The Rotermann Quarter was the first ambitious attempt in independent Estonia to create a comprehensive and architecturally high-level urban space. 20 years have passed since the confirmation of the zoning plan that underlies the development of the area. Urbanist Mattias Malk examines what lessons could be drawn from the formation of this emblematic and groundbreaking space.
These days, to be is to be connected. Electricity, heat, road and street networks, internet connections, and water supply—it is as if all these intersecting and sometimes overlapping networks have become basic human rights. If these networks function well, our dependence on them goes unnoticed—we rarely take a moment to acknowledge the energy that travels across the sky, through underground and underwater pipelines, through wall cables, into millions of devices. On the other hand, when something disrupts the functioning of these networks, be it military aggression by a tyrannical neighbour, a sharp rise in prices, or catastrophic weather events, the political, economic, ethical, and often also spatial dimensions of these structures suddenly become apparent.
The nominees and winners of this year’s Maja and Sirp Publication Award were selected by historian, cultural critic and assistant professor at the University of Southern California Aro Velmet, who highlighted the articles’ bold takes on broader social issues.
Achieving balance in the planning of natural and artificial environments necessitates tools that provide both the expert and the resident a comprehensive overview of landscape quality in different regions. What are the tools to assist in the analysis of life-based data?
