Alar Kotli

Who was Alar Kotli?

Alar Kotli was an Estonian architect. He studied sculpture at the art school Pallas in Tartu during 1922-1923 and mathematics at the University of Tartu. He graduated from the Gdańsk University of Technology in 1927 as an architect.

Among the most famous and influential Estonian architects, Kotli has created several important landmarks in Tallinn. These include the Estonian Song Festival grounds, the main building of Tallinn University, the Art Fund building and the administrative building in Kadriorg park in conjunction with architect Olev Siinmaa. Kotli has also created many experimental apartment building projects, which were widely used after World War II when there was a serious need for new dwellings. Smaller buildings were used in the 1950s as lottery jackpots.

Kotli's style has varied over the years. He has designed many functionalistic buildings in the 1930s, for example - schoolhouses in Rakvere and Tapa. The Presidential Palace, also dating from the 1930s, can be categorised as historicism, while his '50s and '60s style is similar to brutalism.