The Riigikogu building turns 100

The Riigikogu building in Estonia will celebrate its 100th anniversary on September 9, 2022. The event will feature a postal stamp release and a jubilee exhibition. On Monday, September 12th, at 13:00, a postal stamp entitled “Riigikogu Hoone 100” will be presented in the Valges Saal.

Speakers will include Riigikogu Speaker Jüri Ratas, Omniva Chairman Mart Mägi, and the President of the Estonian Architects’ Association, Andro Mänd. The stamp, designed by artist Jaan Saare, has a print run of 20,000 copies at a nominal value of 90 cents. The first-day stamp and first-day cover are available for purchase at the presentation, on the Omniva e-shop, and at post offices across Estonia.

A jubilee exhibition will open in the building’s vestibule at 14:00, offering a detailed overview of the building’s history. The exhibition will be opened by Riigikogu Speaker Jüri Ratas and Estonian Academy of Arts Rector and architectural historian Mart Kalm. The exhibition concept and origin will be introduced by Identity Creative Lead Ionel Lehari and Curator Karin Paulus.

The exhibition explores the building’s architecture through simple geometric forms – cone, cylinder, sphere, and cube. The exhibition, created in collaboration between the Riigikogu Secretariat, Ruumilabor, and Identity, spans the entire building, gradually revealing the nature of the space, its history, and the people associated with it. Guided tours of the Riigikogu building and the jubilee exhibition will be held from September 17th to October 9th, on Saturdays and Sundays at 12:00 and 14:00.

Interested parties can register for the tours at ekskursioon@riigikogu.ee. The Riigikogu building, located in the courtyard of Toompea Castle complex, began construction in 1920 according to the designs of architects Eugen Habermann and Herbert Johanson, and was officially opened on September 12, 1922. The building is notable as the world’s only expressionist parliamentary building.

All furniture was produced in Tallinn at the Lutheri vabrik (Lutheran Workshop) according to the architects’ designs, intended to complement the building’s architecture. The ceiling of the building’s vestibule and plenary session hall is made of reinforced concrete, a material not widely used in construction at the time. The building’s most distinctive room is the two-story plenary session hall with its curved, ribbed walls in a saddleback design, framed by a zigzagging white cornice concealing light sources.

The hall’s current design has been restored to its original 1920s style, primarily under the direction of interior designer Leila Pärtelpoja.

Topics: #riigikogu #hoone #postimees