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The building situated in the Laulasmaa seaside area some 35 kilometers from Tallinn is one of the 40 buildings shortlisted for this year's award, the Fundacio Mies van der Rohe said. 

The finalists were chosen from among 383 works from 238 cities in 38 countries, nominated by 76 independent experts, the national architecture associations and the Prize Advisory Committee.

The jury of the award is made up of Dorte Mandrup as the chairwoman, and George Arbid, Angelika Fitz, Stefan Ghenciulescu, Kamiel Klaasse, Maria Langarita and Frank McDonald as members.

Of the 40 hopefuls shortlisted for the final round, seven are projects built in France, six in Spain, four in Belgium, three in Austria and Denmark each, two in Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Romania each, as well as one each in Estonia, Albania, Finland, Poland, Portugal, Serbia and Slovakia.

In addition to EU member states, projects were submitted from Albania, Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Iceland, Norway, Kosovo, Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Initiated in 1987 after an agreement between the European Parliament and the Barcelona City Council, the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture -- Mies van der Rohe Award has been co-organized by the Fundacio Mies van der Rohe and the European Commission since 2001.

The prize is awarded biennially to works completed within the previous two years. The principal objectives are to achieve a thorough understanding of the transformation of Europe's built environment; to recognize and commend excellence and innovation in the field of architecture; and to draw attention to the important contribution of European professionals in the development of new ideas with the undeniable support of clients and the involvement of those who will become the users of these places.

The Prize Winner receives 60,000 euros and a sculpture that evokes the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion of Barcelona.

A winner will be picked also in the Emerging Architect category, who receives 20,000 euros together with the sculpture. According to the foundation, the Emerging Architect Winner is selected by the jury among those applicants who have not yet attained recognition by having a body of critically recognized work at major and established institutions or publishers.

Arvo Part Center, which opened in October 2018, has a total enclosed area of 2,348 square meters. It houses the archives of Arvo Part, a library, a 140-seat auditorium, an exhibition area, a video room, classrooms, and rooms for the employees.

The work "Tabula," by architects Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano from the Spanish architecture firm NietoSobejano Arquitectos, S.L.P, was declared winner in an international design competition in 2014.  

The value of the offer of construction company Ehitustrust AS chosen as the winner of the construction tender was 6.7 mln euros.