Olev Siinmaa was an Estonian

Estonians

Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...

 architect who is perhaps best recalled for his work in the style coined "Pärnu Resort Functionalism".

Olev Sinnmaa was born Oskar Siimann in Pärnu into a joinery shop owner's family. He studied interior and furniture design in Wismar

Wismar

Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...

 and Konstanz

Konstanz

Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...

 technical schools in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. In 1925, he was appointed the architect of the city of Pärnu

Pärnu

Pärnu is a city in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga...

, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

.

Siinmaa's first Funcionalist

Functionalism (architecture)

Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...

 design was in 1930 on Roosikrantsi Street in the Estonian capital of Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

. Siinmaa is possibly best recalled as the architect (along with Anton Soans) of the Pärnu Beach Hotel, constructed between 1935 and 1937.

Completed in 1937, the hotel has been described as the "flagship of the new functionalist architecture." In 1938, Siinmaa, along with architect Alar Kotli

Alar Kotli

Alar Kotli was an Estonian architect. He studied sculpture at the art school Pallas in Tartu during 1922-1923 and mathematics at the University of Tartu...

 competed to design the The Paslepa Residence, which was to be the Building of the Office of the then President of Estonia

President of Estonia

The President of the Republic is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia.Estonia is a parliamentary republic, therefore President is mainly a symbolic figure and holds no executive power. The President has to suspend his membership in any political party for his term in office...

, Konstantin Päts

Konstantin Päts

Konstantin Päts VR I/1 and III/1 was the most influential politician of interwar Estonia. He was one of the first Estonians to become active in politics and started an almost 40-year political rivalry with Jaan Tõnisson, first through journalism with his newspaper Teataja, later through politics...

. Kotli designed the ceremonial spaces of the office building, while the President's Big Office was designed by Siinmaa.

In 1944, Siinmaa emigrated to Norrköping

Norrköping

Norrköping is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County. The city has a population of 87,247 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 130,050, making it Sweden's tenth largest city and eighth largest...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 where he died in 1948.

In 1994, after several years in disrepair, the Pärnu Beach Hotel was bought by Scandic Hotels

Scandic Hotels

Scandic Hotels is a hotel chain headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with its main operations in the Nordic countries. Alongside hotels in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, the company also has a presence in Belgium and the Netherlands, Estonia and Lithuania, Northern Germany, Poland, and Russia...

, renovated and renamed the Scandic Rannahotell.