On 20-24 March 2023, the Estonian Museum of Architecture, the Faculty of Architecture of the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) and the Narva Art Residence NART will organise the workshop “Chess Garden” (In Estonian “Maleaed”) in city of Narva. This workshop is being organised in cooperation with the international architecture platform LINA. In collaboration with EKA students and three foreign tutors, ideas will be generated for the renewal of the Chess Garden quarter on Kerese Street in Narva having local people in mind and achieving community-friendly urban space. The workshop will study neighbourhood-based renovation and explore different features and options for improving the space between buildings in a dense neighbourhood. Among other things, urban furniture for the Chess Garden will be designed, to offer a range of social, spatial and self-initiated opportunities to encourage community interaction.
The workshop is part of the European architecture programme LINA, and three facilitators from different backgrounds have been invited to Narva: video artist Jonathan Steiger, urban ecosystem architect Dali Dardzhaniya, and architect Damiano Cerrone, who specializes in urban data analysis. The workshop will be facilitated by Sille Pihlak and Siim Tuksam from EKA. The workshop will end with a presentation of the Chess Garden vision and a public discussion on Friday 24 March at 14:00 in NART, followed by an exhibition and a publication of the vision.
The Estonian Museum of Architecture is a member of LINA, a network of European architectural institutions, with the aim together with other leading European architecture organisations to empower young architects. “Maleaed” or “Chess Garden” is a park named to celebrate world-famous Estonian chess player Paul Keres, who was born in Narva.
