Narva Estonian School and the Old Town Kindergarten

The project unites a state gymnasium, primary school, and kindergarten into a cohesive educational complex that encourages movement and community. As Narva’s only historically 100% Estonian-language school and kindergarten, it holds strong cultural and symbolic importance. The design restores public space by reviving lost streets and creating new pedestrian routes that reconnect the city. The white wooden kindergarten and dark titanium-zinc-clad school form a balanced duo, while views toward the Town Hall tower link daily learning with Narva’s layered identity.

One of the main concerns of both the city and the client was the openness of the new school building. In Narva—a city often perceived as unsafe by Estonian standards—the absence of fences felt risky. The school’s inner courtyard connects directly to a city street, allowing people to move freely through terraces leading up to the third-floor classroom windows. Our strategy was to use architecture to build trust and revitalise urban life, creating a shared civic space where openness encourages care instead of vandalism. Over time, the courtyard has become an active venue for public events, and initial fears have subsided. Another challenge was converting Hariduse and Moonalao Streets into pedestrian routes in a car-oriented city—an idea that has since been accepted. For the kindergarten, part of the adjacent park was transformed into a playground—initially met with safety concerns, but now warmly embraced by the community.

Construction required great precision, as the buildings were designed to the limits of efficiency set by the northern climate, leaving little room for error. Following Estonia’s State Real Estate BIM standard, the project team had a detailed model of the building before construction began. Durability and longevity guided material and structural choices. As much of Estonia’s building stock suffers from poor Soviet-era quality, renovation can be more costly and inefficient than building new. The aim was to preserve one of the few historic structures in Narva’s Old Town, but it stood on timber beams instead of stone, with uninsulated, fragile brick walls. Located on a limestone plateau, the excavated rock was crushed, certified, and reused on site. The new volume meets nearly zero-energy standards with passive shading and high U-value windows, doors, walls, roofs, and floors. Facades of titanium zinc and local wood ensure durability, low maintenance, and timeless material quality.