In 2020, we supported the completion of a research project, exhibition and publication by the Estonian Museum of Architecture about the life and work of August Komendant. August Komendant (1906–1992) was an Estonian-American structural engineer and concrete construction expert who, living in the USA after World War II, designed several masterpieces of 20th century architecture in collaboration with well-known architects and engineers. Therefore, it is difficult to overestimate Komandant’s role in the history of construction and architecture in Estonia and the world.

Estonian Architecture Awards 2020 Winner of the Exhibition Prize

August Komendant is probably the only international star in the history of Estonian architecture and engineering – a very talented and capable engineer, in collaboration with whom several masterpieces of late modernist architecture of the 20th century have come into existence: the Salk Institute, Richards Laboratories, and the Kimbell Museum of Art designed by Louis Kahn, or Moshe Safdie’s Lego-like apartment building at Habitat ’67 Montreal Expo. “As a result of the curator’s thorough, international research conducted over several years, an exhibition was created that highlighted the hitherto little-known role of this major figure in the field of civil engineering in the 20th century architectural history of Estonia and the world,” the jury noted. The unique material on display was supported by an exhibition design of great aesthetic refinement.

More information about the exhibition: https://www.arhitektuurimuuseum.ee/naitus/betoonist-volutud-ehitusinsener-august-komendant/

Photos: Marje Eelma