March saw the launch of SOFTacademy, a project focusing on neighbourhood-based renovation, centred on the comprehensive factory renovation of four apartment buildings on Akadeemia Street in Mustamäe and the modernisation of the courtyards in cooperation with the residents of the area. The project will be led by the City of Tallinn, but the list of partners is representative. David Sim, a living legend of urban planning, will also be present with his company Think Softer. By the way, David Sim is the author of the book “Soft City”, which focuses on how a pleasant living environment improves people’s quality of life, and is the inspiration for the project’s name “soft“. Naturally, the co-operatives of all four of the apartment buildings to be renovated are also partners in the project and are actively involved throughout the process.

Over a period of approximately three and a half years, the pilot area on Academy Street will test inclusive design and co-creative practices and immediately put the knowledge gained into practice. The aim is not just to make the houses energy efficient, but to create a high-quality urban space that is pleasing to the eye, sustainable, cosy, safe and inviting to neighbourhood members with different interests and needs. To quote David Sim: “Quality urban space is always about people, making life in the city easier, more attractive and more comfortable.”

SOFTacademy tests the synergies and leverage effect of different funding models. The co-operatives of the houses on Academy Street apply for a grant from Kredex for renovation and finance their own contribution through a loan. The SOFTacademy project will add €400,000 from its budget to each house for additional activities not supported by Kredex funds. The improvement of the courtyards of the pilot apartment buildings will also be covered by the SOFTacademy project, co-financed by the City of Tallinn.

A big plus for the residents of the houses participating in the project is that the district heating, water and sewerage networks and the electricity network needed to serve the buildings will also be reconstructed. The owners of the utilities were willing to schedule the works to coincide with the project. All the design and construction work for the buildings is to be procured jointly, which will save both time and money, and will invite larger construction companies to participate.

In the first half of the project’s implementation, the project team will largely focus on preparatory work – putting together the application for Kredex funding, preparing procurement and design. The visible and tangible work will start next year.

The project is also working on the development of replication site discovery principles. In simpler language, the project will look for a site in Tallinn where we can replicate the best practices learned and tested in the pilot area. At least two apartment buildings must be under reconstruction or in the planning stage, and SOFTacademy’s contribution to the project will be the cleaning up of the courtyards of the houses to be reconstructed. We therefore recommend that housing associations keep an eye on the progress of the SOFTacademy project in order to be ready to apply for the replication area at the right moment.

The SOFTacademy project is co-funded by the European Urban Initiative.

Published in April 2024 in the Estonian architectural magazine Maja