Paljassaare Drift
Tutor: Katrin Koov, Kadri Klementi and Eik Hermann

In my master’s thesis, I set out to explore the act of walking and its benefits, proposing an exploration landscape stretching across the Paljassaare peninsula.

Analysing data on city walks, we can see that the Paljassaare peninsula is void of activity resulting in a mental gap among the inhabitants. The proposed exploration landscape would make the area more accessible and bring attention to the rich environment of the peninsula.

Future plans involve extensive developments that could raise the population from 600 to 50 000 people. As the area is currently only accessible to wanderers, the hidden values of the existing landscape might become overshadowed by the fastpaced developments. The exploration landscape would allow people to discover and develop a meaningful attachment to the area, raising awareness of the existing values in the planning process.

The backbone of this project is an unused train corridor starting from Kopli cargo station and ending at Pikakari beach, at the north-eastern peak of the peninsula. It runs through the mental gap and allows for exploration of the area. My interventions are modest, making the track more accessible with resting stops along the way. In addition, I propose three beacons or watchtowers that appear from the train tracks, encouraging the stroller to drift off course towards them and discover the surrounding landscape.

The exploration landscape does not propose a park design but offers a journey full of discovery through the unconscious of the city.