On 29th May 2024, the residents of the Tartu living lab came together to discuss the architectural designs and cost of renovation of their apartment building.
Professional architects and the Estonian Academy of Arts specialists had prepared five versions of possible building designs, ranging from the more commonplace to the “utopian”. Each version had a different design for balconies and the building facade, which the architects introduced during the event. The residents were able to ask questions and express their opinions on the designs, which resulted in a very constructive discussion. In the next steps, the housing association needs to analyse its needs and start eliminating designs, so the architects can continue working with the options the residents most like.
The second part of the event was dedicated to renovation costs. A specialist from the Tallinn University of Technology presented initial calculations using current interest rates and bank fees to calculate the cost of the renovation for the apartment owners. Possible future scenarios, such as changes in the interest rates, were also discussed. It is clear that the cost of renovation is high and that is daunting for the residents, but with the combined support of the oPEN Lab project and other financial instruments, the cost is much more affordable.
In the next stage, the oPEN Lab team will help residents form a renovation working group that has the time and motivation to go into greater detail with renovation planning and make decisions on behalf of the residents. In the meantime, the housing association will choose between different architectural designs and move closer to finalising their design choices.
