The future Estonian National Museum will be located at the city of Tartu northern end. This site has a remarkable condition to become an urban park. The land is characterized by a lake and by distinct groups of trees that together anticipate this park condition and accentuates the site geographical character. Traces of Estonian History are not at architectural scale, but they rather consolidate large pieces on and around the site. Old building located at the northern side of the lake are in process of being restored, and other ones, like the old distillery, await a new function and the necessary recovery of the structure. This group of buildings, together with the large paved platform and other architectural vestiges at the site southern area next to Vahi Street, conform interlaced traces defined by history, and they arise as orientation pieces – fist insights – to take position at the site. Our first decision was to locate the ENM at the northern lake coast, opening views towards the city and the distinct buildings of the wonderful historical landscape of Tartu. The second decision taken was to articulate the main lake with the smaller and higher one, located at the south east of the site. To achieve this, it will be necessary to excavate the area as a way to match both water levels. The smaller water pound should be environmentally treated for its cleanness. This strategy means an important movement of land. To make this plausible we propose to use this excavated ground to infill those park areas where the landscape levels should move higher to match the rooftop terrace of the Museum. Third decision was to construct a ´time´ that could without effort articulate the old buildings and the new museum. An oxide tinted concrete wall that extend its horizontal cornice as a counterpoint with the topographical levels, places simultaneously the museum close and distant from the old buildings. This dense gesture places the ENM as an agent that contributes to reinforce the landscape attributes of the site, and therefore to become a geographical piece more than an urban extension. We have consider that the new Museum scale differs extremely to that of radii manor houses, and therefore must be placed with a distance where both can be conveniently perceived. The red wall perceived as a landscape element establishes a first limit. Towards east the three crystal volumes arise to enclose three closed wooded volumes. The permanent collection of the Museum remains protected inside. They are the main pieces that welcome visitors, and define the Museum character. These crystal pieces arising from the water complete the geographical intention of the project. At the other end of the red wall the existing buildings volumes place a balance and extend visually and programmatically the proposal. The open air auditorium ends the wall, and creates a place for large scale events with a front view to the lake. Our intention is to create a cultural center at the existing buildings of radii manor. The red wall will link two historical periods of the Museum, as it was functioning at the old house from 1920 to 1940. The old distillery located at mid distance from the new museum and the old complex will be used as a cafeteria/restaurant with a terrace towards the lake, and could easily accessible from both ends of the red wall. Behind the red wall the Museum program is developed accordingly to provide information to zones A to D. The three elements that grows higher that the red wall are the three exhibition crystals, they indicate the permanent collection as the most important part of the program. These rocks become landscape landmarks from the city, especially at night when it reflected light extend its geographical presence. The wall acts itself as a link with past and present. Steel oxide color proposed to pigment concrete will be a vivid landscape feature on those gray and somber days. When snow and ice transfrom all white, its vertical plane will still remain alive.
