Architect, curator and architectural theorist, Angelina Starkova worked on various international projects in the cultural field before deciding to found, in 2021, his own studio in Kharkivin Ukraine, where she grew up. Today she is the head curator of the next Tallinn Architecture Biennale (from 9 October to 1 December 2024), an architecture and urban planning festival, this year in its seventh edition, created to promote discussion on the future of contemporary architecture.
Organized by theEstonian Centre for Architecturethis year will have the title Resources For a Futureproposing a reflection on “How to think, design and build architecture with reused and redeployed resources to shape the future”. A theme, that of the availability of resourceswhich is not only linked to the climate crisisbut which takes on significant urgency in contexts affected by conflicts.
“My career path is deeply influenced by war,” explains Anhelina Starkova – “I work under enemy fire every single day. From this perspective, I am aware that the architecture and infrastructure of cities are not only shaped by public crises or health issues, but above all by the destructive power of war».
Co-curators of this edition are Daniel A. WalserSwiss architect and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons FHGR in Chur, Switzerland, and Jaan KuusemetsEstonian architect and professor of contemporary architecture at Tallinn University of Technology Academy. Together with Anhelina Starkova they developed a multifaceted program that focuses on the main drivers of future development, questioning how to optimize resources, both from an environmental sustainability perspective and in conflict contexts.
«We live in an unpredictable age, yet we are free to decide how we want to live, perhaps like never before. Designers today have a great opportunity to design new models of coexistence and suggest new approaches to the use of resources. When I was in the bunkers, during the bombings, the image of architecture as a second skin came to mind, which defends us from external aggressions. The true role of architecture is to protect us, to keep us safe, to reflect our needs. This is the heart of the Biennale».
THE CURATORIAL EXHIBITION
The Tallinn Architecture Biennale programme consists of three main events: the curatorial exhibitionil symposium and the program of installations. The idea behind the curatorial exhibition is to reimagine the use of local resources in order to put them at the service of all. The participants were divided into three thematic sections: Social Intelligence, Building Concept e Material Formation. «The three sections represent the pillars of an approach that aims to investigate the dynamics that have determined the architecture of the present to propose new perspectives based on the current crises we are experiencing», explains Starkova.
The first section will question the existence of a community intelligence that can reconcile public and private interests, and will see the projects of the studios and designers DAGOpen Architecture Bureau (Estonia), Dechelette Architecture (France), Raphael Zuber (Swiss), Roger Boltshauser (Swiss).
The second section will instead focus on the concepts that form the basis of the building system, proposing new construction models capable of becoming systems for creating meaning, especially in the urban context. Here the projects of Alfredo Vanotti (Swiss), Apex Architecture Office (Estonia), Architect Must (Estonia), Gus Wustemann (Swiss), LLRRLLRR (Estonia), Pihlmann Architects (Denmark). “In the future there will be less and less room for ideological architecture: accessible architecture is needed, based on the real needs of people, and this must be understood not only by architects but also by the building system itself.”
The third section, finally, will focus on the factors – mainly cultural – that have historically determined the use of certain materials in the construction sector. The theme will be addressed through the contributions of BC Architects (Belgium), Capaul Blumenthal Architects (Swiss), KAMP Architects (Estonia), Pihlmann architects (Denmark), ReReRe (Estonia) e Roger Boltshauser (Switzerland). «We found many young architects who are exploring the possible materials of the future, asking themselves: how can we do more with less resources? What resources will we use to support the transformation of our cities? The Danish studio Pihlmann architects, for example, works closely with local resources, reusing what already exists. I see great potential in this approach, even if often using materials with a non-extractive perspective does not fit with the fast times of cities. This is the great challenge of our times. Are we really sure that cities have to run fast?».
THE SYMPOSIUM
The Tallinn Architecture Biennale will also include a symposium that aims to generate an interdisciplinary debate, with speakers from architecture and design, but also from education and government institutions. The participants will be Kristoffer L. WeissDanish architecture critic, Swiss architect Roger Boltshauserthe mayor of Kharkiv Ihor Terekhovthe professor of the Institute of Urban and Landscape Studies Sascha Roesslerand the architect Soren Pihlmann.
Specifically, the contribution of the Mayor of Kharkiv will focus on the architecture of cities affected by conflict. «When I returned to Kharkiv, after the most intense period of the conflict, I noticed that something profound had changed in people’s relationship with architecture. Resources began to take on a new value, and architecture began to be perceived as part of a cultural heritage to be defended and preserved. People have started to take care of buildings, considering them as places of identity where they can feel safe. They have understood the importance of architecture. There is also a new sensitivity for decoration and the desire to make places beautiful, together with a new interest in local materials. Our mayor had the idea of creating a underground city for the defense of the populationa true public architecture project that goes beyond the classic bunker», continues Anhelina Starkova.
THE INSTALLATION PROGRAM
The TAB 2024 Installation Programme competition, curated by Laura Linsi e Roland Reemaaasked the architects to imagine a public infrastructure that reuses the materials from a local producer of timber (Thermory) and suppliers of second hand materials to create a community space that prioritizes people and their happiness. The winner of the competition will be announced by July.
«There is a prejudice that social architecture is ugly and of low quality, while we want to demonstrate the opposite, that it can be of very high quality and aesthetically pleasing. For me it is the only architecture that can exist: a local architecture based on people’s intimate lives, on their needs. We architects are losing the sensitivity to reflect the needs of ordinary people, to shape ourselves around this and not the opposite. We want more silent architecture, capable of listening to people and rooted in the earth and its needs. With this Biennale we give space to those who are creating them».
Opening photo: Mariann Drell
Living ©ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Source: living.corriere.it
