The new face of Rakvere
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| The new face of Rakvere | |
| August Künnapu's interview with town architect Oliver Alver | |
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Why did you decide to leave the capital and accept the position
of town architect in a small town called Rakvere?It was a combination of various chance events. Some friends moved to Rakvere. They wanted to have a house designed and went to the city government. They were told to come back a few weeks later when the competition for town architect would be over. My friend sent me an email suggesting I apply for the job. The same evening I scanned my diploma work and sent it off together with my CV and application. I was asked to come for an interview. My rivals were two girls, both still studying. To my great surprise they chose me, fresh from school, wet behind the ears. I'm sure there are many architects more charismatic and experienced than I am. It turned out that nobody wanted to become town architect - apparently a very unpopular job. I know many towns face difficulties in finding a suitable town architect, for example in Viljandi it took a really long time. What have you learned from the previous town architect in Rakvere, Raul Kull, who is very keen on submarines? Why is he keen on submarines? He did his military service on a submarine and later when he worked at an architectural firm he constantly talked about submarines. I have learned quite a bit: what this job in fact entails and how much I should say about other people's projects. Not everything is allowed, but at the same time it would be silly to voice my opinion about every house and every window - after all, you cannot design the whole town. When another architect designs a house, there are mostly no complaints. However, there are a great number of people with licences, but you really can't regard them as architects - such houses are very difficult. When Olev Siinmaa was town architect in Pärnu during the first republic of Estonia in the 1930s, the summer resort acquired several grand new buildings such as the Beach House, Beach Café and Villa Siinmaa. What is your view of a town architect's job today? Raul Kull designed houses in the same town where he lived, whereas I try to avoid that at any cost. I have been offered a lot of work here. When I represent a town, I cannot produce projects for others. During the first Republic, town architects in Tartu, Pärnu and other places designed houses there and then. In Rakvere I represent the interests of the public, and I go to Tallinn, to other town and rural municipality architects, to show my own projects. |
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Does work in the municipality leave
you any time at all for your architectural
pursuits?Yes, it does. I go to my office in Rakvere three days a week and work hard. I couldn't put up with the office routine for five days. Do you sometimes have fun at the office or is the atmosphere bureaucratically dreary? The atmosphere in Tallinn and its neighbouring municipalities is quite bureaucratic and unpleasant, but we are much more relaxed in Rakvere. I like to work with a large group of people. Most Tallinn architects don't have this opportunity - everybody has a tiny office (a firm of five is big by Estonian standards). My experience here is wholly positive. And there's lots of fun. We have people from very different specialities working together. Where do you go for a walk in Rakvere? What is the most poetic location here? I don't have a favourite place for walking. Sometimes I look after my health - go for a run in the forest, choosing a different path each time. A little jogging helps me to get to know the town and I also see all sorts of problems. Next day in the office I can then tackle these problems. Rakvere is an original town. For many it is a boring and plain industrial town. Kuressaare is known as a historical and pretty place. Haapsalu has its slum milieu and wooden architecture. Rakvere has all these things too, but they are hidden. Slum milieu, town forests, parks. |
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In Estonia we don't have huge parks as in Munich or Berlin, or
popular hedge-labyrinths as in England where you can easily get
lost. Can Rakvere expect a dense natural environment not surrounded
on all four sides by big roads? The new urban central
square park with bumps and hollows is quite striking, but rather
sparse.It is indeed sparse, but you cannot call a central square an urban park. Such squares are historically simply open areas where all sorts of events can be organised. They are open spaces in the middle of dense housing in city centres. Rakvere central square is not lined by many buildings; they are still to be erected. It is not restricted by anything - it is not a 'square'. There are indeed no parks like the Berlin Tiergarten in Estonia. However, it is not possible to just create such parks. You can't pull down a whole lot of houses and produce a park. Here we have an oak grove, Palermo forest and an urban forest, an extensive green area that is situated near the city centre. The Palermo forest even has lighted ski trails. These areas cannot be compared with parks; they are Estonian-style forests - spruces, oaks, birches and a bit of undergrowth. In the south there are recreation areas, but nothing much in the north. Together with song festival participants, we created a fairly large forest area. The aim was to separate the industrial area (former Russian military zone) from the officers' apartment houses. Can we expect any interesting sculptures in Rakvere's urban space? An impressive structure now is the huge bronze bison at the Rakvere stronghold. So far I have seen the best selection of urban sculptures in Barcelona - large format, geometrical form and diverse materials from wood to glass. One of the most fascinating things recently completed is Mati Karmin's sculpture of mines. The owners of a flagship destroyer gave Rakvere two empty sea mines. Karmin made a grandiose metal frame where these mines now hang. At first we planned the sculpture to adorn the recently finished roundabout, but it turned out to be too nice for that location. It is currently not exhibited because we cannot shove too much art down people's throats, not after the bison, the central square and its bus station (popularly known as Black Crow). |
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Can the stronghold site expect anything else architectural
that would function as a symbol?This environment needs a bit of adjustment. The stronghold should, for example, be properly lit. One project - the staircase to the stronghold - has already been realised. It is an extension of Parkali Street to the stronghold, which connects it with the city centre. In addition to its utilitarian value, the Kavakava architectural office also provided the object with symbolic value. A nice viewing platform up there affords pretty views of the town. Some thickets should be cut down to make it even better. There are plans to restore the mill. The stronghold site is not a park of ruins; it is a bit Disneylandish. What does Rakvere look like now and what will it look like in ten years' time? When the towns were choosing slogans for themselves - 'Tartu: the city of good thoughts' and 'Pärnu: summer capital' - we chose 'Rakvere: mighty town'. This might seem funny at first glance, but looking at Rakvere from outside, the town is actually quite mighty. A small place but full of zest. I think it will be essentially the same in ten years' time. More buildings will be erected, of course, cycle paths will be established, parks sorted out, and maybe a new residential district will be built. In my opinion, the change of appearance occurred during the independence years. My own tiny contribution of a few years is insignificant. At the same time we have had big projects completed here, such as the central square and sports centre. A water centre and a nice slender apartment house are probably soon to come. Oliver Alver (1977), MA in architecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Since 2002 town architect in Rakvere August Künnapu (1978), studied painting and architecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts. See also www.hot.ee/kustasmustas |
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| Estonian Art 2/04 (15) | 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 | |
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