Joint exhibition project of the Estonian Architecture Center, the Union of Estonian Architects and the State Museum of Architecture. A. V. Shchuseva presents the best examples of modern architecture of this country, and curator Pill Epner deliberately selected only buildings for display in Moscow, that is, objects that have already passed the test of the urban context and everyday use.
The exhibition is set up in the Aptekarsky Prikaz and is very simple in structure. Each project is presented on a separate long sheet of cardboard, and in order not to waste time and effort on hanging them, these improvised tablets are laid out right on the floor. And in order to prevent the exposition from becoming like a few rolls of paper unrolled across the room, the organizers folded half of each sheet into a "house". The result is such almost origami, extremely simple paper boats, and, folded one after another, they form a very active relief on the worn floor of the Aptekarsky Prikaz.
In total, there are nine sections at the exhibition, formed according to the typological principle. True, typologies are sometimes named very poetically: here there are “lights of a big city”, and “ideal house”, and “culture and symbols”. There are, of course, more applied ones ("municipal development", for example, or "modern workspace"), but on the whole it is felt that the curator took care not to become hostage to the functional belonging of the buildings. On the contrary, the “nominations” invented by him have very conditional boundaries, which made it possible to present an extremely wide range of objects within the framework of one exposition.
Most of the buildings date back to 2000-2008. This period in Estonia was called the "construction boom": the rise of the national economy affected the architecture in the most favorable way, and the appearance of most of the country's cities changed dramatically. And this applies not only to the capital, where, of course, the largest number of interesting buildings have been implemented, but also to small towns popular with tourists, as well as picturesque suburbs where cottage construction is flourishing today.
Pill Epner emphasizes that from the entire array of new buildings that have appeared in Estonia in recent years, only those that are focused on solving not only commercial, but also socio-cultural problems have been selected. It may sound pretentious, but, studying the exposition, you understand that the curator is not cunning and does not underestimate the merits of his compatriots. Private mansions are tactfully inscribed in the existing landscape and built using energy-efficient technologies, office complexes are becoming important urban planning accents, and shopping and entertainment centers, in addition to the shops and cinemas themselves, offer city dwellers large-scale and comfortable public spaces. The design of religious buildings is also keeping up with the times in Estonia: the Church of St. James was built in the city of Viimsi (architect Martin Aunin), and a synagogue was erected in Tallinn (architects Kaur Stoor and Tõnis Kimmel). One of the most interesting examples of the conversion of industrial buildings is Tallinn's Rotermann quarter, where modern architecture is skillfully woven into the fabric of a large-scale factory complex. The projects of pedestrian zones, which traditionally play an important role in the structure of Estonian cities, are also charming and very humane: the bureau Kosmos Architects hung orange umbrellas over the central square of Rakvere, and in Tartu sculptor Aili Vahtrapuu and architect Veronika Valk erected a monument to composer Eduard Tubin: the maestro conducts an imaginary orchestra, and instead of chairs for musicians, round pedestals are used here, sitting on which, any passer-by can briefly imagine himself as a violinist or cellist and at the same time listen to music.
In other words, Estonian architecture is chamber, environmentally friendly and extremely humanistic. This country managed not to fall victim to the construction boom, but to wrap it up for its own benefit - perhaps the secret is in the truly Baltic slow-pacedness and thoroughness with which Estonian designers turn investments (the essence of boom) into a comfortable and durable space (that is, in fact, a room).
