Eesti Pank has announced a public competition for designs for a complete reimagining of its museum under the name Rahamu to create a space that is exciting and educational and aimed primarily at schoolchildren. Rahamu will play the roles of visitor centre, educational base, and site for discussions about economic issues. The prize fund for the design competition totals 14,000 euros, and entries can be submitted until 2 April.

“The purpose of Rahamu will be to make society more aware of how the economy and finance function, so that people can make smarter choices with their money”, said chair of the competition panel and Deputy Governor of Eesti Pank Ülo Kaasik. “We want the competition to give us ideas for Rahamu, which will above all be an education and visitor centre where visitors can explore information and understanding about the economy in different ways, while having a memorable experience and being able to take a hands-on part themselves”.

Eesti Pank is looking for designs that bring together the historical interiors of the Eesti Pank rooms, a modern museum and educational centre, and a space where events can be held. The refreshed and expanded Rahamu will have floor space of 657 m². Construction work will start at the end of 2025 and Rahamu should open its doors to visitors in the first half of 2026.

Competition entries will need to contain a vision for the interior design and the exhibitions together with ideas for the graphics and visuals, and must be submitted to the state public procurement register. Invited are ideas which use the space in a multifunctional way, whilst providing an educational experience about how the finance system functions and the central bank’s role in it. Assessment of the solutions proposed will focus on the main target group of Rahamu, which is school students, and will also consider environmental aspects of the solutions, the accessibility of the solutions, and the initial estimate of the cost.

The public procurement “Eesti Panga muuseumi (Rahamu) uuendamine” is now open in the procurement register. The price expected for the project work is up to 130,000 euros without VAT, and the prize fund for the design competition is 14,000. The designs submitted will be assessed by a panel of members from Eesti Pank, an educational organisation and the Estonian Association of Interior Architects. The panel will choose the winner of the competition, and the winners of second and third places in the competition.

The deadline for the submission of designs is 2 April 2024 at 14.00.

For further information:

Evelin Jürisson
Communications Specialist
Eesti Pank
6680 965
Press enquiries: [email protected]