EKA student installation 'Varem' opens in Tartu's Annelinn
An installation by Estonian Academy of Arts architecture students, designed as a relaxation space and reflecting on the end of a building's life cycle, has been unveiled in Tartu's Annelinn district.
A new installation titled "Varem" has been placed next to the Annelinn Library in Tartu's Annelinn district, created by architecture students from the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA). The installation, which resembles ruins, is actually a new space for locals to relax. It reflects on the final stage of a building's life cycle – when its original use has ended but a new purpose has yet to be found.
Project author Jako Julius Schmid noted that the hands-on build, which took place in less than two weeks, contrasted sharply with the classroom work that preceded it. "The difference between drawings on paper and building on site became clear immediately," Schmid said. "Many tasks took three times longer than planned, but there were also stages that went more smoothly than expected." He added that the past two weeks proved that working as a team, they can handle anything.
Local residents followed the project throughout construction and would come over to check on what the students were doing. Since this wasn't the first time EKA students have built something new in Annelinn, they knew to expect something good. "Locals like it when something new pops up in their neighborhood," Schmid added.
Studio instructor Helena Männa said the idea behind the new installation is to rethink and play with urban spaces. "Annelinn is visually very uniform," Männa said, adding that the student-built project will provide locals with a little more variety, including somewhere they can sit down and relax. "Varem" will remain in place for five years, and Männa hopes that by the end of that time, there will still be something left of it that catches the attention of passersby.
