Tallinn Module - urban furniture as social art
	Veronika Valk

	In cities you usually notice the bigger buildings first. Then you take a closer look and see the small structures. They are often what constitute the charm or the special character of a street or a square. They appeal to us because we encounter them at eye-level, as it were. They belong to the daily life of the city and thus to us. They are the crystallisation points of social life. Robert Schäfer 'Small Structures' Topos March 2003
	What constitutes urban furnishing? Besides benches and dustbins it might also include a newsstand, public toilet, phone booth, bus stop, flower stands, a cart selling sugared almonds. All these small constructions fill urban space with people and, in an ideal version, also perfect it, creating a certain atmosphere. In addition to their relating to the surrounding buildings and streets-squares-corners, the dialogue with their users becomes important in reality. Urban furnishings are on a scale that is more familiar and similar to human bodies - just as population and generations alter and change, designing urban furniture is a continuous process, an adjustment and a dialogue. Hopefully the international competition Tallinn Module, which ended in February 2004 and was organised by the Tallinn municipality and KavaKava Architects, proved that designing urban furniture is not just a matter of style. The competition was quite successful - 49 works arrived from various parts of the world, with the aim of finding a system of unique street furnishings where different elements (kiosks, phone booths, benches, bus stop shelters, advertising stands, etc.) are united into one conceptual whole, embracing the entire city. The standing practice in Tallinn of scattering widespread catalogue solutions all over the place should be stopped; creating a common concept for street furnishings would help to successfully (read: with maximum variations) emphasise Tallinn's individual face. Under the leadership of urban designer Aavo Ermel, and in collaboration with Gijs Bakker, one of the leading figures at Droog Design, the jury of architects and designers selected five very different ideas. The jury considered of primary importance the possibilities of developing them further, rather than their stylistic qualities. The presented elements had to be easily combined and varied - different urban areas could not be approached using the same means. Ecological and economic factors, resilience and technological details were also considered vital.
	First Prize went to the work Fold (authors Clayton Welham, Martin Yong - London, UK). This is a fascinating concept where each piece of furnishing and shelter points towards the centre of town both in colour and form. Local inhabitants would be involved in finding the best forms of urban furnishing so that the new structures would be accepted from the start. In the words of the authors: 'Navigating a modern city can prove difficult for tourists and locals alike. Traditional signage is based upon written language. This architectural proposal shifts away from these conventions to a system of pure signs. Using form to transcend language, an instinctive and universal use of shape and color effortlessly navigates the city.' The collaboration of a graphic designer and a mechanical engineer emphasises the preservation of simplicity, clarity and the social aspect.
	Second Prize was given to Drunken Style (authors Samson Adjei, Harry Dobbs, Greg Epps - London, UK), which greatly impressed the jury and is the favourite of the present author as well. The work is based on statistics showing that 42.5% of Tallinn citizens have experienced symptoms associated with SAD (Seasonally Adjusted Disorder) and that 65.2% have suffered from the excessive cold of winter. The solution is Streetforme: stationary event furniture that, similarly to the winning entry, makes its inner logic direct the navigation in the city. Its graphic surface and floor marking lead to other nearby Streetforme, pointing towards the city centre and the landmarks. The most satisfactory elements, with all their details, are the heated bus stop shelter SAD Tunes with its interesting lighting, and the carousel-dustbin Spin- Bin.
	Third Prize went to City of Glass, (authors Carmelo Baglivo, Luca Galofaro; assisted by Serena Mignatti, Giuseppe Vultaggio - Rome, Italy) in which all the urban furnishings are made of glass, featuring a skilful play of light. Luca Galofaro, from Ian+ studio in Rome, says: '...using glass means using light. In December 2003 we received the second prize at an invited competition in Riga - time spent in Latvia taught us how significant light is at your latitude. In our further work we will be eager to create objects of a totally different character and purpose, but using the same materials and technical methods.' Ian+ has won several architectural awards, both in Italy and elsewhere. Luca Galofaro is the author of the books Digital Eisenman (Birkhäuser 1999), Artscapes. Art As an Approach to Contemporary Landscape (Barcelona 2003). Ian+ projects have been shown at Archilab 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 exhibitions, as well as at architectural biennials in Venice, Valencia and Portugal. Within the project HiperCatalunya of the Barcelona Modern Art Museum, they recently completed a vision, SportCity, embracing the entire coast of Catalonia. The work that earned a special mention Mobile Identities (authors Mauricio Sommacal, Walter Sanchez, Mercedes Cuenca, Armando Perez Moreno - Mar del Plata, Argentina) had both enthusiastic supporters and opponents at jury meetings. Some thought their solution was too active for urban space, almost aggressive. On the other hand the work's urban side was positively stressed - the identity of the elements is temporary, flexible, nomadic. The emerging forms are very sculptural, even animal-like (I immediately envisioned the project Tallinn Module Zoo), and certainly intriguing - it is not possible to be indifferent to this sort of urban furnishing. The authors emphasise that the mobile characteristics of urban furnishings help the various districts of a city to find their true identity. Is this something like vaccination? A harmless amount of alien bodies is injected into the body (read: urban district) and they cause a counterreaction and generally strengthen the organism's immune system?
	The mentioned work Urban Folding (authors Stephen Roe, Chiafang Wu - New York, USA) attracted the jury's appreciation with its usage of wood as the main material, which made it relate to the plenitude of forests in Estonia. What makes this solution, which has often appeared in magazines in recent years and looks like a nightmare for Estonian graffiti enthusiasts, really difficult to realise, is its multitude of details. ROEWUarchitecture was established in 2000 by graduates of New York's Columbia University, and has won various awards at international competitions (e.g. first place at the competition Ephemeral Structures at the Athens Olympic Village). The main interest of the two architects is the uniting of information technology with the saving of energy in all their undertakings. They refer to their approach as 'digital tectonics.' What excites them most in this work is the updating of ancient log construction and inventing a technology that would allow the production of these complex structures as simply and cheaply as possible. Veronika Valk (1976), architect. Works at architectural bureau KavaKava Architects.
	| Estonian Art 1/04 (14) | Published by the Estonian Institute 2004 | ISSN 1406-5711 (Online) | ISSN 1406-3549 (Printed version) | einst@einst.ee | tel: (372) 631 43 55 | fax: (372) 631 43 56 |