The exhibition investigated the relations between architecture and power as reflected in urban planning and focused mainly on the development of two Tallinn squares -- Liberty Square and Viru Square.

Since the earliest times there has existed a central public place for merchandise and communication, for public beheadings, games and rogueries. This place has also served as a stage for power struggles 
to be adorned with imposing buildings and monuments. And it is in 
this place that revolutions and coup d'etats usually take place.

The exhibition displayed master plans and urban planning designs that have contributed to the development of Tallinn throughout the 20th century, including unique original documents that had been stashed in secret archives until quite recently. The plans for urban development determine the position of squares in urban space, their functional role and significance. There have been various solutions over different periods of time.

When Estonians first gained power in Tallinn, they designed a central square on the site of the present-day Viru Square (then called the Russian market). In 1912 a new town hall was planned. In the period 
of the Republic of Estonia the focus shifted: now it was Liberty Square where in the 1930s monumental designs for a new central square were made. The Soviets rejected the site because of its importance in the recent past which they wanted to obliterate, and planned a central square with the grandiose Palace of the Soviets and the statue of Stalin in the middle on the present-day Viru Square. Later designs have ranged from a rationalistic traffic junction to a classical forum. Today's developers see it as a mercantile centre with various department stores: it is the financiers who are in power now. In the Soviet times Liberty Square was a place for ceremonies and parades. Today there are discussions whether to put up a monument to mark Estonian independence. 

Over the recent years the planning and building of the central part 
of Tallinn has again intensified. The development of the central Liberty and Viru squares is still at issue. The exhibition "Space and Power" provided an opportunity to compare today's designs for the future with yesterday's, to examine the similarities and differences of the ambitions.

The aim of the exhibition was not to make propaganda or to commend or criticize any of the current solutions. Rather, we tried to take a neutral approach to controversial issues and let the visitors draw their own conclusions -- urban space is clearly associated with personal memories and experience.

Curator: Peeter Mauer

The exhibition was open: 8th March - 16th April 2000