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TAGASIThe exhibition tells the story of the Estonian postmodernist private house, filling a little-explored gap in our recent architectural history. It was based on the curator’s Master’s thesis and further doctoral studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
The six chapters lift the veil a little off the context of architectural history, the construction culture at the end of the Soviet period, the challenges of self-builders in a general shortage of everything, the interior and exterior designs, changes and adaptations to the houses and the unanswered questions.
The focus was on residential areas forming a larger spatial whole: Rehe Street in Viljandi, so-called Arhitekti and Ihaste districts in Tartu and Ilmandu village near Tallinn. It was enriched by original materials related to the construction: material purchase receipts for 9a Sihi Street and the designs used on the construction site at 48 Lootuse Street. Further variety was introduced by an emotional interview featuring personal stories by the stakeholders – architect and owner.
The topics provide visitors with necessary information to notice private houses from 1980s and reflect on their importance in the history of architecture. The exhibition raised the issue of valuing postmodern private houses in terms of heritage protection and enlivened the discussion – which ones should be considered important and how to do it?
Text by: Triin Reidla
