Erika Nõva née Volberg (4 April 1905,

Muuksi Muuksi is a village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia. Architect Erika Nõva (1905–1987) was born in Toomani farmstead in Muuksi village. Gallery File:Muuksi Sepa talu.jpg, Sepa farmstead in Muuksi File:Muuksi bussipeatus.j ...

– 22 April 1987,

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

) was an Estonian architect, remembered mainly for her farmhouse designs. She was the first woman to graduate as an architect in

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

Biography

Nõva studied at the Tallinn College of Engineering becoming the Estonia's first female architecture graduate in 1925. Her first post was with the Settlement Office run by the Estonian Ministry of Agriculture which established new areas for settlement on land owned by the State. The hundreds of farmhouses she designed between 1933 and 1938 were inspired by traditional farm dwellings housing people on one side and livestock on the other. Her simple, pragmatic designs were also reflected in her farmhouse furniture. The schools in Pillapalu, Koiduküla and Peressaare were also designed by Erika Nõva. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Nõva carried out planning work for municipalities and farming areas, frequently returning to farmhouse design."Architectural exhibitions 2005"
, ''Architecktuurimuuseum.ee''. Retrieved 12 February 2012. An exhibition of Erika Nõva's work arranged by her granddaughter Siiri Nõva was held in 2005 at the Museum of Estonian Architecture in Tallinn. Eriks's elder brother

August Volberg August Volberg (18 December 1896 Muuksi, Harju County – 21 June 1982 Tallinn) was an Estonian architect and educator.Eesti kunsti ja arhitektuuri biograafiline leksikon (EKABL). Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, 1996. Page 600 In 1927, h ...

was also an architect.

Selected works

Among Erika Nõva's principal works are:"Esimene Eesti naisarhitekt Erika Nõva – 100"
, ''Sonumitooja.ee''. Retrieved 11 February 2012. *Tallinn Sports Hall (1938) *Tallinn English College, together with Alar Kotli, (1939), now the main building at

Tallinn University Tallinn University (TLU; , ''TLÜ'') is a public research university in Estonia. Located in the centre of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn University is one of the three largest institutions of higher education in the country. Both QS ...

*Tallinn Central Hospital (1940) * Kalev Stadium, together with Alar Kotli (1952)

References

Literature

* Lass, Anne: ''Erika Nõva: minu töö ja elu'', 2006, Tallinn, Arhitektuurimuuseum, 72 pp. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Nova, Erika 1905 births 1987 deaths People from Kuusalu Parish People from Kreis Harrien 20th-century Estonian architects 20th-century Estonian women artists 20th-century Estonian artists Estonian women architects Tallinn University of Technology alumni