Lasnamäe

The exhibition opens with a short 1985 colour film by Mark Soosaar, showcasing scenes of Lasnamäe under construction. The film captures the unfinished Laagna Channel, large construction machinery and children playing on mounds of gravel and limestone cliffs, with many shots taken near the Lindakivi Bridge. In the background, we hear a phone conversation between Soosaar and Malle Meelak, the chief architect of Lasnamäe. Meelak, along with Mart Port, co-authored several Soviet-era urban districts, including Mustamäe and Väike-Õismäe in Tallinn, Annelinn in Tartu and Paalalinn in Viljandi.

It seems Soosaar is calling Meelak to arrange a video interview, but with both of their busy schedules, it doesn’t seem to come together. The phone conversation lingers, allowing Soosaar to have a candid conversation with the architect about various aspects of the district. They discuss the progress of construction, labour and material shortages, planned landscaping and the channel running through Lasnamäe.

To achieve what was an almost unimaginable goal in Estonia – providing housing for 150,000 people within a couple of decades – constant compromises had to be made. Only a few building types were used, unskilled labour was hired to keep up with the fast construction pace, and the channel was left partially unexcavated. In the film, Meelak notes that as long as the new districts lack commerce, services, culture and basic amenities, residents will remain dissatisfied. It is unclear if Soosaar recorded the call without Meelak’s knowledge, as, at the end, in the planned “official interview,” the architect speaks more optimistically. The film thus juxtaposes grand visions with everyday realities through the same voice.