St. Paul´s Church of Tartu

An finnish –estonian architectural competition for the restoration of the church was held in 2006. The church was being renovated on the principle that St. Paul’s Church is a sacred building, an architectural monument of the 20th century and also a concert hall. After the renovation it accommodates an audience of 1,100. Extensions, columbarium, crypt and technical rooms, were constructed under the church hall and back yard. Congregation wing and church hall were also fully renovated, new design was given to church yard “memory garden”, green areas and parking lot. The restoration was conducted in six phases in 2006-2015. The project also held a great importance due to the collaboration between Estonia and Finland.

The aim was to restore the church designed by the Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen. Saarinen´s designs were in part vague, and not all of them had been implemented. In 1944, during the war, the church was severaly damaged in the fire. During the Soviet time the church was repaired but the result deviated fundamentally from the original. From such a starting point, it would not have been possible to reconstruct the building to a specific historical appearance. The objective was to restore the basic structural layout, reinterpret and compelete with contemporary solutions the main features of Saarinen´s design, and together with careful detailing create an architecturally cohesive optimistic and festive space. The new crypt and columbarium in the basement form a clearly new and modern layer in the building complex and the “light towers” make the new architecture visible also on the outside of the church.

The spatial layout has been restored by building concrete balconies that lend structure to the main space. The opening of the bricked-in choir windows fills the choir space now with natural light. The concept of Gesamtkunstwerk has been a leading principle. The gallery rails and recesses in the surface of the ceiling follow Saarinen´s detailing, as does the square pattern in the new concrete floor, wooden doors and windows. The decorative paintings on the replastered vaults and walls were based on recovered fragments and photographs. The furniture and lamps were designed as part of the overall interior design. The tiled roof was restored to its original form. The tower and the brick wall in the facades were renovated. The old natural stone walls and geometrically subdivided concrete walls, as well as the free rhythm of the new brick barrel vaults in the crypt give the new spaces a strong character. Flowing water and Paradise –gate doors gives calmness to the shadowy columbarium space.