Toomas Rein
Toomas Rein is an Estonian architect and watercolourist. He is particularly associated with modernist architecture in Soviet-era Estonia, including large rural commissions and projects for construction enterprises.
Among his best-known works are the Pärnu KEK terraced housing complex Kuldne Kodu, one of the longest residential buildings in Estonia, and the Rapla KEK administrative building, which was designated a cultural monument in 2015.
Life and education
Rein was born in Tallinn. He attended Tallinn 1st Secondary School from 1947 to 1954. He graduated from Tallinn Polytechnic in 1958 with a degree in industrial and civil construction and later completed architectural studies at the Estonian State Art Institute in 1967.Career and work
Rein’s Soviet-era work is closely linked to modernist rural architecture and to projects commissioned by KEK organisations and collective-farm institutions.Pärnu KEK and ''Kuldne Kodu''
A major project of the Pärnu KEK residential district is the terraced housing complex Kuldne Kodu. It is commonly described as around three-quarters of a kilometre in length; the Dehio OME inventory gives the main terraced building as 726.7 metres long. Estonian Public Broadcasting has described it as about 740 metres long and noted its unusual scale in the Estonian context.Rapla KEK administrative building
Rein designed the Rapla KEK administrative building, a widely discussed example of late-Soviet modernism in Estonia. The building was designated a cultural monument in 2015 by the Estonian state. It has also been discussed in heritage and conservation context in English-language materials on Estonia’s cultural heritage.Suur Munamägi observation tower
Rein prepared a reconstruction project for the Suur Munamägi observation tower in 1999–2000; the tower reopened after major works on 24 July 2005.Film
A documentary portrait film about Rein, Ehituskunstnik Toomas Rein, is listed in the Estonian Film Database as a 2010 documentary and has been screened by professional architecture institutions.Awards and honours
- 2000 – State cultural prize for the architectural design of the extension to Otepää Gymnasium.
- 2012 – Order of the White Star, IV Class.
- 2014 – Perekond Kreisi Architecture Prize.
- 2020 – State cultural lifetime achievement award.
Selected works
Kuldne Kodu terraced housing complex, Pärnu- Rapla KEK administrative building, Rapla
- Viljandi fire station
- Extension to Otepää Gymnasium
- Reconstruction of the Suur Munamägi observation tower