Tallinn Inspiration Tour curated by dotsandplanes

dotsandplanes - co-founded by Joost Vanhecke and An Michiels - organises inspiration tours for design and architecture professionals.

Tallinn - Capital of Estonia - 3-day tour curated for Designregio Kortrijk

Digital (r)evolution

Estonia was declared independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. With no resources and little means at hand, the country managed to develop itself rapidly into an e-government and a true forerunner with regards to e-services. This not only for its 1,3 million inhabitants, but also for the growing group of international e-residents that are starting up businesses remotely. Now, more than 71% of the country’s GDP is created by the services industry and entrepreneurship is considered second nature. Skype was born here in 2003 and in 2011, Microsoft paid $8,5 billion for the take-over. This large influx of money kickstarted a boom of start-ups, with notable names such as the successful moneytransfer platform Transferwise and the investment platform Funderbeam.

Meet insiders

Meet influencers from the government, get inspired by entrepreneurs from the disruptive start-up scene and meet innovative makers and designers who are creating  products ranging from direct-to-consumer e-bikes to intelligent flat-pack architecture.

Achitecture & Local lifestyle

Tallinn is an easy to navigate and has less than 500,000 inhabitants. The architectural context is mainly medieval, with strong reminders from the soviet era and hip new quarters that are being populated by young entrepreneurs and cultural players. Within the urban context of the capital, an international gastronomic scene is growing. Other important lifestyle elements include a strong appreciation of the outdoors, sauna culture and togetherness, a reminder of its geographical proximity to Scandinavia and Helsinki particularly.