Erika Nõva
Illustration — Erika Nõva and Alar Kotli: The English College, now the main building of Tallinn University (1939). Nõva née Volberg (4 April 1905, Muuksi – 22 April 1987, Tallinn) was an Estonian architect, remembered mainly for her farmhouse designs. She was the first woman to graduate as an architect in Estonia.
Erika Nõva
Epp · CC BY-SA 3.0 ee
- Born
- 1905 · Kuusalu Rural Municipality.
- Died
- 1987 · Tallinn.
- Nationality
- Estonia
- Occupation
- architect
- Education
- Tallinn University of Technology
- Languages
- Estonian
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q544522 · wikipedia · Erika Nõva
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Not stated by the sources cited: nationality
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Biography
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, Nõva carried out planning work for municipalities and farming areas, frequently returning to farmhouse design. 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 was also an architect.
Documentary record
Erika Nõva (1905 – 1987) is described as an architect in the authority records of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Erika Nõva was born in 1905 in Kolga. Erika Nõva died in 1987.
Selected works
Selected works
Among Erika Nõva's principal works are: • Tallinn Sports Hall (1938) • Tallinn English College, together with Alar Kotli, (1939), now the main building at Tallinn University • Tallinn Central Hospital (1940) • Kalev Stadium, together with Alar Kotli (1952)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1905
Erika Nõva born at Kuusalu Rural Municipality.
1987
Erika Nõva died at Tallinn.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Kuusalu Rural Municipality.
Birth place
Tallinn.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Erika Nõva”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q544522: Erika Nõva
General reference · Wikidata
Literature
• Lass, Anne: Erika Nõva: minu töö ja elu, 2006, Tallinn, Arhitektuurimuuseum, 72 pp..
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Erika Nõva, revision 1363363555 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
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References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Design
11,558 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Erik L'HeureuxDesigner
- Erik MøllerDesigner
- Erik PalmstedtDesigner
- Erik RolfsenDesigner
- Erika PaulasováDesigner
- Erkki HuttunenDesigner
- Erling GjoneDesigner
- Erling ViksjøDesigner
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