The City of Tallinn, in collaboration with the TalTech Academy of Architecture and Urban Studies, is set to present its neighbourhood-based renovation initiative SOFTacademy at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Opening on 10 May, the exhibition brings the modernist residential district of Mustamäe into the international spatial dialogue.
The exhibition aims to raise questions about the quality of living environments, the role of architects as community shapers, and to encourage participants to reflect on how future cities should be shaped—not through standardisation, but through diversity. SOFTacademy introduces Mustamäe, one of Tallinn’s modernist districts, as an example of how spatial potential and social cohesion in such areas require a new kind of approach.
Tallinn’s Deputy Mayor Madle Lippus emphasises the project’s significance for the city’s broader development. “SOFTacademy is not just a renovation project—it demonstrates how we can breathe new life into ageing panel housing areas. Mustamäe shows that urban renewal doesn’t have to mean demolition, but rather thoughtful and inclusive transformation, where residents have a voice and space gains new meaning.”
At the Biennale, visitors will have the opportunity to add new functions, ideas, and spatial layers to models of the panel buildings in Mustamäe. This interactive platform invites participants to step into the role of architect-community planner and, through a role-play involving fictional residents of Mustamäe’s Akadeemia Road, explore diverse, human-centred, and sustainable solutions. “The SOFTacademy exhibition is designed to involve people in placemaking. It invites reflection on how to create more people-friendly urban spaces that retain identity and foster a sense of community,” said co-curator Lill Sarv.
In addition to the exhibition, a panel discussion titled “From Ugly to Stylish? Rethinking Urban Futures and Renovation through the NEB Framework” will be held on 10 May from 11:30 to 14:00 at Palazzo Veneziano. The conversation will focus on the New European Bauhaus (NEB) values and their role in the modernisation of cities.
Architects, urban planners, and public officials from Estonia, Denmark, and Italy will explore how the NEB framework helps integrate aesthetics, sustainability, and inclusion into urban planning practices. The panel will be moderated by Professor Lill Sarv of TalTech University, with opening remarks by Member of Parliament Yoko Alender and IUAV Venice urban planning professor Maria Chiara Tosi.
The panel can be followed live here: https://facebook.com/events/s/from-ugly-to-stylish-rethinkin/1021865183379113/