Khrushchyovka

Death of Stalin (1953) put the end to shared apartments (one kitchen, one toilet, several families) and neoclassical, even neobaroque housing. Much lighter, modern buildings started to pop up. Prefabricated concrete panels (patented French technology, I've heard) or bricks were used. What's most important, green light was given to private space. Of course you could hear your neighbours well, but still the tiny flat with symbolic kitchen was at the disposable of your own family and nobody else. I wonder what did that Jeanneret guy think? Actually, I've seen similar housing in Basel, Berlin and Brussels, so I suppose he'd be eligible to comment on that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khrushchyovka

Photo by Vahur, April 2014, Tallinn, Toonela tee.

My Hole

Thousands of people, mostly in their sporting outfit, have crawled through this hole in years. Still the gate on that side is firmly locked. Sometimes the administration put barbed wire over the hole. People cut it off and keep on crawling. It's OK, as it's also a kind of sport to get to the stadium.

I never us the main gate on the other side of the stadium.

Photos by Vahur Afanasjev, 24 April, Tallinn

Guts of a Cute Wooden House

A cute wooden house is being renovated in Tallinn Magasini street. It's a typical Estonian 19th and beginning of 20th century city/town dwelling. WWII destroyed thousands of those but there are still large areas intact.

You see that time has taken its share of the wood, insects have eaten their ways into logs, but this can be overcome just shaving off damaged parts. Usually the building as a whole can be saved, if the roof has not been leaking too much.

I also want around the back, to take pics of the garden. It appears the veranda and back side are already in good shape.

Photos by Vahur Afanasjev 24 April 2014 Tallinn

Wastelands

Empty space in city. Room to breathe. I wonder what will they build here. And when. And if.
Photo by Vahur, April 2014 Tallinn (direction Toonela tee to Võistluse street).

Double-decker Woodshed 2

Another double-decker woodshed in Tartu (Jaama street). Photo by Vahur Afanasjev, 14 April 2014.
Another post on the some topic.

Double-decker Woodshed

Dunno how was in London, Paris or New York of olde dayz but in Estonian towns most of the people lived pretty much side by side, especially in the center. Interesting contrast to really lofty living conditions in the countriside (our population density is approxiately the same as in USA or Canada). So, if you moved to town/city (rising trend as of 19th century), the odds are high you end up living in a 4 to 10 flat wooden (chinkless method log with painted siding) condo or a cabin in the back yard - and used a double-decker woodshed to store your firewood.
As people are opting out of the romantic but tiresome chore of heating and cooking with burning fire, many of the sheds have perished. But some are still there, used by the inhabitants and admired by the hipseters.
Photo: Vahur Afanasjev, 30 March 2014 Tartu, a back yard in Ujula street.

Fear Factor

As all European, and, especially, Eastern European countries, Estonia is full of Le-Corbusier-insiper concrete buildings. Most people hate those... and problably these have the most inhabitant, by percentage. I, personally, rather like the buildings for the straightforward look, logical room planning, economical and environmentally practical central heating. If placed correctly (the distance between two buildings has correspont to be their double height) and surrounded with a touch of nature (grass, tress, bushes, flower beds, playgrounds), they're ok.

But what I hate, is that in 1990ies people took extreme liberties in fucking up the face of these houses, closing the terraces, balconies and loggias any way came to their mind. Oh, well, there's some vernacular coolness about it, too, but in general - it's ugly. What impressed me on this 9-storey house in Tartu Annelinn (Ann's town), is the last floor grated terraces. I guess there was some reason in those metal bars at some point, but the current level of criminality is so low that I hardly imagine somebody breaking in from there and carrying all the stolen stuff (TV set?) away over the roof... On the other hand, in the mid 1990ies, there was a wave of stealing bikes from 2-3 storey balconies. So maybe I'm just snobbish and the bars have to be there.

By Vahur Afanasjev, Tartu, 2010

TV house

Estonia is a rich county. Every single dog has a villa (quatre façades) with TV (ensuite)! Oh my dog!

Photos taken by Mare and Vahur in the end of September 2012, in Tsooru (South Estonia), visiting Kristina and Majjai with Carolina and Hasso.

Armenian style 5

Photos by Swantje Lichtenstein. Armenia, end of October 2011.

Armenian style 2

Practical can be beautiful.

Photo by Vahur Afanasjev. Jermuk. 23.10.11

Onion domes

Onion domes of an orthodox skete in Vasknarva, where the river Narva starts from the lake Peipus. Photo by Vahur Afanasjev, July 2011

Hotel Comfort Battery

Photo by Vahur Afanasjev, 2 June 2011 here: http://www.patarei.org/eng/

Tree on the backseat

Photo by Mare Sabolotny, May 2011, Noarootsi

Seagull

Mr Seagull.
Photo by Vahur Afanasjev, March 2011, Tallinn

Maarjamäe Memorial

There's a beautiful WWII memorial complex overlooking the Gulf of Tallinn by the road to Pirita and Viimsi. Though built in Soviet era, it's artistically convincing. Even the fallic symbol on the last picture is tasteful to pose with.

Photo by Vahur Afanasjev, Tallinn, 30 January 2011

Pattern on Tower

Photo by Aapo Ilves, 25. 08. 2010, Lasva, South Estonia.

Colorful shed

How to cover extreme ugliness in architecture.
National pattern from Alutaguse.
Design and photo by Liiso in Räpina July 2010