Space is not something straightforward and given, it emerges from transposition and transformation. Actual space is never uniform, but contains prioritised directions that are bound to our agential needs. However, postponing the individual needs creates possibilities for rethinking and redesigning the space. This yields powerful results, although one should not get overly entangled in admiring them. These results are just fulcrums for further transformations.
When it comes to housing policy, we talk about something very dear to all of us—our homes. Now is a good time to review what we have already accomplished, and to detect the main shortcomings and obstacles but also the missed opportunities in developing the housing sector. The topic is discussed by the Head of Housing Policy of the Ministry of Climate Veronika Valk-Siska.
We have gained an unprecedented amount of trust from our employers. Work has suddenly become dispersed, taking place asynchronously at different locations and different times. One gets a sense now of deeper reflection on how companies should organise their work and inspire their workers. This has led to a shift in understanding—what takes place within the environment has begun to affect the environment itself and its fundamental idea, which in turn guides the aesthetic decisions on space.
For the current article, I spoke with two architect and interior architect tandems whose cooperation has become their preferred form of creative effort: Kalle Vellevoog and Tiiu Truus as well as Mihkel Tüür, Ott Kadarik and Kadri Tamme.
Teist põlve arhitekt Ralf väidab, et tal ei ole eriala suhtes illusioone; seda muljetavaldavama järjekindlusega seisab ta projekteerimisprotsessis arhitektuurse tuumidee säilimise eest. Arhitektiks olemine defineerib Ralfi kogu tegevust ja maailmavaadet töötegemisest reisimiseni – võib-olla ainult muusikal õnnestub hetkiti samavõrdse tähelepanu eest võistelda. Küsis Ingrid Ruudi.
How did a landmark in wooden architecture—the largest public wooden building in Estonia—come to be?
In the building reconstructed by Salto, the space definitely does not compete with the content as it tends to happen in the exhibition venues built during the so-called museum boom in the 1990s, such as Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim art museum. The adjustments here are highly refined and tasteful. It might be even said that a little boring, surprisingly neutral for Salto’s work. The red building is still red with the characteristic red brick kind of retained but in an ornately polished way.
The renovation of 44 Queen’s Gate Terrace was completed more than a year ago, after which the embassy’s doors were also opened to visitors, whose numbers have risen impressively. A fair testament to high public interest in the building is the fact that on the city’s annual embassy open-doors day, the Estonian Embassy was so popular that the amount of people wishing to tour it exceeded the limited time frame allowed.
