OUTSET
On the Nature of Work
Indrek Rünkla

OUTSET
What Is the Result of an Architect’s Work?
Madli Kaljuste, Laura Linsi

CONVERSATION
Hours and Cost of Architects’ Work
Madli Kaljuste, Ülo-Tarmo Stöör, Mari Rass, Mihkel Tüür

IN PRACTICE
Garbage Kids
Madli Kaljuste, Ülo-Tarmo Stöör, Mari Rass, Mihkel Tüür, Luka Abašidze, Ulla Alla, Nika Gabiskiria

INTERVIEW
Elke Krasny. Working with Care in Architecture
Hanna Eliise Kitter, Saskia Krautman

ESSAY
Labour in Times of Rupture
Matti Jänkälä, Ella Kaira

PROJECT
Kopli 93 Community Courtyard
Tallinn, Estonia
Spatialist Studio
Anni Martin

INTERVIEW
Logi sauna
Tallinn, Estonia
Kaisa Sööt, Margit Säde, Regina Viljasaar-Frenzel, Liina-Liis Urke, Diana Drobot, Linda-Li Arro

ÈTUDE
Lunchbreak. Sanga
Tallinn, Estonia
barbed project x Maria Helena Luiga
Sandra Nuut

OUTSET
Leaving Cahokia
Priit-Kalev Parts

IN PRACTICE
When Buildings Grow from the Ground They Stand On
Clara Kernreuter, Maria Helena Luiga

ÈTUDE
Coffee break. KALVE
Tallinn, Estonia
Field Studio
Malle Jürgenson

ESSAY
Edible City
Henri Kopra, Iiris Tähti Toom, Bianka Plüschke-Altof

ESSAY
Like a Hot Potato
Ieva Zībārte

ÈTUDE
In memoriam: The Central Market
Margit Säde

ÈTUDE
Appetiser. Tummo
Vilnius, Lithuania
Mantas Peteraitis Architecture Studio
Ra Martin Puhkan

ESSAY
The Meat Paradox
Ingrid Ruudi

ÈTUDE
Tips For Filling Your Belly
Arvi Anderson

WORK AND FOOD

The aphorism ‘he who does not work, neither shall he eat’ originated in the New Testament, spread during the 17th-century colonisation of North America, and became famous in the eastern half of Europe through Lenin’s communist doctrine (although many Estonians instead think of Jüri Vlassov’s falsetto when encountering the phrase). Since there is some uncertainty about whether an architect who works shall always eat, this double issue of Maja examines the roles of work and food in architectural fields. What is an architect’s work, and what is its result? Is it a finished building, street, auditorium? Or is it an abstraction of these things—a design, i.e., project documentation that will be translated into a building by someone else? We asked several architecture collectives for their opinion. Tarmo Teedumäe and Toomas Tammis responded: ‘The result should be that some small portion of the world becomes slightly better—clearer, more systematic, more beautiful’. The role of the architect is often perceived as more than merely fulfilling a design contract: architects are expected to participate in and contribute to society’s cultural and value landscapes, although this is generally not defined in contracts. What is architects’ working time actually spent on, and how much does it cost? Who is paying for this work? At a time when much of what architects do is financed by speculation on the real estate market, Matti Jänkälä and Ella Kaira argue that market demand alone cannot be taken to indicate social value or need. How do practices at the margins—those of activists, grant writers, self-builders—affect the future of (architects’) work and its results? Indrek Rünkla surmises that the keys to survival in a changing world may lie precisely at the edges, under sharp stones. Arvi Anderson used his professional skills observing the peculiarities of the landscape, and was soon bringing home garbage bags full of delicious morels. Landscapes embody the proclivities not only of morels but also of human society, whose current trends are likely to leave us malnourished in the era of post-sustainability. Social habits and patterns of interaction are reflected and reinforced in smaller spaces too, such as at markets, dining rooms, cafés, canteens, and restaurants. Yet, these places and the meals enjoyed there largely depend on vast industrial systems, such as the global meat industry, whose links to architecture are examined by Ingrid Ruudi. That said, the cultivation, preparation, and sharing of food can also be a prefigurative practice, probing the logic of space and the limits of societal possibilities.
For the New Year, we wish you joy in your work and a good appetite!

Editor-in-chief Laura Linsi
Editor Madli Kaljuste
December, 2025

Design: Unt / Tammik