A1 posters with concept above and architectural proposals depicted on timeline below.
“Adaptive adjustment” aims to include inherent user groups, building materials and methods in the development process of Madara district. It is a quiet industrial district in Tallinn, surrounded by 3 roads - Paldiski maantee, Tulika and Endla street - and a railway leading to Balti Jaam. The old factory buildings have been settled for the last twenty-thirty years by auto repair shops and creative communities which bring together people with similar interests and ideologies. Even though the condition of the buildings is terrible, the rent is low and it is a favorable place for them to operate under their own conditions. Also, being in such close proximity to the city center lets them have all the benefits that urban life can offer. The communities and car repairs bring value to the city as well - communities are socially very diverse, offer a lot of cultural events, and workshops help keep the city center autonomous.
But functional and social diversity, which hides itself in the buildings, doesn’t affect the outer space which is car-oriented and lacks any public space for the communities - the people who work in the area or live in the neighborhood. Locals feel irritated by the condition of the streets. Detail plans for this area unfortunately do not consider pedestrians and public space to be important and the local identity is threatened to be torn down and replaced by gentrified business buildings.
To offer an alternative vision to the detail plans, I divided the district of Madara into four protection areas inspired by nature protection areas and bound them together again through a slow-paced adjustment plan. If currently the inhabitants have an adaptive role, meaning they adjust to their environment, and developers and city have an adjusting role - they shape the environment - then in my project the roles change. This shift gives the people who actually use this area or wish to use it because it is neighboring to their own, a chance to shape the future of this district.
In my project, locals will initiate the reinvigoration of the ecological circulation system and help the area move past its 30 year stagnation period. They will start making public space for themselves by building diverse and multifunctional urban furniture to the parking lots. Reuse of materials, which lay around crumbling factory buildings, will play a key role in this - helping to embed local building methods and identity, part of which is adding new layers to existing buildings and also building from handy materials. Including local people in the process and creating a sense of ownership helps them to feel more attracted and connected to the area.
In a wider planning perspective reuse is important, for example new buildings should start growing from the existing ones. Another essential aspect to consider is joining the area to the city road network. This means that planning can not be plot based and some buildings have to be demolished to open current parking lots to the pedestrians. In addition, new pedestrian tunnels need to be built to activate the green railway corridor, so that fresh pathways connect the neighborhoods to the public space and give convenient access to and from the city center.
Adaptive adjustment is a slow-paced planning process which will help local people to adjust to the changes of the area but at the same time take part in the transformation. This will make people more understanding and connected to their living environment. Developing an area at a moderate pace will prevent making harmful decisions to the heritage and inhabitants, meanwhile enabling big improvements and increasing the value of the real estate without tearing everything down. I believe that small adjustments can invoke big changes in the area.
A3 brochure - conceptual schemes with translations
