4/2016

April 2016

 

Student project deals with storm water issue in cities

An exchange student from Lviv, Ukraine, Kateryna Rybenchuk, currently studying at our Department of Landscape Architecture, won the first prize in the WaterSpaces competition, organized by the Aalto University.

According to climate change projections, the Baltic Sea Region is facing more frequent and heavier rainfall. Concurrently, densification has become a common strategy to improve the sustainability of urban regions. Together, these two factors are predicted to increase the risk of urban flooding. Urban storm water management has become a major climate adaptation issue for cities globally, and therefore, the student competition for innovative solutions in storm water management was organized by Aalto University Department of Architecture and seven cities around the Baltic Sea.

Kateryna’s proposal, winner for case study area Tartu, deals with the storm water management issue on a site located at Staadioni 48 in Tartu, incorporating different sustainable urban drainage systems, such as an extensive green roof, raingardens, permeable pavement and artificial pond with an aquaponic system and a greenhouse.

To learn more about the competition and the results please see the competition web page http://www.waterspaces.info

 

 

Students analysed urban landscapes of the city of Tartu

In the end of March landscape architecture students submitted their works for the optional course Urban Landscape Analysis. This year the case study area of the course is the Üle Jõe (literally meaning ‘on the other side of the river’) - the districts on the left side of River Emajõgi that are just across the river when looking from the city center of Tartu.

During the course students documented the perceptions of the urban space by drawing the cognitive maps, developing the typologies of cities districts, making sketches, studying the views and access to/from the river.

 

April - International Month of Landscape Architecture

The International Month of Landscape Architecture has been celebrated in Estonia for 9 years now. The Estonian Landscape Architecture Students’ Association celebrates it by arranging a whole month full of activities that explore the field of landscape architecture and landscape in general. This year the topic is ‘Noticing landscape architecture, landscape architects and different spatial situations’.

A photo competition takes place that is about noticing landscape patterns. The students’ association together with the Estonian Landscape Architects' Union organizes an Open Doors event, where different bureaus of landscape architecture open their doors to students and to the public, so visitors can see how landscape architects work in Estonia. There will al so be landscape architecture themed movie nights and a bicycle tour what explores Tartu and its unique places.

It has become a tradition to create an installation in the city, and this year the installation that has been erected right in the heart of our university campus is about how campus design should consider more the movement patterns of pedestrians.