Türi Middle School is a well-executed example of a contemporary school—breaking preconceptions about the organisation of space, encouraging new practices that involve alterations by the users, and offering spatial solutions for socialising as well as withdrawing.
Over the course of the past thirty years, designing school spaces has migrated from being a marginally positioned subject matter to the centre of focus in the field of architecture, supported by scientific studies and continual research and development. The spaces for learning have acquired a new image and meaning.
Andres Sevtsuk is a Professor of Urban Science and Planning at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT, where he also leads the City Form Lab. Maroš Krivý is a professor of Urban Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts.They shared their insights on current state and challenges of Estonian architecture.
Known for its openness to change, Mäetaguse borough has successfully combined its central area comprising buildings of various eras and the great outdoor space into an effective and comprehensive environment.
The monument dedicated to Lydia Koidula and Johann Voldemar Jannsen near the Arch Bridge in Tartu may be discussed primarily in two respects – in terms of sculptures and landscape architecture. The memorial square strives for the human-scale but how successful is it?
How to design public spaces to make us enjoy our daily movement?
One thing that is shattering Annelinn's negative image is the "switching on" of spaces that to date have gone without a programme. A good example is the square in front of the garage complex on Anne Street, which flirts with its old image but also with new values, acting like a buffer between different ways of thinking. It is not clearly defined what kind of activities or target audience the stops and rest spots should accommodate – there is a certain flexibility, various methods of use and room for interpretation
This issue of Maja focusses on infrastructure, first and foremost on the architecture of street space. Good architecture creates unity, is capable of solving problems and enables what at first appear to be conflicting interests to be realised. Connections that go unmade in a[n urban] space are like missed opportunities.
It was not easy to aim for a better public space and more human-friendly and diverse street space. Creating an aesthetic city space and a functioning whole was an even more elusive task. It was difficult to explain to the mayor back then what I meant by social space. This combination of words probably gave him a different kind of idea, since the Social Democrats were still in opposition back then. And because all of these ideas were from the point of view of those who actually use urban space (in other words those who don't use cars), many thought they would inhibit progress.
