Eeros Lees. Incarnation of the Excavation Layer. On Positions Between Standing and Lying
MASTER’S THESES
Ardo Hiiuväin
Location-based use of materials in burial culture – rammed earth columbarium of Vilsandi
It all started with my close ties to the island of Vilsandi. Having been an active member of the community for the last 15 years, I can leave myself with the title – a Vilsandi resident. As a result of interesting conversations, I was tasked with developing the island’s cemetery. The first bird in the process was the landmark student work “Pesa” (“Nest”) in the new columbarium area of the cemetery.
The inspiring and instructive journey from the beginning to the completion of the object created a desire to pursue the funeral and burial in more detail. In this sense, the master’s thesis has been a great self-education and shaping one’s own worldview. The aim of the master’s thesis is to offer a rammed earth columbarium to the people of Vilsandi, which would allow them to be buried and rest in the soil of their home island again.
In order to fulfill this goal, I get to know and analyze the burial customs and practices of Estonians. The main focus is on cremation and urn burials, their history and developments in Estonia. The introduction of columbarium as a typology is certainly an important part of the work, because, as the work shows, these are rather uncommon terms.
Materials and tests form an important part of the work. A prerequisite for a location-based approach in the context of Vilsandi is the environmental friendliness of the materials. The island of Vilsandi, a place that has been the birthplace of nature conservation in the Baltic Sea region, would be unethical to use industrially produced building materials as material. The latter is also the reason for my choices – ash and rammed earth.
The end result of the proposed solution of the rammed earth columbarium for the expansion of the existing cemetery in Vilsandi is environmentally friendly and has a minimalist design. Takes into account the nature and values that exist.
Tutors: Gregor Taul and Jüri Kermik.
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Eeros Lees
Incarnation of the Excavation Layer. On Positions Between Standing and Lying
This master’s thesis draws attention to sitting as an activity with a range of positions between standing and lying. The work is based on the understanding that a chair is primarily an extension of the body, and the surrounding environment and design must support a person’s freedom of choice and decision, both in movement and in changing positions. The main focus is on my personal concept development, which is an intertwined story of six actions. The starting point is the body as our first technical tool for initiating and carrying out a process, and directly experiencing the end result.
The six actions are divided into three spade- and spoonfuls:
I SPADEFUL is the first excavation of my journey in Heimtali, where the working method unfolds through physical effort. In addition, I am looking for an answer to the question – How to sit on the ground without the feeling of sitting on the ground?
II SPADEFUL is an excavation carried out in Audru, based on the principle that the best position is always the next one. At the end of this phase, I realize that the negative form resulting from the digging and refilling the cavity creates an opportunity to make a positive form through soil-casting method.
I SPOONFUL is the first experiment of the material with the soil-casting method, where I try to create an object by pouring pine resin.
II SPOONFUL is a further development of the first material experiment, which results in a new material that becomes an important part of my final design.
III SPADEFUL is an excavation with snow during the fieldworks in Vilsandi, which deals with the topics of time, temporality and the beauty of being.
III SPOONFUL is the culmination of all the previous actions, resulting in a design that presents the seating furniture as a tool that can be cast, remelted and recast according to the user’s position preferences and purpose.
Tutors: Gregor Taul and Jüri Kermik.
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Kadri Benrot
RECREATION AREAS IN OFFICE. FINDING BALANCE BETWEEN REST AND WORK IN WORK ENVIRONMENT
Subconsciously, the value and impact of rest tends to be underestimated, as hard work and self-sacrifice are believed to be the keys to success. However, various studies have shown that solutions to problems at work often result from resting rather than constantly working.
The aim of this Master’s thesis is to study the necessity and importance of breaks and recreational areas in the work environment and to design a working environment that values the use of recreational areas based on the results of the analysis.
I analyse different forms of stimulating breaks that contribute to productivity and its duration during the workday and examine types of individual and group breaks.
In design project, there will be tested whether the purpose of a smaller space could be altered to cover different types of work as well as include break corners and consider how to do this keeping in mind the small size of the room.
The thesis is aimed primarily at employees and improving their working days, but if employees are satisfied and happy, then employers also benefit from the whole process. In short, this is a victory for both parties.
Tutors: Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla and Kaja Pae.
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Kaidi Org
Community integration – out of the space and into the space on the example of Keila youth
At the beginning of my Master’s thesis, I set myself the goal to study the discrepancy between the residents of the Mäe-Liiva Street apartment building block and the young people who used the area – how to resolve the street space noise problem caused by young people without choosing a side.
In my Master’s thesis, I analyse the leisure opportunities for young people in Keila and the specific area related to it – the Mäe-Liiva Street block. The location is the crucial factor for this block, as it is located between large apartment buildings, next to two school buildings, and in the centre of the block is Keila Youth Centre, which is visited by up to 60 young people every working day.
During the development of the design solution for this Master’s thesis, I found that the building of Keila Youth Centre is a part of the former building complex, which is located in a closed territory. Keila Youth Centre uses the interior of the building and the open street space in front of the building, but the closed territory complex is not open to city residents. The closed area is unused and dilapidated.
In the course of my research, I gathered the opinions of young people and the local communities of Keila and found that the Mäe-Liiva Street block (street space, buildings and courtyard) along with Keila Youth Centre is an area with ideal density that can be developed to enhance community activities.
The idea of the project is to open a closed area that runs through the block to the large apartment buildings, to move the noisy street elements away from the apartment buildings, to expand the activities of the youth centre and to provide a more flexible space for the community. The main goal is to find a way for people of working age to stay in Keila and to create an environment that develops young people and integrates community members from different age groups into activities.
The output of this Master’s thesis is to offer a new meaningful spatial solution for today’s closed area of the Mäe-Liiva Street block as a community centre and more precisely to create a flexible space for community groups that could be used uniquely considering the needs of each interest group. The main goal is to provide services related to the learning process of individual interest groups and to provide the opportunity to adopt the do-it-yourself method.
Active meeting places can be created between the apartment buildings as an outdoor area – a skatepark, bike parking, an outdoor cinema, a community garden. Considering the peculiarities of the buildings, in addition to the existing Keila Youth Centre, additional spaces can be created for the community, such as a learning centre, an information centre, co-working space, a children’s playground, cafés, an indoor skatepark and a community house.
Tutors: Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla and Kaja Pae.
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Martin Saar
Reconstructing study furniture: towards moving classroom
The aim of this thesis is to research study furniture in elementary schools, rethink the purpouse and organise interventions in classrooms to better evaluate the needs. Despite new technologies, teaching methods and learning programs in educational field, classroom has remained similar to the model developed by Christian Institutions centuries ago. The research part of the thesis explains the need for updating classrooms’ physical appearance and concludes with an architectural brief, which is the reasoning point for designers’ once starting to develope alternative classroom furniture. Educational needs and behaviors have changed significantly in the past, spatial and educational furnishing development needs understandably longer time to adjust — it is designers’ obligation to contribute in the progress of design aspects of educational world.
As we have all experienced, physical buildings and its’ surroundings tend to have an influence on our attitude towards the institution hiding inside. Learning furniture as an object, which interacts with students most immediately, transmits its users the general understanding of current philosophy and study methods used. A well-functioning furniture makes it possible to improve the level of education acquired, the quality of teaching and to bring positive changes in students’ attitude towards school. These kind of amendments would please all parties, but taking into account special needs, financial resources and number of students it becomes clear, that it is not an easy task to fullfill. The subject is a part of field, which requires multidisciplinarity and good level of cooperation between architects, designers, education planners, scholars, psychologists etc.
Entering a school is a big step for a child and a first business card in interacting with adult life. This step could be smooth and profitable at the same time, which means, that furniture along the other elements, should contribute to build a safe and qualitative learning environment. It is also important to understand, that it is a field, which needs constant analyse and renewal.
Tutors: Jüri Kermik and Gregor Taul.
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Mirell Ülle
Healthy spatial design through material selection and activism
In my master thesis I address the issue with health and environmental problems arising from poor indoor materials and analyze the patterns of thought and behavior related to material and spatial design. I’m looking for an answer on how to break the usual thought patterns and achieve a healthy space. Looking at a human’s relationship with his environment from several aspects, adding layers to the topic and experimenting with different outputs in the design process, I realized that there is no answer to my question that would fit into one master’s thesis. I see the solution as intervening in the various processes of spatial design as a whole. A fundamental change in society is needed. The revolution is needed. One of the most important key areas is the promotion of knowledge, skills and competences in environmental design among students, graduates and professionals. This is through university education, cooperation between several organizations and activism. As an output of the thesis, I will undertake the last one and create a prototype of a website that focuses on raising awareness and helping to guide on a material selection what to avoid, what to use and how to use.
Tutors: Jüri Kermik and Gregor Taul.
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Semele Kari
Driftingly Engaged Through Intermediate Use. Illustration of Tondi 57 Barracks
The proposal presented in my master’s thesis is the conceptual practice-based method of an intermediate use period inside an abandoned interior. As an example I have chosen Tondi 57 barracks which are close to my home and have gone through a long wait. My intervention would fill the waiting time of the building with a temporary interior architecture as a method. I came to describe the methodology due to the understanding of creating space through the process of completing the master’s thesis. I considered it important to find a suitable medium to present the problem and also the proposed solution. During my studies I took on the task of expressing my ideas through different techniques. Both old and new techniques were tested, but I found the collage technique the most welcome, because it’s repeated use of existing fragments is similar to the method that should be applied in interventions of already existing architectural structures.
The title of my thesis, „Driftingly Engaged Through Intermediate Use. Illustration of Tondi 57 Barracks“, refers to the temporary application of the abandoned space and the mobile format of the concept to be created. My vision of the architects’ one-on-one design process is an important step in practising the space to create maximum results when designing a renovation project for a building.
The aim of intervening in abandoned buildings is to provide architects and interior designers with an alternative working environment as well as a new methodology for practising architecture. Intermediate use as a method allows the designers of the future use of the building to make better contact with the existing space and at the same time offers an alternation of the traditional work space. During the occupancy of a building, intermediate use acts as a method of intervening in the building. Temporary interior structures perform through the intervention as a method of creating space – temporary interior architecture is the fruit of intermediate use that provides input for building’s future solution.
Tutors: Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla and Kaja Pae.
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Triin Juhanson
Metahall. The meaning, problems and spatial representation of the need for privacy on the example of Tallinn City Hall
The master’s thesis explores the possibilities of using virtual architecture on the surface of physical, existing architecture, as well as the possibilities of protecting privacy as an important part of the virtual world. Understanding people’s digital twins and creating and developing digital twins for buildings may help to better understand this. This is especially true for high-value buildings which for example makes it easier to understand and test potential new features. The Tallinn City Hall can be considered as a high-value building. So perhaps it is worth preserving and why not in a digital form that can keep pace with the time. In this master’s thesis the City Hall becomes Metahall.
The design project started with a creative task with an unknown medium where I made a dress with one side private and the other exposing. On the one hand it is important how the narrative of Metahall serves the interests of privacy through its functions. On the other hand, both physical and digital space are important, for they provide the framework and opportunities to play with space and create new narratives. Physical and digital space can be visually similar, but are actually very different. If you look into the various architectural elements and their properties, those interested in architecture can also see the value in the slightly worn elements of the City Hall.
The City Hall and the Metahall are connected by impressive walls, functional doors and screens that all tell their story. The same goes about other interior elements, each of which stimulates the imagination and invites you to look for new features in the virtual world. In addition, simple and educative etudes make the users to realize the ways to increase their security and protect the privacy. This can be done in a certain unpredictable environment that determines the future or leaves it undetermined for time being. Given the initial research questions about understanding the nature of privacy and the digital space, and how to translate concepts related to basic human needs into the language of space, it can be concluded that this is not an easy task. Psychological needs are human and not space-specific. Even meeting these needs through spatial opportunities probably requires further investigation. Time and technology provide opportunities for this. If the effect of time can be seen in the case of Tallinn City Hall, then Metahall will probably not escape it either. In this way, both rooms end up in the same place, where the attention disappears and the room acquires a kind of anonymity and thus also privacy. So, it seems that privacy is ultimately inevitable.