In 2013, Allied Works was awarded second prize in an international design competition for the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia. With a mission to preserve and promote the celebrated Estonian composer’s legacy, the Centre is situated in a magnificent natural setting, within a pine forest on a peninsula near the Baltic Sea.
Taking inspiration from these surroundings, Allied Works’ design for the Arvo Pärt Centre was conceived as a conversation of earth and sky, a place of intersection where stone, wood and light come together. The building inscribes the earth with a field of stone walls, defining the Centre’s domain within the conifer forest. Above, a flowing form of timber rises and falls over the stone walls and sheltered courts. The roof forms help to define distinct spaces within the Center, and create a range of acoustic and lighting conditions with variations in focus, orientation and intensity. Honoring the ethics, life and work of Arvo Pärt, the Centre is a place between: the individual and community, sound and silence, earth and sky, life and remembrance.