Towards water: opening lake Ülemiste

Tutors: Tektuur architects and foreign mentors 

Lake Ülemiste is the city’s main source of drinking water and has historically been closed to the public due to water management requirements. As technology, infrastructure, and societal expectations evolve, the possibility of opening the lake as a public space emerges.

The workshop explores how Lake Ülemiste and its surrounding landscape could be opened as a meaningful public space while respecting its ecological and infrastructural role. 

The workshop outcomes may take various forms, from conventional architectural proposals to site-specific installations, interventions, happenings, or events. It will bring together international teams of 3–4 participants, with up to 30 participants in total from the Nordic-Baltic Architecture Academies network. 

The process will be structured around three main stages: mapping the given area in Ülemiste and selecting a problem to focus on; developing conceptual solutions through tutoring sessions and group discussions; and presenting site-specific prototypes, interventions, or happenings.

The workshop is organised in collaboration with the TAB curators, Estonian Academy of Arts and tektuur. The operating base of the workshop is the tektuur workshop.

Tektuur is a collective of friends founded in the midsummer of 2025 in Tallinn, bringing together architects and interior architects Päär Keedus, Eeros Lees, Ardo Hiiuväin, Diana Drobot, Rebecca Peets and Johann Ortin Õun. We operate at the intersection of spatial practices, design, construction, and (archi)tectural theory, with a focus on rethinking the roles of the architect, interior architect, designer, and maker in contemporary spatial production.

The project is supported by NBAA funding, City of Tallinn and Ülemiste City.