Nominee for the annual award of the Estonian Association of Interior Architects 2024
Nominee for the Annual Award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia in Architecture 2024
Architecture
Ralf Lõoke, Maarja Kask, Ragnar Põllukivi, Margus Tamm, Märten Peterson (Salto AB)
Collaborators
Martin McLean, Inke-Brett Eek, Moonika Liias, Tanel Teder, Ainiki Niinelaid
Interior architecture
Marja Abe, Liisa Põime (Salto AB)
Landscape architecture
Salto AB
Maarja Gustavson (Polka)
Structural design
Arro & Agasild Inseneribüroo
Commissioned by
Riigi Kinnisvara, Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium
Construction
Ehitustrust
Total area (secondary school)
5925m2
Pindala (elementary school)
5365m2
Design
2023
Completed
2024
Photos
Tõnu Tunnel
Location
Aleksander Puškini 29 ja 31, Narva

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During the construction of our school building, we had an excellent collaboration with the architects, built on careful listening, finding solutions that suited the school community and implementing innovative approaches in the building's interior spaces. We are grateful not only for the new school building but also for the remarkable solutions it embodies. We take pride and joy, for example, in our glass wall and the gym with its beautiful view, the suspended glass rooms and the sense of openness throughout. Openness is also one of our core values, symbolising readiness to support young people's dreams, collaborate with the community and act transparently. Thanks to Salto Architects, the dream of a modern school for our students and staff has become a reality.
Teivi Gabriel, Principal of Narva High School

The architectural solution of the educational complex is based on the historical building and the aim to continue the urban street front from the junction along the entire length of the plot. The extension of the basic school and the historical building form a perimeter block with a secluded, safe and playful inner courtyard in the middle.

The new part of the building is like a living-room around the courtyard with more public and commonly used functions that also activate the street space.

The secondary school building follows the exciting relief of the plot. The building volumes are arranged on the terraced slopes of the street level. Visually they form blocks of various height creating a denser and more active street front and dividing the large-scale school building into several smaller units.

The largest and lowest section of the secondary school is the entrance area with the canopy clearly defining the square for various outdoor events. The next section includes the great hall and canteen, with reflective meeting rooms floating in the atrium and surrounded by the cross-purpose classrooms and the teachers’ lounge. The following section includes classrooms around an auditorium. The gym with panoramic views is placed in the highest section.

The terraced relief around the building is clearly perceived also indoors: the different levels form a smooth and unique school environment that consciously avoids storeys, emphasising the long views and walks through the entire building.

Estonian Architecture Awards 2024

The architects of Salto are known for their striking school buildings. The recently completed Narva High School and the renovated Narva city centre primary school are no exception – they’ve created an educational complex that along a major artery offers a key addition to the urban fabric, a worthy place where local children can learn.

The architecture of the new complex stems from the desire to make the school’s street frontage an urbanist environment. The Salto-designed complex includes a completely new high school building and an historical building that has gained a contemporary addition. The existing school building is one of the oldest of its kind in Narva and was designed by city architect Nikolai Opatski, the school being opened in 1926. Salto Architects have skilfully integrated the old schoolhouse, the addition and the new high school into a clear-cut city block, with a playful and safe interior courtyard at its heart.

The buildings’ interior architecture is aligned with their exterior personality. The interior of the old building treats the restored heritage with respect, the selected materials are in fittingly mellow tones, genuine and natural, yet adapted for the needs of a modern educational environment. The basic school’s classrooms and common areas strike a warm and friendly atmosphere, that a school should have.

In the addition to the primary school, the interior architects have continued use of materials familiar from the historical building but are presented in a modern style, bringing out the harmony between old and new. The room with ample natural light and high ceilings gives the materials a fresh, integral appearance reflecting the trend in contemporary architecture. Precisely this addition is the connecting link that creates the integral interior courtyard between the primary school and high school, emphasising the feeling of a full educational complex.

The shape and form of the high school’s new building proceeds from the surface relief of the plot, so that the structures of each unit of the school are terraced following the slope of the street. The  interior architecture, similarly to the basic school, reflects the exterior, the goal being to eliminate boundaries between interior and exterior space. The geometric forms of the façade continue on the inside of the building on the ceiling panels, windows and doors and integrated furniture. Of the materials, light-coloured wood and unadorned concrete surfaces are on display, creating a contemporary, airy atmosphere.

The layout of the rooms is dynamic and unusual for a traditional school building: the spacious dining hall and mirrored meeting rooms create an impression of an innovative start-up office – it is in this type of environment that the graduating students might find themselves working in a few years. Such an inspiring school building is indeed a good stepping stone to adult life.