Natural and built environment

Natural environment

• Vegetation, ecology & smart urban nature: Remote sensing, spatial ecology, green infrastructure, and digital and cyber-physical solutions for analysing and planning vegetated environments and biodiverse urban nature.
• Soil & subsurface: Soil characterisation, surveys, and subsurface utilities.
• Water systems: Wastewater and urban water monitoring, molecular diagnostics (eDNA), biofouling, and water resilience.
• Climate: Climate modelling and tool development for urban environments.
• Sensor-based environmental monitoring: Development and deployment of sensing technologies for high-resolution environmental data collection, analysis, and evidence-based decision-making.

Built environment

• Smart & energy-efficient buildings and districts: Smart building solutions, energy communities, and positive energy districts.
• Indoor environment, health & safety: Indoor climate monitoring, electricity consumer behaviour, and assessment of indoor environmental conditions.
• Bio-digital architecture & urban design: Experimental approaches combining biological and digital perspectives in built-environment design, including circular bioeconomy.

Society & governance

• Civic engagement in urban planning: Participatory and collaborative planning supported by digital tools, including PPGIS and 3D city models, to co-develop urban design options with stakeholders.
• Multi-stakeholder urban development: Collecting, discussing, and integrating diverse stakeholder perspectives into urban development and decision-making.
• Citizen well-being & health: Combining psychological surveys and physiological measurements to understand how urban environments affect residents’ mental and physical well-being, including perceptions of safety.
• Urban resilience & risk analysis: Assessing urban vulnerabilities and risks, including water resilience and risk modelling.
• Circularity & governance: Developing governance approaches and circularity models for more sustainable urban development.

Digital technologies

• Digital twins & 3D city models: Digital twin technologies, 3D city modelling, vulnerability analytics, and CityGML development.
• Remote sensing & data solutions: Advanced urban data collection, processing, analytics, and back-end development.
• Smart planning support systems: Co-developing decision-support systems that combine urban data and stakeholder input to support better planning decisions.
• Smart urban space solutions: Life-centric digital and cyber-physical solutions for analysing, planning, and improving smart and liveable urban spaces.

Dr. Viktorija Prilenska: Research fellow, FinEst Centre
With a background in architecture, urban planning and business administration, Viktorija has hands-on experience as an architect, urban planner, and a civic activist. Passionate about mobility, energy, and smart city innovation, Viktorija helps to build bridges between universities and industry to turn research into real-world impact.

Dr. Henna Fabritius: Senior Research Fellow, FinEst Centre
With a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Henna is focusing on the 3D modelling of biodiversity for Urban Digital Twins and 3D city models.

Laura Mrosla: Researcher at the FinEst Centre; PhD candidate at TalTech and Aalto University
Laura is focusing on the integration of biodiversity into Urban Digital Twins. By highlighting more-than-human stakeholders, she bridges urban development, natural conservation and restoration efforts, and emerging technologies to advance resilient, sustainable and adaptive urban environments.

Dr. Ciprian Briciu-Burghina: Research Fellow, FinEst Centre
Ciprian’s expertise covers analytical and bioanalytical chemistry, sensor design and prototyping, optical detection, and environmental monitoring. He is the co-developer of ColiSense, a rapid on-site test kit for detecting and quantifying E. coli in environmental waters.  His research focuses on sensor technologies for environmental monitoring, spanning water, air, and soil, and harnessing high-resolution data to inform decision-making.

Dr. Peeter Laas: Researcher, FinEst Centre / University of Tartu
Peeter is an expert in molecular ecology and microbiology.

Silver Sternfeldt: Environmental psychologist, independent partner

Prof. Ivo Fridolin: Tenured Full Professor, Head of Centre for Biomedical Engineering, TalTech

Kristjan Pilt: Senior Researcher, Centre for Biomedical Engineering, TalTech

See academic publications