Tartu College is a not for profit student residence on the north side of
Bloor Street
Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkw ...
West, just east of Madison Avenue, in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. Most of its residents are students of the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
.
Tartu College was built in 1970, two years after its sister building, the David A. Croll Apartments (originally
Rochdale College
Rochdale College was an experiment in student-run alternative education and co-operative living in Toronto, Canada from 1968 to 1975. It provided space for 840 residents in a co-operative living space. It was also an informal, noncredited free ...
), was built a block away on the opposite side of the street in 1968. Both buildings were designed by architects
Elmar Tampõld
Elmar Tampõld (August 3, 1920 – March 7, 2013) was an
Bay Street
Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Stree ...
and Bloor Street). Like the Rochdale building, it is an example of
brutalist
Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...
architectural principles, and serves as a nostalgic reminder of the 1960s culture during which both buildings emerged.
It was named after the city of
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast 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 ...
, and was originally built as an undergraduate student co-op with a library, archive, and study centre serving the Estonian-Canadian community.
Tartu Institute
In Tartu College, there operates also Tartu Institute. The institute was established on 9 February 1971. The institute deals mostly activities related to Estonian diaspora in Canada.