“Soft Launching” Books x MAJA x TAB

BOOK LAUNCH & SOFT OPENING

09.09.2026 16.00-17.30
Matek moodul

Attuning to the world of architecture amongst constraints and cost – TAB2026 will open softly by a book launch in front of Linnahall at TAB Kiosk, warming up for the subsequent grand opening of the curatorial exhibition and official inauguration of the biennale.

Combining a soft opening and book launches, during “Soft Launching,” the catalogue of this edition’s TAB as a special issue of MAJA, Estonian Architecture Review, will be released. Afterwards, Mathias-Vincent Palazzi and Thomas Flores officially launch their book Dialectics of Austerity, offering a take on an alternative understanding for “frugal architecture” ahead of their keynote in TAB’s symposium on 11.09. Addressing a central question – what agency do architects actually have amongst constraints to contribute to the transformation of urban space? – the event also features the launch of SEE4C South-Eastern Europe: 4 Cities; Belgrade, Podgorica, Skopje, Tirana, the outcome of a two-year transnational research project. A panel composed of representatives from the research group, TAB curatorial team and local urbanists will follow with a discussion. The SEE4C group will also present an original work in TABs curatorial exhibition, to which we will move on after softly launching its inauguration.

Schedule:

16:00-16:20 Matek module opening, welcome drinks, thank-you speeches and welcome remarks

16:20–16:25 — Introduction (Curators) 

16:25–16:35 — TAB x MAJA Catalogue Launch (Mira Samonig & Madli Kaljuste) 

16:35–16:45 — Mathias Vincent-Palazzi & Thomas Florès (Dialectic of Austerity) 

16:45–16:55 — SEE:4C Research (Book Launch & Panel) 

16:55–17:30 — Panel 

Panel participants:
Mathias Palazzi, designer
Maroš Krivy, architectural historian, urbanist (tbc)
Mark Aleksander Fischer, architect & co-curator
Mariolina Affatato, Architect and PhD candidate at Politecnico di Torino
Irene Carrozzo, PhD student in Architecture at Politecnico di Torino