Tallinn University of Applied Sciences

Tallinn University of Applied Sciences occupies a teaching building on the corner of Pärnu maantee and Väike-Ameerika Street, completed in 1953 to a design by architect H. Serlin and originally built for the Tallinn Mining Technical School. Together with Tõnismäe Science School on Suur-Ameerika Street it forms a coherent Stalinist ensemble that gives the whole block its recognisable character. The formal language of the period is clearly legible in the architecture: a symmetrical plan, a central entrance stepping forward from the main volume with a temple pediment and white plastered columns, and neoclassical detailing. The interiors have also preserved the columns, ceremonial staircases and decorative mouldings typical of the era. In architectural history the building has been regarded as a fairly typical example of all-Union classicism rather than a distinctive work. In 2014 the school announced an interior architecture competition in order to open the lower floors more towards the urban space. In the renovation project the historic elements have been finished in light tones, with minimalist additions of glass and dark metal placed alongside them, creating a dialogue between old and new.