Olev Siinmaa (November 12, 1881 – March 29, 1948),
/ref> was an Estonian architect who is perhaps best recalled for his work in the style coined "Pärnu Resort Functionalism". Olev Siinmaa was born Oskar SiimannÜlar Saar: ''Olev Siinmaa 125''
/ref> in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet ...

into a joinery shop owner's family. He studied interior and furniture design in

Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

and

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

technical schools in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 1925, he was appointed the architect of the city of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Siinmaa's first Functionalist design was in 1930 on Roosikrantsi Street in the Estonian capital of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

. Siinmaa is possibly best recalled as the architect (along with Anton Soans) of the Pärnu Beach Hotel, constructed between 1935 and 1937. Completed in 1937, the hotel has been described as the "flagship of the new functionalist architecture." In 1938, Siinmaa, along with architect

Alar Kotli Alar Kotli (27 August 1904 in Väike-Maarja - 4 October 1963 in Tallinn) 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 Univ ...

competed to design the Presidential Palace, which was to be the Building of the Office of the then President of Estonia,

Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts (; – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president in 1938–1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades prior ...

. Kotli designed the ceremonial spaces of the office building, while the President's Big Office was designed by Siinmaa. In 1944, Siinmaa emigrated to Norrköping, Sweden where he died in 1948. In 1994, after several years in disrepair, the Pärnu Beach Hotel was bought by

Scandic Hotels Scandic Hotels is a hotel chain headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with its main operations in the Nordic countries. Alongside hotels in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, the company also has a presence in Germany and Poland. As of 31 Decem ...

, renovated and renamed the Scandic Rannahotell. In 2016, another renovation was completed.

References

1881 births 1948 deaths People from Pärnu People from the Governorate of Livonia Estonian architects Estonian World War II refugees Estonian emigrants to Sweden {{Estonia-architect-stub