Estonian Academy of Arts

The Estonian Academy of Arts is one of the six public universities in Estonia, with 4 faculties and over 30 fields of study. It was founded in 1914 when the Estonian Art Society’s Tallinn School of Applied Art was opened in the Kanuti Guild Hall. In 1917, it was relocated to Tartu maantee, where the university operated under various names until 2009.
After complex struggles, the historical property at Tartu maantee 1 was relinquished, and the former buildings of Rauaniit, Red Dawn, and AS Suva Stocking Factory were acquired at Kotzebue Street 1/Põhja pst. 7. In 2014, an architectural competition was organized, and the winning project, “Linea” (Canvas), was designed by the Estonian Academy of Arts alumni Joel Kopli, Koit Ojaliiv, Juhan Rohtla, and philosopher Eik Hermann from KUU Architects.

The current building’s history dates back a hundred years when Ephraim Lerenmann’s textile company Rauaniit started operating in the autumn of 1919 in the Köismäe area, at the corner of Kotzebue Street and Põhja puiestee, on the ground floor of a two-story stone building. The first larger production building was completed in 1925, and a modern production building was constructed in 1933 according to the design by Eugen Habermann. Additional extensions were made between 1965 and 1972.
Throughout the years, the evolving factory building offered ample opportunities for young architects to preserve historically valuable elements while creating new ones. Within it, there is a hundred-year-old corner tower with preserved stencil paintings on its walls. The extensions from the 1960s on the Põhja puiestee side have also been valued.

This intriguing building with its numerous studios, workshops, outdoor terraces, and spacious public areas has served as the Estonian Academy of Arts for nearly 5 years. The new educational building commenced its studies in September 2018.

Sustainable Solutions (Building Futures Together):

The Estonian Academy of Arts has been awarded the European Green Office certificate since the spring of 2023.

EKA uses 100% renewable electricity provided by Electrum and environmentally friendly heat produced by Utilitas for district heating. The building is equipped with an Ecomatic remote control system, which allows for partial lighting control based on sunlight intensity, remote switching on or off, or time-based regulation, real-time monitoring of electricity consumption, heating systems, ventilation, and fire safety parameters.

Several projects related to the energy efficiency of the EKA educational building are underway: Partial replacement of lighting with LEDs, monitoring of room occupancy and air quality (usage, temperature, room-specific CO2, and humidity), design and implementation of battery solutions, design and construction of a solar park, heating plant refurbishment to enable control of various building sections, and the development of a virtual power plant. EKA also plans to introduce card readers with the aim of enabling phone-based access in the future, as well as virtual cards.

Meeting Point: At the main entrance of the EKA.