Exhibition “From Excavation to Elevation” in the Contemporary Art Gallery
Created by Andrea Tamm, Hannes Praks, Henri Papson and Maria Helena Luiga from the design and materials research studio kuidas.works.
2.06 – 24.07.2023
From 2. of June, the Contemporary Art Gallery of Viimsi Artium hosts the exhibition “From Excavation to Elevation” by the design and material research studio kuidas.works, which focuses on the repurposing of residual soil excavated during building foundation works into circular construction material. As a result, 12 tons of soil and construction residues have reached the exhibition hall.
According to Hannes Praks, an interior architect and materials designer, who is the Chairman of the Estonian Centre for Architecture and one of the founders of kuidas.works, the design studio focuses on innovative solutions to make construction industry more sustainable.
Carbon emissions from the manufacturing of building materials account for 13% of the global CO2 emission- related footprint. Andrea Tamm, Hannes Praks, Henri Papson and Maria Helena Luiga, from the studio kuidas.works, firmly believe that by seeking out local and circular material solutions, the footprint of material production can be reduced. The use of residual material, which often contains a high concentration of clay, allows the buildings` footprint to be reduced while significantly improving the indoor climate of the interior.
The studio kuidas.works began an activity-based study to repurpose excavation waste from new developments around Tallinn in the autumn of 2022. The foundation pit residues from an apartment building foundation were mixed with crushed concrete, i.e., building residues and limestone production residues, i.e., sieves. To promote local mining waste, the studio decided to go through the entire development process, from excavating to prototyping the building materials. The soil used in the exhibition comes from the bottom sediments of the former Baltic ice cap lake, which is approximately 10,000 years old. The clay has a light grey color and is named “Mustamäe Hall” (Mustamäe Gray) after the area it was excavated from.
Together with UKU Pure Earth, the studio has created a location-specific series of building and finishing materials, including clay paint, clay plaster, compressed earth block, and rammed earth mixture.
Acknowledgements
Tartu University Department of Geology, TTK University of Applied Sciences, Competence Centre for Ecological Building, UKU Pure Earth, Viimsi Artium, PERI AS, Floorin AS, Kristiina Reidolv, Rosa Shepherd, Benedikt Rittger, Aimur Takk, Jaan and Mari Škerin, Sven Samyn, Mikk Luht, Marko Kikkas, Helari Sirelpuu and Malvo Tominga.
