Estonia is a Baltic State country with the population of 1,3 million inhabitants. Almost half of them lives and works in the capital – Tallinn. 80 % of all investments in immovable properties in Estonia are realized in Tallinn. Estonia regained independence in 1991, soon after there was a period of quick transformation in politics and economy. The changes took place also in the public space, concerning architecture and architectural education in Estonia. Estonian Academy of Arts ( EEA) started educating a new generation of architects. In this period Estonia was under the strong influence of new architecture of Holland. The architects educated in EEA gained wide knowledge and skills in the strategic planning, the engineering and design, so they were able to work in various fields related to architecture. Rotermann district in Tallinn is a good example of the architecture of this period. It is an exceptional example of urban planning where contemporary architecture and cultural heritage were placed next to one another in courageous and innovative way. Industrial buildings from the beginning of the XX century were built with natural materials with high attention to aesthetics – all this to make it last for years. The reality however proved to be different, the factories got closed. On the other hand, the defence infrastructure and industrial plants of the Soviet era built in the cities centres were repulsive to look at and poor in quality. In the centre of Tallinn and in the pearl of baroque - Narva – all districts were destroyed in Soviet bombardments in 1944 and are derelict or very little used until today. Between 2000-2008, in the years of the Estonian economic boom, a lot of important projects come up from architectural competitions. For many young architects it meant a quick career right after the graduation. This fresh, contemporary, intelligent language of the new generation is still predominant in Estonian architecture. This quick and intense tempo of development and realization of projects in Estonia gave rise to a group of architects, who, despite their young age had much more experience than the people of their age from other European countries. After the period of the economic boom many of them used their experience to find their own niche and to create scrupulous, difficult architecture.

This exhibition “Transformation in the contemporary Estonian architecture” shows the trends of the architecture in the country, where the new objects were set next to the old ones and the contemporary architecture carefully fits in its historical context.

The Exibitions is opening  at 10:00 until 6:00 p.m.

Admission Free

On 13 February at 17:30 in the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre gallery we invite you to the debate devoted to the architecture in Estonia in XX century. At the discussion we will hear from the specialists : Jerzy Matusiak-Tusiacki ( Toruń) , Anna Perz ( Gdańsk ) and Jakub Szczepański ( Gdańsk )

Curator: Andrus Koresaar Pictures: Kaido Haagen, Martin Siplane, Tiit Veermae, Arne Maasik
Partners: Ministry of Culture of Estonian Republic, Estonian Culture Fund, Association of Estonian Architects, Estonian Embassy in Helsinki, Estonian Embassy in London.
Projects: Andrus Koresaar, Liina Rohtlaan, Maris Hellarand, Anthony Lawrence, Elo Aun, Helen Kuppas,