The high-level conference organised in cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and the Union of Estonian Architects that wrapped up on Thursday, 21 September, saw the leading experts in spatial design gathered in Tallinn to discuss the possibility of shaping a common EU architectural policy and the future of the current national architecture policies. The conference, held within the framework of the Estonian Presidency of the European Council, discussed the latest developments, directions and successes in implementation of spatial planning and promoting construction culture in Europe.
Minister of Culture Indrek Saar said in his opening address that in light of global challenges, we should not forget that the primary impact of architecture is, first and foremost, perceived at the local level. “Seeing how architects and designers from many countries work side by side with biologists, geographers, sociologists, engineers and scientists from various fields of specialisation, we need to promote cooperation between different economic sectors at the local and state levels more than ever,” said Saar. “This is why, at the initiative of the Government Office, we recently launched a Spatial Design Expert Group, to aggregate Estonian spatial planning competence and raise its quality, raise awareness about spatial planning and improve cross-sectoral cooperation at the local and state levels.”
Jaak-Adam Looveer, head of the Spatial Design Expert Group formed under the Government Office, pointed out in his presentation on the future of European architectural policy that the benefits of today’s spatial design decisions will be reaped in a hundred years. “Growing the value of living environments and architecture is like a tree growing in the forest or savings growing in a bank. You plant the seed and take care of the plant, and if you don’t, it either withers or disappears completely. Therefore, we constantly have to take care for our living environment, so that we would purposefully design it into one that is special and supports our needs,” said Looveer.
Creating the Spatial Design Expert Group is a part of the Government of the Republic action plan that aims at pooling competence from across Estonia and creating a supra-ministerial expert group in cooperation with the Union of Estonian Architects. The expert group will include representatives from professional unions, universities and ministries, and it was brought to life from July 2017 for the duration of one year. The group’s work is coordinated by the Government Office, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture.
Read the full text of Minister of Culture Indrek Saar’s speech HERE .
A recording of the conference is available HERE.
Additional information
Indrek Rünkla
Ministry of Culture adviser on architecture and design
[email protected]
6 282 207