(URBAN)LANDSCAPE
One of the ways to alleviate environmental problems might lie in architecture that brings people closer to their environment again. Estonia as a maritime nation has plenty of opportunities for this.
I believe that many a reader will imagine islands in the form of a curled-up coastline—after all, often there is little else there besides sea foam and bird screeching. Although Estonian islands are slowly growing in size, we still have a very large number of small islands—reefs, rocks, islets—whereas not so many islands where people would live all year round.
Jurga Daubaraitė, Egija Inzule and Jonas Žukauskas initiated Neringa Forest Architecture in Nida, Lithuania. They write about their work around a Baltic forest as a constructed space, an infrastructure, an environment reliant on human actions.
What is surprising and innovative about Fahle Park Gallery Street compared to earlier reconstructions of industrial architecture?
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.
Indrek Allmann discusses landward- and seaward-facing small harbours.
In Tallinn, we have had quite a lot of good visions for the future: development plans, studies, and strategies. Yet, we have not acted according to these ideas which has resulted in a different environment than envisioned—especially if we look at our mobility and the quality of public spaces. Our colleagues in Vilnius have created a simple street manual and it seems that they are successful at implementing it. We gathered Jonas and Anton from Vilnius to find out how they have done it.
There is a lot of talk about Pollinator Highway but what exactly is it, where it is located and what is its purpose?
Healthy Streets in Tartu is a guideline providing help for city officials or specialists working on spatial design.
It is no news to architects and real estate developers that the design of a new spatial environment usually begins with parking spaces as if it was the fundamental value. More and more practitioners, however, complain about the outdated mindset related to parking norms and the need for a new approach allowing to implement more sustainable decisions. Tartu city architect and the head of the spatial design department Tõnis Arjus discusses the city’s new ambitious online app considering the parking spaces according to the actual need.
