03/02/2026
For more than sixty years, Tallinn’s Jewish community lived without a synagogue. The original building, completed in 1885, had been the heart of Jewish life in the city until it was destroyed during the heavy bombing of the Second World War. Its loss left a lasting void — not only a physical absence, but a symbolic break in the continuity of Jewish life in Estonia. For decades, services took place in temporary and improvised spaces, and Tallinn remained one of the few European capitals without a synagogue.
A turning point came in the early 2000s with the arrival of a young and determined rabbi who understood that the community needed more than borrowed rooms — it needed a permanent and visible home. With the support of the local community and international partners, the long-held dream of rebuilding the synagogue finally became reality. We were entrusted with the design, and with it the responsibility to give architectural form to both memory and renewal.
From the outset, our intention was not to reconstruct the lost 19th-century building, but to create a synagogue for the present. We explored how Jewish traditions, rituals, and symbols could be translated into a contemporary architectural language while preserving dignity and continuity. The site — a quiet street just beyond the city centre — offered the right balance: close to urban life, yet sheltered enough for reflection and community.
The architecture is organised around a single unifying gesture: a vaulted form that gathers prayer, study, and celebration under one roof. Sacred and communal activities coexist while retaining their own places. The main prayer hall is located on the upper level, reached by a generous stair that connects the foyer and the sanctuary. More than a circulation element, the stair becomes a social and ritual space — a place for encounters, processions, and informal gatherings.
The interior is defined by a restrained and tactile palette. Timber brings warmth and intimacy, glass introduces openness and transparency, and concrete provides structure and permanence. Natural light plays a key role, animating the spaces throughout the day. Subtle patterns drawn from Jewish tradition are integrated into glass and wooden elements, not as decoration but as an intrinsic part of the architecture.
The synagogue is part of Estonia’s broader cultural renewal since independence. Its inauguration in 2007 was both a local and an international event, attended by leading figures of the global Jewish community. For us, however, the building’s true meaning lies in everyday life: in weekly services, conversations on the stair, quiet moments of reflection, and communal celebrations.
On the ground floor, spaces supporting daily religious and communal life are located alongside functions that open the building to the city. The mikvah ensures that the synagogue fully supports religious practice, while the kosher restaurant welcomes both community members and visitors, making the building an active meeting place. The generous foyer is conceived as a flexible space for lectures, receptions, and cultural events.
The heart of the building is the prayer hall on the upper floor. Elevated above street level, it offers calm and security while reinforcing the sense of ritual significance. A surrounding gallery increases capacity and maintains visual unity, while carefully placed openings allow natural light to shape the serene atmosphere.
Around the hall, complementary functions — offices, spaces for community administration, and a small museum — expand the role of the synagogue beyond worship. Together, they transform the building into a cultural centre and a place of learning.
All these elements are bound together by a single architectural idea: a continuous volume that unites sacred and communal life, memory and presence, tradition and contemporaneity.
Client Jewish Community of Estonia
Commission 2004 / Completed 2007
Our team Andrus Kõresaar, Lembit-Kaur Stöör, Liis Lindvere, Raili Paling, Tõnis Kimmel
Photos Kaido Haagen, Tõnu Tunnel
