The Estonian Embassy

Follow the history of the Estonian Embassy buildings in London from 1919 until the present day. Discover Estonian landscape and nature in the renovation of its current home at 44 Queen's Gate Terrace, designed as a ‘postcard from home in the centre of London’ by the Estonian award-winning KAOS Architects.

History

Since 14 October 2015, Estonia’s blue, black and white banded tricolor flag has flown from a house in a spacious and pleasingly regimented Italianate terrace, developed in the mid-19th century, at 44 Queen’s Gate Terrace - just south of Kensington Gardens and only a couple of streets away from its former buildings.

Queen’s Gate Terrace. Architecture

Each side of Queen’s Gate Terrace consists of a single continuous block of masonry. Stuccoed in white and cream, with elaborate plaster decorations, each block is like a huge rectangular wedding cake; sliced seamlessly into fifty town houses. Though similar in their neo-classicism, they’re not siblings. Whilst the south side was built by William Harris in 1856-8, the north side (with the Estonian Embassy building) dates from between 1859-60 and is slightly less grand. Cherry and Pevsner in the Buildings of England guide credit it as the work the “otherwise unknown” James Matthews,  praising the balconies and pedimented roof-level dormers of the frontages.

Like its neighbours, No 44 has four floors, with basement and mews; Victorians lived tall and narrowly. The Estonian architecture practice Doomino Arhitektid, has made some  much needed adaptations while restoring the structure and layout of a Grade II building. The basement is now a modern consular section of the embassy;  the back yard, giving onto the mews, is an attractive decked patio. But above all, the architects have set the stage for interior and lighting designers to create an ambiance of Estonia.

Interior Design

White walled rooms prevail but the designers of KAOS Arhitektid, inspired by nature – Estonia in its Nordic-Baltic fastness is a land of wetlands, woodlands, watercourses, lakes and misty terrains – use them as backdrops for creating pools of colour. Nature is reflected in fabrics, carpets, furniture and lighting in every room. Often photographic images of natural features are used directly, or as the basis for fabric design.

The palette is extraordinary for its range and subtlety. In the main first floor room, once the drawing room, chairs are covered with material in tones of cloudy grey, white and black; the carpet that climbs the stairs has all the rich muted colours of marshland vegetation. And in rooms where once heavy Victorian chandeliers hung there are striking modern ones with a bunch of lights slim and white as birch bark, made by Margus Triibman (Keha3).

A visit to the Estonian Embassy feels like a short trip to Estonia within London.

KAOS Arhitektid

KAOS Arhitektid is an Estonia-based firm, established in 2010 by two female architects Margit Argus and Margit Aule.  A team of 13 people in the office is in charge of projects from planning to completion, and works with a wide network of specialist partners. For a decade, KAOS has been creating modern experimental architecture, often in dialogue with heritage. The great results of their integrative approach have brought them wide recognition and awards,  for both Estonian Embassy in London and in Moscow, the Castle of Haapsalu, Noblessner Foundry in Tallinn, Treasury of the University of Tartu Museum and Energy Discovery Centre in Tallinn, to name a few.