NSPS and Ülar Mark: architecture, UrbanHack and new approaches to urban planning and reconstruction
On April 22, 2026, in Tallinn, Oleksandr Pietushkov, Director of International Cooperation and Development of NSPS, met with Ülar Mark — a prominent Estonian architect, former head of the Estonian Association of Architects (arhliit.ee) and the driving force behind UrbanHack (urbanhack.eu).
The meeting took place in an informal but highly substantive atmosphere, covering a broad range of topics — from the state of architectural and design practice in Estonia to contemporary approaches to urban development and the potential for international cooperation in reconstruction.
Ülar Mark is a landmark figure in Estonian architecture: he has represented Estonia at the Venice Architecture Biennale, served as head of the Estonian Association of Architects, and is today one of the key thinkers behind UrbanHack — an initiative that brings together architects, urbanists, researchers and activists to find unconventional solutions to urban development challenges.
The conversation explored how the Estonian architectural community built its identity after independence was restored, the role that associations and civic initiatives played in shaping urban quality, and how UrbanHack has become a tool for fresh thinking about cities.
Special attention was given to reconstruction and post-war planning — specifically, how architectural thinking can and must be embedded in recovery processes from the very beginning, not after key decisions have already been made through a purely technocratic lens.
Ülar Mark shared his view that the greatest mistake in reconstruction is treating it purely as a construction or engineering task, thereby marginalising the architect’s role as an integrator of social, spatial and temporal dimensions.
Key meeting topics:
- Architectural identity: how Estonia built its profile after independence
- UrbanHack — unconventional thinking about urban development
- Reconstruction and post-war planning: the architect as integrator, not executor
- The role of associations and civic initiatives in shaping urban quality
- Potential for international cooperation in Ukraine’s reconstruction
- Good architecture as a sense of belonging, safety and future
Meeting takeaways:
The architect’s voice
- Confirmed that the voice of the architectural and design community is irreplaceable in the country’s recovery process
Estonian experience
- Estonia is ready to share its experience of shaping architectural identity and contemporary approaches to urban development
Integrated approach
- Architectural thinking must be embedded in reconstruction from the very beginning, not after key technocratic decisions have already been made
