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Out of four award categories, the Tallinn Seaplane Harbour became the winner in the category of conservation of culture heritage objects that had the toughest competition. There were 15 finalists in this category, the Estonia couture ministry said.

The Europa Nostra homepage notes that the hangars at the Tallinn Seaplane Harbour, begun in 1912, are the most important engineering landmark in the region. They are thought to be the first large-scale reinforced concrete shell structure in the world. When the hangars were first built, The Builder, a British architectural journal, compared them with Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

The Seaplane Harbour received recognition for the excellent and technically complicated restoration of the hangars that were on the verge of collapsing by the time the restoration work began in 2009.

Culture Minister Rein Lang said that Europa Nostra award is the higher recognition for restoring cultural heritage in Europe. "Getting the recognition shows that Estonia has top level architects, engineers, restorers and builders who can not just rescue remarkable heritage objects but also create new value on the basis of that to next generations," said Lang, thanking for cooperation KOKO architects, Nordecon, Tallinn Technical University and the team of the Seaplane Harbour.