#time4estonia smartens up with a city that is
TARK = smart, intelligent, wise
Did you know that Tartu has its own Tower of Pisa? This nickname has been given to the Leaning House of Tartu (viltune maja), which was built next to the medieval city wall in 1793. For a long time, a pharmacy operated in the building, but today it is a home to Tartu Art Museum.
While the Pisa Tower of Tartu has stopped leaning and been standing strong for hundreds of years, some other buildings in the city also need attention and care. And this is exactly what a smart city like Tartu would provide.
SmartEnCity programme aims to make the city environment smart and sustainable, as well as inspiring people to make environmentally conscious decisions regards to their living spaces. The key activity in the project is to renovate old Soviet blocks of flats, the so-called Khrushchevkas into energy-efficient and modern houses.
Yet again, art has taken the centre stage in this environmentally important project. 54 local and international artists from more than 10 countries participated in creating a new public art gallery in Tartu, on the walls of aforementioned Khrushchevkas, saving these from demolishing and neglect and instead, allowing them to be appreciated both by home-owners and passers-by.
Come on, let’s take a stroll in the city with Tark Tartu / Smart Tartu to find out more about the project.
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#time4estonia is Mon – Fri 4pm Estonian Embassy in London Facebook series where you can discover Estonian artists, writers, musicians, architecture, cities, museums, galleries, nature etc. We will give you a hint of Estonian language (eesti keel [ˈeːsti ˈkeːl]), our humour and Estonian spirit.