Estonia: Erika Nõva

Born in 1905 in Muuksi, Estonia, Erika Nõva is considered one of the first professional women architects in Estonia. She was the first woman to graduate with a diploma in architecture from the Tallinn College of Engineering in Tallinn, Estonia (1925). After graduation, she worked in the Settlement Office managed by the Estonian Ministry of Agriculture, where she primarily designed farmhouses and furniture for farmhouses (1925–). After World war II, Nõva resumed her career as an architect, shifting her attention toward the planning of municipal areas and agricultural communities. She competed in architectural competitions throughout her career, notably earning second prize in the design competition for the Siseõu Cultural Center (1939). Her work was posthumously featured in the exhibitions, “When I’m not Thinking about Building Houses…” curated by Grete Tiigiste at the Estonian Museum of Architecture (2025-2026); “A Room of One’s Own: Feminist’s Questions to Architecture,” curated by Ingrid Ruudi at the Museum of Estonian Architecture (2019); and “Estonian Architect Erika Nõva 100,” curated by her granddaughter Siiri Nõva at the Museum of Estonian Architecture in Tallinn (2005). Her work was also featured in the book Erika Nõva : Minu töö ja elu (Erika Nõva : My Work and Life) published by the Estonian Museum of Architecture (2006). Nõva died in 1987 in Tallinn.