The first year of SOFTacademy – transforming modernist areas through urban innovation

The 5 innovative components of SOFTacademy

The innovative solution developed as part of the SOFTacademy project consists of several mutually reinforcing components. These are: (1) Participation and inclusion, (2) Neighbourhood circular building renovation to nearly zero energy, (3) Reinventing public space, (4) Streamlining administrative processes, and (5) Digitalisation and data. These elements will be used in the Urban Diary chapters throughout the project’s life to document the progress of the project and the lessons learnt (more on these components on Portico).

What happened in the first year of SOFTacademy

In the first 12 months, SOFTacademy has progressed on various fronts, working towards the primary goal of the project: developing an integrated concept for reinventing the prefabricated modernist districts into cosy living environments, renovating the buildings, improving the quality of the public space, and strengthening the community.  

1. Participation and Inclusion

Involving the broader community in the design and decision-making process has been central to the activities and will remain a cross-cutting component throughout the project’s life. This empowers the inhabitants while simultaneously creating support and acceptance for the proposed interventions in the project location and the following areas, preventing backlash.

Public participation and involving the community in urban projects are not new topics. Can this still be seen as innovative? For SOFTacademy, that is certainly the case. The renovation of multi-owner apartment buildings is rarely subject to authentic engagement and participation procedures because of the complex relations between people and institutions, as well as the many stakeholders, which often have conflicting interests. However, in the case of SOFTacademy, participation and inclusion are not just a project requirement; they are seen as the ‘cement’ for the puzzle pieces that form the innovative solution.

For the first time in Tallinn, SOFTacademy succeeded in conducting a valuable participation process related to a neighbourhood-based renovation intervention, together with a considerable number of apartment owners (around 200 in the project area). The starting point was creating mutual understanding and trust, enhancing knowledge, opening discussions, and exchanging ideas between stakeholders—from city administration to apartment owners and housing associations. A particular aspect worth mentioning is that the inhabitants must co-finance the renovation, which adds an extra layer of complexity and nuances to the discussions. In this first year, the citizens' engagement process has focused on launching the project, reaching out to as many inhabitants as possible and working together on solutions for the four buildings central to this project (read the Zoom-In on this topic). What truly was unique were the dialogue and co-creation activities that took place from the beginning of the project.  The municipality facilitated these discussions in what was a first in renovation projects. This helped build trust in a complex cultural and geo-political context.

A big challenge was overcoming language barriers (inhabitants speak Estonian or Russian) and debunking the mistrust between people and institutions. Working with both analogue and digital tools in several languages and providing opportunities for all people to express their opinions have been instrumental in creating, in the first instance, interest in participating and, in the second instance, support for the project. This does not mean that the co-creation process has been frictionless; often, some conflicting ideas needed to be levelled out or compromised on, especially since people need to pay themselves for part of the renovation. The team provided the required information and tools, asked the right questions and, most importantly, encouraged and provided a platform for a direct, eye-to-eye dialogue. In times of increased digitalisation and the use of online platforms, direct contact has proved crucial.

The order in which things happened was different than first planned or expected. The intention was to develop an engagement model comprising tools and methods to support the participation process, validated through workshops, and then proceed with the actual engagement. However, because of the tight project schedule, participation needed to start even before the official kick-off, so there was no time to go through the preparatory steps. That meant the project team needed to 'invent the bike while riding it', as Mattias Malk[1] metaphorically puts it. In hindsight, this way of working has benefited the project's progress – the significant steps and phases were set, but details were not yet formalised in an engagement model. That meant some flexibility could still be built into the process, allowing for changes and improvisations when needed. It has also provided a lot of learning points for the project team, which is now preparing to replicate this process in the chosen area in Mustamäe.  

The context of the SOFTacademy project is, from many points of view, particular. The project has received European funding; many experts are engaged in the different activities, and much energy and knowledge goes into it. The biggest challenge the project needs to address in the coming steps is replicating what has been developed without having all the extra perks. A middle ground has been found – testing the solutions in a so-called replication area. This area provides a similar context in Mustamäe, where some of the engagement activities (particularly related to the courtyard design) will be validated under 'usual' conditions – less external funding and fewer expert hours, but with the municipality still taking a leading role. The aim is to develop and institutionalise an engagement model that, in the end, will be functional on its own and will help communities maximise resources when they are scarce.

Engaging the inhabitants has been and will continue to be a vehicle to drive innovation further, pushing the project partners to think beyond the initial ideas and solutions.

2. Circular Building Renovation

The renovation of the four target buildings remains the primary motivation behind the SOFTacademy project. While construction has not started yet, with the procurement procedure being set up, working on this project component has provided the team with valuable lessons and insights. For the first time in Estonia, the SOFTacademy project tackles a whole neighbourhood, not only individual buildings, and aims to renovate to nearly zero energy (EPC “A”), beyond the minimum energy performance requirement for major renovations (EPC “C”).

This approach has already created some changes in the financing mechanisms available. Having SOFTacademy as an example and pilot of the first-ever neighbourhood-level renovation in Estonia, starting with the new funding round in autumn 2025, The Enterprise and Innovation Foundation (EIS - the state organisation providing 50% financial support for renovation) will officially include supporting the renovation of more buildings in one package. Moreover, the new regulation will introduce New European Bauhaus (NEB) criteria for renovation projects as part of the assessment procedure. This directly results from the discussion around NEB stirred by SOFTacademy. Such spin-offs and spillovers push innovation beyond the project, creating lasting change.

A particular outcome of community participation and inclusion is that the inhabitants of two buildings want to include full-floor elevators in the renovation package. This technical solution has never been implemented in Estonia before, so there are several uncertainties and risks that the project team has identified and will anticipate on. The first challenge is that EIS does not provide financial support for elevators due to legal issues related to the decision to renovate procedure – they require an absolute majority to support the renovation. Reaching a 100% agreement with the apartment owners is, in practice, nearly impossible, with people not being traceable, having left the country, or not supporting the solution. Since there is no definitive judicial interpretation of the voting procedures required, the City of Tallinn decided to instate a city-level financial support mechanism specifically targeting the installation of elevators that require a simple majority (50%+1), thus allowing innovation to further develop.

There are concerns that installing elevators will create complications during the execution of works due to the lack of experience with this technical solution. Despite these concerns, the team sees this as an opportunity to learn, identify possible obstacles and pave the way for finding new solutions and advancing innovation in future renovation projects. Further, modular renovation with wooden elements, such as the one proposed by SOFTacademy, requires a different procurement procedure. Because of the tight planning schedule of the project and the technical solution, design and execution cannot be separated into two stages of procurement. Therefore, the prepared tender will rely on an integrated project delivery - Design & Build system, with one single contracted entity responsible for the whole process. This could make the procurement process more efficient but also more expensive. The experiences gathered through SOFTacademy will also serve as a basis for institutionalising neighbourhood-level renovation from a contracting and execution point of view, changing a risks and uncertainty into a learning opportunity.

3. Reinventing the Public Space

Organising renovation projects at neighbourhood level opens up opportunities to improve the quality of the public space between the buildings. This is a complex issue since the courtyards are, in most cases, city property. Community engagement in the redevelopment of courtyards is not typical in Tallinn, and SOFTacademy is the first project introducing this component. Previously, courtyard improvements took place on cooperative land or through punctual agreements allowing individual elements on city land (e.g. a bike shed). The project proposes a more integrated approach, looking at nature-based solutions, changing the character of the public space and giving it a different added value in the neighbourhood. For the first time in Tallinn, the city is taking up a leading role in the regeneration of the courtyards in modernist areas, with the responsible city agency overseeing design and construction, followed by managing the area afterwards.

Participation and inclusion are the foundation of designing the courtyards within the SOFTacademy project. Using activities such as citizens' assemblies or hackathons (now developed and tested within SOFTacademy) is a new approach in Estonia. The results, the lessons learnt, and the experiences from SOFTacademy will be validated in the replication area, working towards consolidating the citizen engagement model for public spaces. In organising these activities, much attention has been given to ensuring they are inclusive and don't feel like being imposed top-down by the city. The same approach of open dialogues and opening up discussions mentioned above has guided the design of public spaces so far.

As the name of the project implies, the renovation of the courtyards is guided by the Soft City principles developed by David Sim.[2] That means that a more comprehensive and integrated renovation is planned, which brings several challenges. Firstly, the discussions related to the public space renovation have primarily revolved around parking availability, with inhabitants fearing that the number of parking places will decrease. The inexistence of clear parking regulations for built-up neighbourhoods in Tallinn makes these discussions more complex. The positive spin-off is that the city has become more aware of this void in regulation and is preparing a consultation related to parking norms and regimes. Moreover, the municipality is considering developing clear guidelines and requirements for courtyard renovation to avoid disappointment and anticipate discussions that might occur (e.g. reduced parking space vs. nature-based solutions and other urban functions).

To guide the design of the public areas, the project team has developed a novel approach, avoiding the classical vicious circle of urban design: create a plan (in detail) in an office, bring it under consultation, make revisions (in detail), and go through the same cycle multiple rounds. The landscape architects from LAB Verte!, the project partners responsible for the design of the courtyards, have developed a so-called Spatial Management Plan, consisting of a basic division of the space with major fixed elements (e.g. walking routes, streets and parking provisions), that will further be filled up with other elements during co-creation sessions with the inhabitants. This approach (inspired by working with LEGO blocks) allows for flexibility in designing the courtyards. At the same time, it provides a good opportunity to inform the inhabitants about the value of the Soft City principles and the necessity of improving the area's overall quality of life. During the discussions with the inhabitants, the designers will work step-by-step towards a definitive filling of the plan, ensuring public support for the proposed interventions. A novelty for Estonia tested within SOFTacademy is gathering (qualitative and quantitative) data on the use of the spaces between buildings. A structured mapping of the life in the courtyards before and after implementation is planned. The gathered knowledge and results will help generate arguments for future neighbourhood renovations and will evaluate how the renovation of courtyard spaces affects community life.

During the reconstruction of the courtyards, several challenges have been identified. Firstly, a comprehensive public space renovation is costly, so concessions will need to be made. For future interventions, a remaining question that the project team will address is how to ensure sufficient funding, preferably from a mix of sources (state support via EIS, city financing, private investments, crowdfunding, etc.). Secondly, similar to the situation related to the elevators, placing new courtyard elements on private land and making bigger investments in the courtyards would require approval based on an absolute majority. Given the high number of stakeholders, this might deter implementation in the case of neighbourhood-based renovation.

4. Streamlining Administrative Processes

The SOFTacademy project is looking at improving administrative coordination, and fostering administrative innovation and leadership. Some challenges that the project encountered up to now were related to the misalignment of policies and regulations, firstly between the city and the national level and secondly between the different departments within the city administration. Just as with opening up the dialogue with the inhabitants, the SOFTacademy team is looking to level up some of these mismatches, paving the way for future neighbourhood-based renovation projects.

The necessity to accelerate the renovation and the fact that Tallinn is the only city growing in Estonia,  has pushed the local administration to be more daring and take more risks. The barriers encountered by the project are used to foster discussions with the national administration and to align ideas and policies. With EIS developing a comprehensive renovation portal, including resources for neighbourhood-based renovation, and the Ministry of Climate preparing a renovation guide, the local administration will work on enriching these national guidelines with Tallinn-specific information included in the Renovation Accelerator (read more about it here).

At the same time, between the city’s departments, there are sometimes contrasting ideas and visions related to some topics that SOFTacademy tackles. Especially on issues such as mobility and parking, but not only, views can differ. As part of streamlining administrative processes, the team is intensifying discussions with other city departments, striving to break the existing silos and encourage an integrated approach to renovation projects. Several departments of the city of Tallinn are increasingly cooperating and participating in the SOFTacademy project to gain experience for the future. This inter-departmental cooperation is needed to achieve a zero-emission building stock in Tallinn by 2050.

As a result of the project’s lobby work, the amendments to the city’s existing financial support mechanism related to comprehensive courtyard renovation are a significant achievement. This change allows for a higher subsidy allocated to integrated solutions that include playgrounds with permeable surfaces, natural stormwater management systems and parking management solutions. Future streamlining of administrative processes will include simplifying the renovation permit procedure to obtain a permit based on the building and urban space renovation solutions in a digital catalogue.

The integrated and inter-departmental cooperation that SOFTacademy fosters and nurtures is needed to achieve a zero-emission building stock in Tallinn by 2050, one of the city’s main objectives.

5. Digitalisation and Data

Digitalisation and data are not stand-alone topics, but they support the rest of the activities within SOFTacademy. The intention is to develop a digital renovation strategy tool (RST) integrated with existing databases. RST will support decision-making and streamlining renovation at the neighbourhood or municipal level. The procurement for the RST tool is now under preparation and in the coming period, the requirements for this tool will be clearly defined, gaining more weight within the project.

Next steps

While the project is entering its second year of implementation, work will continue on all these fronts, with the focus switching to building works intended to start in the autumn of 2025. At the same time, the design of the courtyards will be made definitive and sent for formal approval. Citizens’ engagement will remain the backbone of the decisions and activities in both the project and the replication areas. Attention will be given to replicating the SOFTacademy experiences in future projects, creating lasting change in Tallinn and beyond.

[1] Matthias Malk (MTÜ Living Street) coordinates the project's Participation and Inclusion component and has been instrumental in its success.

[1] Sim, David. 2019. Soft City: Building Density for Everyday Life. Island Press.

The author would like to thank the project team their contribution to this first chapter of the Urban Diary.