrates the transformation of existing structures into sustainable spaces that honor their history. Together, these approaches show that constraints are not limitations but catalysts, sparking innovation, social responsibility, and ecological care in every project.
VISION COMPETITION
Alongside the main curatorial exhibition, TAB 2026 is launching its Vision Competition “From Void to Value”, inviting architects, urbanists, and designers to propose innovative solutions for reimagining Tallinn’s UNESCO-listed Old Town. Focused on the southern edge of the Old Town, a historically significant area damaged during the 1944 bombings, the competition challenges participants to propose strategies that balance heritage preservation with the demands of contemporary urban life, reactivating this urban void and reconnecting it with the wider city.
Key to the competition is the rethinking of Harju Street, a major thoroughfare in the area. Proposals should explore how to transform public spaces, unused buildings, and vacant urban voids into vibrant and accessible places that meet the needs of both residents and tourists.
The complete Vision Competition brief is available here!
The deadline for submissions is April 27th, 2026, with winners announced by May 6th, 2026. Selected proposals will be exhibited at TAB 2026. The competition awards include:
- first prize 4.499,99 €
- second prize 2.499,99 €
- third prize 1.499,99 €
- five honourable mentions.
The competition will be evaluated by an international jury comprising of Triin Talk (Heritage and conservation specialist, PhD candidate at the Estonian Academy of Arts), Keiti Lige (Visions Architect at the City of Tallinn), Klaske Havik (Professor at Delft University of Technology), Siiri Vallner (Architect and partner at Kavakava), and Siim Tanel Tõnisson (Architect and TAB 2026 curator, co-founder of Stuudio TÄNA).
OPEN CALL
TAB 2026 Open Call invites architects, designers, artists, researchers, journalists, collectives, and other spatial practitioners to propose events and exhibitions within the biennale framework, responding in their own way to the central theme of “How Much?” and the broader questions of cost, value, and sustainability in architecture.
Proposals can include existing works or ongoing projects adaptable to the biennale context. TAB provides venues, visibility, and documentation, but production costs are self-funded. Submission must be sent by March 31st, 2026, as a one-page PDF (max 2.000 characters) accompanied by conceptual or reference images, sent to [email protected] with the subject line “Open Call.”
Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB)
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 elements: Curatorial Exhibition, Symposium, Tallinn Vision Competition, Installation Programme, and a Catalogue. Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB is organized by the Estonian Centre for Architecture.
This year, TAB 2026 is titled “How much?”. As the curatorial team states, the biennale challenges us to rethink what affordability truly means in architecture today and will be curated by Stuudio TÄNA.
TAB 2024 “Resources For a Future” was curated by Anhelina L. Starkova with Daniel A. Walser and Jaan Kuusemets.
TAB 2022 “Edible; Or, The Architecture of Metabolism” was curated by Lydia Kallipoliti and Areti Markopoulou in collaboration with local advisor Ivan Sergejev.
TAB 2019 “Beauty Matters” was curated by Dr Yael Reisner. The biennale focused on how beauty matters again, reflecting a cultural shift after nearly eighty years of dormancy when beauty was a tabooed and denigrated subject. TAB 2017 “bioTallinn”, curated by Claudia Pasquero (ecoLogicStudio), challenged the typical assumptions of what constitutes the boundaries between the natural and artificial realms.
TAB 2015 “Self-Driven City”, curated by Marten Kaevats, explored future cities with self- driven cars, whilst TAB 2013 “Recycling Socialism”, curated by Aet Ader, Kadri Klementi, Karin Tõugu, and Kaidi Õis, redefined the Soviet-era urban environment in Tallinn. Lastly,
TAB 2011 “Landscape Urbanism” was curated by Villem Tomiste.
Studio TÄNA
Studio TÄNA was founded in 2021 by a group of architecture students from the Estonian Academy of Arts. The name TÄNA means “today” in Estonian. It reflects the studio’s intention to emphasise the present moment and the existing condition—the real, lived situation a project is rooted in. While this reality inevitably contains projections of both past and future, Studio TÄNA’s work is always anchored in the present: in what already exists, what is accessible, and what is possible here and now.
Since graduating, the studio has remained active across a wide spectrum of architectural and cultural practice, including the planning and design of public space, curating exhibitions, and tutoring at the Estonian Academy of Arts. They have also been very actively participating in architecture competitions, consistently achieving notable awards and recognition.
The studio’s work is grounded in site-specific, pragmatic and socially responsive solutions. Operating frequently in contexts marked by periphery, scarcity and shrinkage, Studio TÄNA embraces compromise, simplicity and careful attention to everyday use. User experience and social context stand at the core of its design approach, shaping an understanding of architecture not as a spectacle or monument, but as everyday architecture—a quiet and essential framework that structures and supports daily life.
Studio TÄNA is composed of four architects: Kertu Johanna Jõeste, Ra Martin Puhkan and Siim Tanel Tõnisson. In addition to completing their MSc studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts, they have studied architecture in Aarhus, Helsinki, Jerusalem and Budapest.
Read more about the Curational Team here!
Facts & Credits
Title Tallinn Architecture Biennale – TAB 2026 “How Much?”
Opening Week 9—13 September 2026
Dates 9 September — 30 November 2026
Curators Kertu Johanna Jõeste, Ra Martin Puhkan and Siim Tanel Tõnisson (Stuudio TÄNA, Estonia), Mark Aleksander Fischer (Estonia) and Mira Samonig (Austria)
Production Estonian Centre for Architecture
Curatorial Exhibition Production Estonian Centre for Architecture
Main Partners Estonian Association of Architects, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Tallinn City Government, Estonian Academy of Arts
Graphic Design Stuudio Stuudio
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