Architectural commentary by Margit Mutso. Year of Architecture 2023 | Architecture

In her architectural commentary Margit Mutso retraces the most important moments and actors of the past architectural year and defines the expectations for the new year.

Looking back on the past year, Estonian architects can be quite satisfied. Estonia held twenty public architectural competitions, the most spectacular of which was the Tartu Südalinna Kultuurikeskus or SÜKU competition, where more than 108 conceptual projects were presented, from which the international jury chose two works by Estonian architects: 1st place 3+1 of architects and Bad “Paabel” landscape architects competition and second place Architects Kadarik Tüür concept design “Tarte Tatin”. It’s been a long time since our architects had such success in an international architecture competition!

The Estonian architectural scene has around a dozen architectural firms that constantly participate in competitions. Last year’s most successful contestants were 3+1 architectswhich, in addition to SÜKU, also won the competition for the Viljandi Ordulinnus visitor center next to it Molumba AND The architect must.

Molumba The list of victories last year includes the new building of the Haapsalu city government on the historic castle site, the buildings of the breeding complex of the Estonian Institute of Plant Breeders in the Jõgeva municipality and the A-terminal district of the Port Old man from Tallinn.

The title of last year’s competition city could go to Narva, where in addition to the aforementioned Peetri Square competition, an architecture competition for the main street and municipal buildings was also held. Main Street won For the LARS studythe municipal buildings will be designed by the office’s Latvian architects apart from.

Through the competition, many other smaller places in Estonia found an architectural idea:

Verevi has received a project for a new building on the beach, which will be designed by an architectural firm Argonthe new Kilingi-Nõmme center field has landed I study in Tallinn on the desktop, Rae Parish Town Hall won the competition Jump and the walk along the Keila River was won by the landscape architecture firm Intermediate.

In collaboration with Ukrainians, an exciting competition was held in Estonia to find a standard design for small family houses. The plan is to assemble the houses with elements produced in Estonia and brought to Ukraine, where they will be assembled and become homes for Ukrainian children orphaned by the war. He became the winner DAGOpenis drawing “Hata”.

Among the architectural objects completed in 2023, the reconstruction of Põltsamaa Castle was rated the highest, that is, the main award in the field of architecture KULKA – the authors of architecture Studio Argo, Lumia AND ARC project and authors of landscape architecture Arts of the Earth AND Project office. In an era when the most serious issue in architecture is a building’s carbon footprint, this choice was expected. As well as the Pelgulinna State High School in Tallinn, which received an award from the Architecture Endowment Fund, which is mostly built of wood with a small carbon footprint. He created the architecture of the building The architect mustInterior architecture Rose AND landscape architecture Cinema. The recipient of the annual award from the Union of Architects will also join in the same vein Jump AND Bench designed the Paide gym, consisting of a historic building and a new wooden volume added to it.

Under the guidance of the Union of Architects, this time a residential prize was awarded instead of the usual private prize. This means that all residential buildings, from small summer houses to large apartment buildings, competed for the prize. Here too there was an environmentally friendly choice – Mari Hundi AND Hanna Lamb designed a small Põro house built from local wood on old foundations in Võrumaa. For some, this choice aroused questions, perhaps even offense: a large complex residential house requires much more work, discussions, effort, but the prize – take the finger – goes to a mini house. Also on the agenda was a broader question: Is a residential building also, for example, a home for the elderly, a guesthouse, a house with guest apartments or a dormitory?

Landscape architects also value respect for the environment above all else. Uus-Veerenni Park, winner of the annual award of the Estonian Union of Landscape Architects, stood out above all for its intelligent recycling: old pieces of concrete, broken asphalt and other waste were found Bad landscape architects plan a new function and a new design. Colleagues also appreciated it a lot Bad the book “The inevitable open space”.

Another winner of the annual award for landscape architects was the “Cloud Forest” exhibition area of ​​Tallinn Zoo, whose landscape architects of Hall of the Earth AND ConArte brought a piece of the exotic rainforest of Southeast Asia to our cold climate.

Last year the largest presence of Estonian architects was certainly at the 18th Venice Biennale. Curators of the “Kodupetas” project. Aet Ader, Mari Möldre AND Arvi Anderson from the architecture firm b210 in collaboration with the directors Liisa Saaremäeli, Keithy Kuuspustenographer Kairi Mändlaplaywright Jan Kausi and composer Markus Robamiga created an installation performance in an apartment in Venice, which addressed the theme of the availability of living space and the meaning of home. 13,000 people visited the “home” of Estonians in Venice.

National exhibitions received the highest recognition – the Architecture Endowment Exhibition Award – Andres Kure AND Never Laanemetsa edited by “Prediction and Imagination: Borderless Architecture 1960s-1980s”. The exhibition brought the period 1960-1980 to the viewer. utopian projects in the field of architecture and art.

The buzzwords of 2023 are certainly the addition of the Estonian Theater and the Tallinn City Hall, around which the debate and controversy do not seem to end any time soon.

If last year was quite busy for architects, the new year is looked at with a bit of disbelief: there is a feeling that the volume of construction is decreasing. Which, of course, corresponds well with Maja magazine’s call published earlier this year to institute a moratorium on new construction. Fortunately, we have around 14,000 residential buildings waiting for us to renovate and, as far as civil protection buildings are concerned, we will perhaps take a step forward with respect to the posting of protection signs.

2024-01-09 07:49:00
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