An Oasis of Calm in a Fast-paced World. The challenges and opportunities of Hiiumaa Comprehensive Plan
Hiiumaa municipality architect Kaire Nõmm takes a look at what life could be like on one of Estonia’s main islands.
kaire
3-2024 (117): Infrastructure
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.
A Residential Quarter like a Hedgehog
Elo Kiivet revisits Tulbi-Veeriku quarter in Tartu where the friction between these two dimensions has given rise to one of the most praised new neighbourhoods of early noughties in Estonia.
A Cooperatively Developed Rooftop in Vilnius
In Vilnius, a group of friends came together to acquire the top floor of a Soviet-era factory building. They later cooperatively developed it into their homes. Laura Linsi talks to Mantas Peteraitis about how the project came to be.
Community-Lead Housing
Community-led housing development is leading the way from speculati ve to non-profit housing construction models. Eneli Kleemann and Helena Rummo discuss the spatial possibilities that come with it.
Architecture in the Renovation Marathon. The race of energy efficiency, modernist heritage and spatial integrity
Improving the architectural quality of the existing housing stock requires integrating engineering solutions with architectural decisions. In the ongoing renovation marathon, it is important to discuss what kind of added value could be drawn from the existing to unleash the full spatial potential of renovation and to create good user-friendly spaces, writes Diana Drobot.
More Efficient Together. Area-Based Renovation of Residential Buildings
So far, residential renovation has mainly targeted single buildings, but the idea of area-based renovation is becoming increasingly widespread.
The Marketised Domestic Interior. A feminist critique
The Danish architect Mette Johanne Hübschmann analyses the domestic interiors of similarly speculative housing development from a feminist standpoint.
Estonian Housing Policy on the Threshold of a Relaunch
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.
Hot Bath and Cold Deal: Living space’s two faces
Why not set a higher value on dispersal? Instead of living in just one place, and trying in vain to gather yourself together there, why not have five or six rooms dotted about Paris?
