Alar Iukhanovich Kotli

Kotli, Alar Iukhanovich 

Born Aug. 4 (17), 1904, in the village of Väike-Maarja, in present-day Rakvere Raion; died Oct. 4, 1963, in Tallinn. Soviet architect. Honored Art Worker of the Estonian SSR (1947).

In 1927, Kotli graduated from the department of architecture at the Higher Technical School in Gdansk. In the late 1920’s he began working in Estonia. In Tallinn, Kotli taught at the Institute of Applied Art from 1946 to 1950, the Polytechnic Institute from 1948 to 1953, and the Art Institute from 1953 to 1963. His works include the building occupied by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR (Kadriorg, 1939), the Pedagogical Institute (Tallinn, 1939–40, with architect E. Növa), the reconstruction of the Estonia Theater (Tallinn, 1945–48), and the building housing the Board of Administration of the Art Fund of the Estonian SSR (Tallinn, 1949–50), a state bank (Pärnu, 1939), and an agricultural academy (Tartu, 1939–40, with architect E. Lohk). Kotli also designed open-air stages for song festivals in Tallinn and Vilnius (1950’s).