As the photograph clearly demonstrates, old Hanseatic Tallinn¹s skyline is threatened by a new and seemingly inexorable siege. Assuredly we are not speaking of the depicted advancing weather front, for Tallinn has weathered advancing and receding fronts, both meteorological and martial, both blustery and bellicose, for centuries and survived. However, now this
skyline may have met its final and mortal foe: Mammon, flanked by its twin allies Vulgarity and Shortsightedness. This trio has already erected its ugly bastions and more are in store. Although successfully able to withstand
the onslaught of the petty utilitarian architecture of the Soviet era, the venerated Old Town is now about to fall prey to high rises every bit as obscene.
The photograph was taken from the new Museum of Art, KUMU, living proof, if such were needed, that modern architecture need not be tasteless or jarring but by fitting into its setting, can reach a new level of the sublime. The only criticism of KUMU the photographer has heard is that artistically the building and grounds may have reached a higher pinnacle than the art they
house. Were that the high rises could become such sources of inspiration instead of sullying the beauty of their environs!
Apart from new construction like KUMU, the Old Town is replete with imaginative reconstructions and artful renovations, both residential and commercial, that demonstrate time and again that with taste and talent the
old and the new can be married to the enhancement of both, that function need not be the slave of form but can be its equal partner in a union where the whole becomes greater than the totality of its parts. Unfortunately,
greed, coupled to the philistine mind, is a formidable adversary.
Viimased kommentaarid
Kommentaarid on kirjutatud EWR lugejate poolt. Nende sisu ei pruugi ühtida EWR toimetuse seisukohtadega.
Maxim16 Jun 2006 12:35
If you happen to travel along Narva mnt, then perhaps you might have had the same reaction as I have had; that the new facade of Viru Keskus(including the car park) is a complete disaster architecturally! It makes one literally nauseous, although the view from Hobujaama or Kaubamaja does not appear that bad. Hopefully the new building opposite the post office will somehow give the Viru keskus a little bit of "breathing space", although it is clear that from a practical and functional point of view, VK has fallen short of many people's expectations.
riinuk16 Jun 2006 10:21
Õige jutt, põhimõtteliselt. But the "kilukarbi siluett", as it is often called -- because it has been immortalised on an anchovies can, among other places -- has literally been Tallinn's symbol for centuries; its calling card when apporoaching by sea, for sailors, citizens and tourists. My dad for instance forfeited his Helsingi-Tallinn plane ticket when he returned for the first time in 1995, just so he could arrive by water, (as he had left) and see the approaching skyline... So Toompea and the handful of steeples are sacred to many and if you begin to imagine any part of that view being blocked by a block... it would be a huge historic loss.
It is actually also the new Tallinn logo:
http://www.tallinn.ee/ logo contest finalists (if the pics open up for you, they didn't for me...)
http://logo.tallinn.ee/index.p... uus logo:
http://www.epl.ee/artikkel_302... eelnev logo:
http://www.epl.ee/artikkel_247... Jaan Kittask16 Jun 2006 08:35
I think urban density is just as important with a medieval city than it is with a modern one. A big problem with many of the "commie blocks" (besides their lack luster architecture) that were built 50 years ago is that they were, and still are, completely isolated. In order for a city to stay vibrant, its population needs to grow from the core, mixing its business with its residence. Aesthetically speaking, the marriage of modern architecture with historical landmarks is beautiful and in itself sublime. To keep a historic part of a city isolated from the rest of the living city is as silly as seperating housing blocks into barren fields. New gems like the city residence on Liivalaia or Tornimae and glass structures like the city plaza or KUMU continue to help Tallinn grow, not only as a dynamic economic core but a livable city for the people of Tallinn. The expansion also helps bring the city closer to the sea. Sadly, Vanalinn now belongs to tourists. Tallinn's modern expansion is for the people of the city, and it would be naive to think it doesn't contribute to the growth of the country. To call modernism or highrises "obscene" is purely subjective. I personally praise the growth of the city's modern skyline.
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