{"id":16963,"date":"2022-10-11T15:57:46","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T12:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/maja-on-maja-on-maja\/"},"modified":"2024-03-22T16:58:26","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T14:58:26","slug":"a-house-is-a-house-is-a-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/en\/a-house-is-a-house-is-a-house\/","title":{"rendered":"A House Is a House Is a House?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #23dede;\">THE GROUP EXHIBITION &#8220;THE HOUSES WE NEED&#8221;<\/span><br \/>Participants<\/strong>:\u00a0 Anna-Liisa Unt, Arhitektuurikool, b210, Elina Liiva ja Helena Rummo, Johanna J\u00f5ekalda ja Artur Sta\u0161kevit\u0161, Kadarik T\u00fc\u00fcr Arhitektid, KUIDAS, Leonhard Lapin, LLRRLLRR, Margit Mutso ja Inke-Brett Eek, Molumba, PART, PLUSS, Peeter Pere, Raoul Kurvitz, Stuudio Tallinn<br \/><strong>Curator<\/strong>: Jarmo Kauge<br \/><strong>\u2028Spatial design<\/strong>:\u00a0 Eva Kedelauk and Kristel Niisuke\u2028<br \/><strong>Graphic design<\/strong>: Margus Tamm<br \/>11.06-21.11.2021 at Estonian Museum of Architecture<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The group exhibition, The Houses We Need at Estonian Museum of Architecture (11.06-21.11.2021) showcases 16 commissioned designs for houses \u2018with the aim of ensuring a more beautiful, secure and peaceful future on planet Earth\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As much as I want to start skipping the pandemic as a talking point at the beginning of every article, crossing the gulf from Helsinki to Tallinn has probably never felt more like big-time travelling than it currently does. Also, I probably was not the only vaccinated EU citizen who was looking forward to a museum visit on a fine summer weekend. On that note, The Houses We Need, the 30th anniversary exhibition of the Arhitektuurimuuseum puts on a fresh-faced show, at least, for those of us still trying to foster some forms of utopianism in the evermore troubling global future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16958\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8216;A Game About the Future: What if&#8230;?&#8217;. School of Architecture<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But first, let\u2019s rewind that future back a few decades. While still onboard the ferry watching Tallinn\u2019s skyline slowly coming into focus, I could not help thinking how I have been travelling this way to Estonia ever since the early 1990s. And perhaps from the rather static perspective of Finnish architectural solemnity, <strong>contemporary Estonian architecture and urbanism has felt more reactive to current signals or tendencies<\/strong>, and willing to go through multiple speedy cycles. I remember the first glazed bank towers when they appeared in the Tallinn skyline, all the novel buildings that experimented with materials, colours and motifs as an exploration of newness. Then came the gradual (and on-going) gentrification of the old town, the neo-monumentalism of Kumu and the architectural reclaiming of the Freedom Square and other symbolic spots. Recently, art spaces, reappropriated industrial areas, heritage and urban edges have emerged. A lot of technological innovations, urban systems, exhibitions and new plans have been presented. But if this all has been a fast-forward development, then where are things currently?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"598\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-598x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16954\" style=\"width:541px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-598x1024.jpg 598w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-175x300.jpg 175w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x1315.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/3-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 876w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 598px) 100vw, 598px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8217;30&#8217;. Leonhard Lapin.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The more jaded view is that all<em> things<\/em> are becoming commercially and visually similar everywhere. That by now, we all live in an era where architecture or design is mostly mediated through screens, validated by Pinterest and our modes of criticality moulded by buzzwords on e-flux. So perhaps that is why it is quite refreshing to see an exhibition that talks about a <em>need for houses<\/em>, regardless of how they are defined. In this case, it is my interpretation that <strong>we are looking at houses as vehicles or vessels for architectural thinking<\/strong>, but in a way that is very much rooted in the media-centred and mediated contemporary experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16950\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8216;Supergreen&#8217;. Molumba architectural office.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The group exhibition, <em>The Houses We Need<\/em>, showcases 16 commissioned designs for houses \u2018with the aim of ensuring a more beautiful, secure and peaceful future on planet Earth\u2019. At face value, the phrasing may seem slightly na\u00efve, but in today\u2019s world, I somehow like its earnest tone. In conversing with museum director Triin Ojari, I find it inspiring to learn that the project originated from a round-table discussion with the museum staff, with them deciding to go ahead with photo archivist Jarmo Kauge\u2019s idea towards an exhibition. As Kauge\u2019s curatorial brief then called the contributors to come up with \u2018speculative solutions, raise questions and show alternatives\u2019, one may read it as a clear invitation to the visionary side of design practices. But for me, what stands out in the call is the <strong>institutional permission for a certain blue-eyedness<\/strong> and sense of irony. In today\u2019s curatorial world filled with urgency talk, it is indeed a welcome release. But let\u2019s finally step into the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/7-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/7-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16952\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/7-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/7-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/7-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/7-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8216;Hotel Paradox&#8217;. Helena Rummo and Elina Liiva.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The resident Estonian architectural visionary <strong>Leonhard Lapin\u2019s concrete architecton <em>30<\/em><\/strong> greets visitors at the entrance. As part of the exhibition, from the get-go I sense it represents the greatest amount of permanence displayed in the show. The sculpture-like form will remain in place even after the exhibition, at least for some years according to Ojari. Lapin\u2019s work is a comment on the potential of modern architecture, in comparison to contemporary property development\u2019s focus on making every square meter profitable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16972\" style=\"width:703px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 1700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8216;Allegory of a Water Treatment Plant&#8217;. Laura Linsi and Roland Reemaa<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The rest of the show operates very much in the context of today\u2019s information-ridden environment, although the 15 remaining projects are displayed together in a visually coherent space indoors. There is enough polish in the exhibition design and graphics for the showing to feel special for the occasion. The items and panels have been put on display following a strong \u2018Miesian\u2019 grid space that quite readily grants a license to talk conceptually about the future and other abstract things. The calm presentation works especially well with mostly pictorial presentations, such as <strong>Laura Linsi and Roland Reemaa\u2019s poetic panel painting <em>Allegory of a Water Treatment Plant<\/em><\/strong> as well as the delightfully Buckminster Fuller-esque <strong><em>Captain Nemo House<\/em> by artist Raoul Kurvitz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/5-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/5-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16970\" style=\"width:600px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/5-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/5-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/5-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/5-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8216;Captain Nemo House&#8217;. Raoul Kurvitz<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There is also <strong>a good amount of humour<\/strong>. The branding workshop-like display <strong><em>Supergreen<\/em> by young Estonian office Molumba<\/strong> is not too far-fetched from some actual brainstorming sessions I can vaguely remember having participated in. In <em><strong>Hotel paradox<\/strong><\/em> <strong>by Helena Rummo and Elina Liiva<\/strong>, scale models of futuristic hotel living play with spatial absurdity as a commentary on the future of the wastefully abundant Western lifestyles. Even Soviet-era housing realness is shown to have its quirks, displayed in the project <strong><em>New Forms of Equality<\/em> by Johanna J\u00f5ekalda and Artur Sta\u0161kevit\u0161<\/strong>. The work plays with the possibilities of more human-centric worlds amidst and in between the rough mass-produced housing blocks, looking into a future where the ideological messages of existing structures ultimately start to lose their imprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/11-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/11-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16946\" style=\"width:540px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/11-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/11-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/11-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/11-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8216;How do we need a house?&#8217; Group Kuidas (&#8216;How&#8217;).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Another angle that the exhibition puts on display, though more implicitly, is the <strong>ecological and post-humanist viewpoint<\/strong>. Starting from ecologist Tuuli Sepp\u2019s essay in the exhibition catalogue, the underlying sentiment is that perhaps we as species should not remain so overtly confident with our current understanding of living or building practices. Could we live without the comfort of contemporary buildings? I find some correlation with this line of thinking in the work <em><strong>How do we need a house?<\/strong> <\/em><strong>by group Kuidas<\/strong> <strong>(How)<\/strong>, which in a very minimal way shows layers of clay that are cast on site, creating a model of a possible habitat or a novel architectural system\u2014just in case we might need it, whenever we may run out of concrete, or so. Another solution-cum-question presented for the darker times ahead is the proposal <em><strong>Limestone<\/strong><\/em><strong> by architect Peeter Pere<\/strong>, presented with a diorama-like display of a limestone quarry in gripping detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/8-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"764\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/8-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x764.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16942\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/8-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x764.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/8-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/8-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x573.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/8-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 1222w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8216;Limestone&#8217;. Peeter Pere.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/10-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"763\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/10-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x763.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16948\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/10-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/10-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/10-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x572.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/10-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8216;Waste Temple&#8217;. Kadarik T\u00fc\u00fcr Architects.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While browsing through the projects, I wonder how the audience, media or the Estonian society have received the exhibition so far? What are the things people notice in comparison to ideas that might potentially turn them into co-utopians? Triin Ojari notes that so far, the media has chosen to use images of certain exhibited projects based on the fact they seem to have <strong>more distributable imagery<\/strong>, such as the renderings of the <strong><em>Waste Temple<\/em> by Kadarik T\u00fc\u00fcr Architect<\/strong>s. While visually appealing and detailed, the temple is one of the most chilling views of the future, blending in religion, status, wealth and waste into an impactful dystopian social mixture. Another photogenic and perhaps a more hopeful visual is offered by the project <strong><em>Sartorial Space<\/em> by b210 architects<\/strong>. In their proposal made of Estonian wool, both the post-apocalypse nomads and the utilitarian minimalists can find refuge in a portable, wearable and habitable woollen garment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-MajadMidaMeVajame_foto-Evert-Palmets.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>&#8216;Sartorial Space&#8217;. b210 architectural office.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless, I do feel I ultimately exit the exhibition with a far more hopeful sentiment rather than it just adding to the already existing angst about the future that so many of us share. The best parts of the exhibition I think try to reach beyond scenarios where the world as we know it will in some ways end, fade away or change. They show that architecture or vision-building does not automatically end at the end of the world. While this is arguably an architecture-centric view, it still is an important conceptual addition to the mainstream conversation about sustainability and green buildings. Obviously, all our focus on sustainable technologies and solutions is commendable, but we must acknowledge that much of the sustainability talk still somewhat assumes that the overall societal or economic development narrative will remain the same. The hopeful message is that architecture has its freedom and design can be intellectually and artistically possible regardless of the circumstances and future scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On my way back aboard the last ferry of the day, I cannot escape the feeling that the exhibition somehow also stems from the contemporary experience of a small country in a world where challenges are global. At least to my eyes, Estonians are never oblivious to understanding power, or let\u2019s say, forces that make the world go round. In today\u2019s world, this means big tech, social media, visibility, or social commentary\u2014and the vast looming disasters ahead. (As a side note, the archival photo collages on display of the smaller exhibit on the mezzanine floor above the main hall focusing on the displays of power in architectural design and imagery do not feel at all out of place in this regard.) Thus, as an afterthought, I want to re-read the title of the exhibition as a wider manifesto. Written in between the lines of <em>The Houses We Need<\/em>, one can see embedded a call for fellow utopians in general. If architects and designers do not otherwise have the agency, it can be the role and opportunity of a museum in creating the space for discussing our shared, potentially difficult, and inevitable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"918\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Mika-Savela-918x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16938\" style=\"width:409px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Mika-Savela-918x1024.jpg 918w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Mika-Savela-269x300.jpg 269w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Mika-Savela-768x857.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Mika-Savela-1377x1536.jpg 1377w, https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Mika-Savela-1835x2048.jpg 1835w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 918px) 100vw, 918px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MIKA SAVELA<\/strong> is an architect and curator based in Helsinki. He previously served as the editor-in-chief of <strong><span style=\"color: #23dede;\"><a style=\"color: #23dede;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ark.fi\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Finnish Architectural Review<\/a><\/span><\/strong> and currently works as an advisor in architectural policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>HEADER: &#8216;New Forms of Equality&#8217;. Johanna J\u00f5ekalda and Artur Sta\u0161kevit\u0161\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>PHOTOS by Evert Palmets<\/p>\n<p>PUBLISHED: Maja 106 (autumn 2021) with main topic <strong><span style=\"color: #23dede;\"><a style=\"color: #23dede;\" href=\"https:\/\/ajakirimaja.ee\/en\/autumn-2021_spatial-revolutions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spatial Revolutions<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The group exhibition, The Houses We Need at Estonian Museum of Architecture (11.06-21.11.2021) showcases 16 commissioned designs for houses \u2018with the aim of ensuring a more beautiful, secure and peaceful future on planet Earth\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[249],"class_list":["post-16963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-event","tag-autumn-2021-spatial-revolutions","infinite-scroll-item"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A House Is a House Is a House?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The group exhibition, The Houses We Need showcases 16 commissioned designs for houses \u2018with the aim of ensuring a more beautiful, secure and peaceful future on planet Earth\u2019.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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