The Vision competition is part of the main program of the Tallinn Architecture Biennale, the theme of which is the revival of beauty. The focus is on an elongated stretch of approximately 350 m long, which sits on the border of two districts: the famous for its colorful wooden buildings Kalamaja and the slightly more modern Pelgulinn. Both are popular with young families and are quite lively: the historic center, the bay and the Telliskivi “creative town” can be reached on foot in 10-15 minutes. The districts are divided by a freight railway station, which is almost never used - it is planned to dismantle it in the future.
Participants were asked to come up with a residential development for this place, which includes private and public spaces, helps to connect the two areas, responds to the environment, but at the same time offers a new aesthetic.
It was not necessary, but the desired condition was to work in a team of different specialists. Such a Russian "collaboration" won the first prize: the concept of Lines Rehab was developed by Dmitry Prikhodko from AB "Leto", a graduate of MARSH Natalia Krymskaya and a graduate of KGASU Amirkhan Gabdullin. The architects met during their internship and worked remotely - from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan, which turned out to be effective: “communication in messengers helps to maintain a constructive dialogue, besides, the chain of reasoning is always at hand, on the smartphone screen”.
Two starting points for the project: the preserved swing bridge on the site, recognized as a cultural heritage site, and the traditional wooden houses with chimney “towers” in Kalamaja.
First of all, the authors continued the streets of Volta and Kungla, and the resulting three blocks were filled with the "lines" of residential cells perpendicular to the railway line: symbolic "new rails" directed from one district to another.
The spaces between the houses were turned into a system of closed, semi-private and public spaces. The difference in their status is emphasized by the material: the housing is made of wood and is additionally accentuated by the height - the blocks of the second floors resemble the very "towers" of chimneys, and the "courtyard" cells are framed with light metal structures. The former train station is being transformed into an urban field that the residents could maintain and use. Furrows resemble the "hatching" of railroad tracks.
The grid of the new district thus turned out to be adaptive, since the functions and scenarios are easy to change if necessary: the cell can become both a library and a children's center or a supermarket.
According to the authors, "the diversity of relationships between private and public spaces generates new practices and lifestyles." On the main theme of the Biennale, they answer that “beauty cannot be defined once and for all in rigid terms and descriptions” and offer to experience its changing nature.
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zooming LINES REHAB. Section Fragment Dmitry Prikhodko, Natalya Krymskaya, Amirkhan Gabdulin
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zooming LINES REHAB. Fragment of the 1st floor plan Dmitry Prikhodko, Natalia Krymskaya, Amirkhan Gabdulin
In total, 80 projects took part in the competition, among the jury was the co-founder of the Snøhetta bureau Hjetil Thorsen and the chief curator of the biennale Yael Reisner.
