Vilen Künnapu
Encyclopedia
Vilen Künnapu is one of the most important Estonia
n architect
s of the last three decades, among the first postmodernist theoreticians and architects in the 1970s.
He has worked on various buildings in Estonia
and abroad.
In 2006 he became a professor at the University of Tartu
.
, foyer
, a small hall and back yard ran along the centre's axis resembling a Latin American ziggurat
. The white walls standing on the hill contrast against the dark blue shadows of the white symmetrical prisms forming a spatial instrument that surprises with the finality of its regulation.
The Collective Farm Centre in Valgu
is a composition of two white buildings in the heart of the small town. The clubhouse, with an elongated plan on one side of the crossroads, has the screen of its main façade which dates from the previous century. Across the road, a white colonnade connects the office with a standard canteen of the sixties. The club is an elongated structure, but only with a primitive plan. In the foyer stands a five-metre wooden sculpture and the long colonnade of the office block is a bow to the architecture of small towns.
.
The Temples and Towers – this kind of architecture is related to big mysteries. They are thought to be mediators between the existing human beings and higher realities. These models are incarnations of the energy centre architecture of the Egyptians
, Maya
s, Buddhists, Copt
s, Hindu
s, Sufis and many others in every time and in everywhere. Vilen Künnapu has played himself out of time and out of place. This architecture does not qualify to the material speculations of the world as we know it. If we would be talking about religion, architecture would be theology
and Vilen Künnapu a mystic
. http://vilenkunnapu.pri.ee/templid_sisu_eng/temples.htmlProf. Marco Casagrande
on Künnapu.]
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...
n architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s of the last three decades, among the first postmodernist theoreticians and architects in the 1970s.
He has worked on various buildings in 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...
and abroad.
In 2006 he became a professor at the University of Tartu
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...
.
Style
Among the first houses Künnapu designed was the centre of the Põlva collective farm in Estonia. Designed in Künnapus early twenties it features a long staircase, inner courtyardCourtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
, foyer
Foyer
A foyer or lobby is a large, vast room or complex of rooms adjacent to the auditorium...
, a small hall and back yard ran along the centre's axis resembling a Latin American ziggurat
Ziggurat
Ziggurats were massive structures built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, Iraq; the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near...
. The white walls standing on the hill contrast against the dark blue shadows of the white symmetrical prisms forming a spatial instrument that surprises with the finality of its regulation.
The Collective Farm Centre in Valgu
Valgu
Valgu may refer to several places in Estonia:*Valgu, Hiiu County, a village in Emmaste Parish, Hiiu County*Valgu, Rapla County, a village in Märjamaa Parish, Rapla County...
is a composition of two white buildings in the heart of the small town. The clubhouse, with an elongated plan on one side of the crossroads, has the screen of its main façade which dates from the previous century. Across the road, a white colonnade connects the office with a standard canteen of the sixties. The club is an elongated structure, but only with a primitive plan. In the foyer stands a five-metre wooden sculpture and the long colonnade of the office block is a bow to the architecture of small towns.
Energy Center Architecture
Since London Architecture Biennial 2004 Künnapu's architectonic interest has been directed towards architectonic structures that are supposed to act as mediators between existing human beings and higher entities. The line of Energy Center Architecture include projects and realizations of churches, temples, meditation centres, towers and museums. In the spiritual architecture Künnapu is linked with shamans and witches as well as with renown international architects and artists, such as Nathaniel KahnNathaniel Kahn
Nathaniel Kahn is an American filmmaker. His documentaries My Architect — about his father, the famous architect Louis Kahn — and Two Hands were nominated for Academy Awards....
.
The Temples and Towers – this kind of architecture is related to big mysteries. They are thought to be mediators between the existing human beings and higher realities. These models are incarnations of the energy centre architecture of the Egyptians
Ancient Egyptian architecture
The Nile valley has been the site of one of the most influential civilizations which developed a vast array of diverse structures encompassing ancient Egyptian architecture...
, Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
s, Buddhists, Copt
Copt
The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....
s, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s, Sufis and many others in every time and in everywhere. Vilen Künnapu has played himself out of time and out of place. This architecture does not qualify to the material speculations of the world as we know it. If we would be talking about religion, architecture would be theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and Vilen Künnapu a mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
. http://vilenkunnapu.pri.ee/templid_sisu_eng/temples.htmlProf. Marco Casagrande
Marco Casagrande
Marco Casagrande, , is a Finnish architect, environmental artist, architectural theorist, writer and professor of architecture. He graduated from Helsinki University of Technology department of architecture .- Early life :...
on Künnapu.]
External links
- Vilen Künnapu webpage
- Künnapu & Padrik AB
- Estonian Institute
- http://clab.fi/uploads/media/future_pavilion_2005.pdf The Art of Taiwan in Psychosis, Taiwan Design Expo, 2005
- http://www.epifanio.eu/nr2/eng/nature_of_architecture.html Vilen Künnapu: The Nature of Architecture, Epifanio 2, 2005
- Architect at Stake Tempt, 2010