SINKING&SHRINKING - Adapting to Subsidence on an Example of Shrinking Kohtla-Järve City

This master’s thesis sheds light on the need and possibilities for revaluing post-mining industrial landscapes, using the exhausted Kukruse oil shale mine as a case study. It focuses on the extraction of mineral resources and the resulting post-extracted landscapes. Oil shale mining, a leading industry in Estonia, leaves a significant spatial footprint with a recognizable rhythm and strong identity. Traditionally, underground mines are abandoned after resource exploitation. This thesis proposes a revaluation of the underground industrial heritage, restoring and reusing elements like shurfs, stretches, oil shale columns, and chambers.

Additionally, this study examines the post-mining city of Kohtla-Järve, addressing the subsidence (sinking) of residential buildings and radical demographic shrinking. The aim is to adapt to these changes, embracing ongoing demographic and post-industrial processes. Inspired by post-humanism, the thesis suggests reusing underground spaces for passive storage, which does not require human presence, promoting co-existence and opening up the underground landscape.