Diverse living: Transformation of post-Soviet apartment buildings to age-friendly communities in Mustamäe, Tallinn
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
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Date
2020
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Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
116
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Abstract
This thesis explores renovation strategies to transform post-Soviet mass apartment buildings into age-friendly communities. As the demography of Estonia has rapidly aged, the increasing older population is facing the challenges of limited financial resources, declined health conditions and the lack of appropriate housing. Mass housing districts accommodate more than half of the population in Tallinn. The apartment building 1-464 as the most common housing typology in Mustamäe, the first mass housing district in Tallinn, lacks accessibility and diversity. Serious deterioration is evident in the buildings as half a century has passed since the construction. The need for improvements has emerged. Integral and extensive renovation are strategies to fundamentally improve the apartment buildings and the community. Opposite to demolition and new construction, renovations are more sustainable, feasible and economical. So far, renovation cases in Estonia have mostly been focused on building envelopes and technical upgrades. By contrast, this thesis highlights improvements of fundamental spatial qualities, universal accessibility and inclusive community spaces to accommodate the needs of aging demography. This thesis addresses the topic through literature reviews, case studies and a design proposal. Specific challenges for older people in built environments were identified as the framework to analyze Mustamäe context and relevant design solutions. The case studies included visiting 5 Day Centres for older people in Tallinn. With the observations and conversations, context-specific knowledge and opinions from the users were collected. The design proposal transforms one existing apartment block in Mustamäe. The design scope includes site planning, renovation strategies, and a new community centre. By demonstrating design ideas in one of 1-464 apartment buildings, it shows that the accessibility, spatial diversity and quality can be effectively improved with a new circulation system, additional new spaces, spatial reconfiguration and hybrid functionalities. The design proposal enhances the wellbeing of older people and helps them live independently with the concept of housing for all, an idea that highlights adaptable, flexible and universal architectural qualities. The thesis shows that extensive and integral renovation of 1-464 apartment buildings is possible yet challenging. The rigid constraints of the structural and circulation systems are the main challenges. The balance between the effectiveness of design interventions and the construction cost is the key factor determining the feasibility of the project. More, the privatization of these apartment buildings in the 90s makes integral renovation more difficult. This issue need to be solved with the collaboration of the public sector and the apartment owners. The 1-464 apartment building was one of the widest built housing typologies in Estonia and other former Soviet states. These buildings still accommodate large share of population, that is why successful renovation strategies are urgent and relevant.Description
Supervisor
Arpiainen, LauraThesis advisor
Ader, AetVerma, Ira
Keywords
building renovation, age-friendly community, housing for all, community centre, 1-464 apartment buildings, Mustamäe