This graduation project investigates how architecture can contribute to reconnecting Tallinn and its residents with the Baltic Sea through craft, learning and the adaptive transformation of existing coastal heritage. The project addresses both the inaccessibility of the waterfront as wel as fading nautical practices such as the craft of shipbuilding and material knowledge.

The project proposes the transformation of a vacant coastal structure within the Lennusadam area into a vocational shipbuilding school and public learning environment. Through historical research, fieldwork, interviews, material experimentation and research-through-design, the project explores how traditional shipbuilding principles such as repairability, flexibility and material awareness can inform contemporary architecture.

The resulting design combines education, making and public engagement within an existing building, responding to the climatic and seasonal conditions of the Baltic coast through timber construction, breathable material assemblies and adaptable spatial organisation. Rather than treating heritage as something to be preserved in isolation, the project positions it as an evolving practice that continues through use, repair and the transmission of knowledge. In doing so, the research contributes to broader discussions on waterfront redevelopment, craftsmanship and the role of architecture in supporting cultural continuity. ... Read more