
László Rajk. Interruption. (Monument to ÁÉV no 43 and FŐBER). 5 Projects, 1977. Ink on tracing paper, 58×40 cm. Sárospatak Art Gallery
This research area focuses on architecture, design and visual culture in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union on the background of region’s political, institutional and technological developments. Previous projects include studies on leisure and free time spaces in the 1960s and 1970s in the context of changed automation and work culture; the impact of discourses of cybernetics and future studies on architecture and art practices; or the political meaning of Eastern European paper architecture in 1970s and 1980s. We are interested in less studied or recently discovered archives of Eastern European art and in juxtaposing this material with the dominant narratives of (Western) art history. In addition to traditional academic work, the output of our projects include research exhibitions and popular publications.
Research projects connected to the field:
Built environments of care from the late socialist to post-socialist Estonia (PSG 2025-2029)
Urbanities in the country. Spatio-cultural analysis of a summer house (KUM-TA64, 2025-2026)
Forecast and fantasy in late Soviet architecture(PSG, 2020-2024)
Editing and publishing “The History of Estonian Urban Planning vol. 2 (1918–2020)” (2021-2024)
Spatial environment in Estonia as an object of art historical research. (SF, 2004-2008)