Founded in the early 2000s, KOKO Architects emerged from the international success of Estonia’s pavilion at EXPO2000 in Hanover. The pavilion, a bold and conceptual wooden installation, represented Estonia’s fresh independence with clarity, restraint, and vision. Though many subsequent commissions did not echo the abstract nature of the pavilion, they fueled a desire within the founding architects to engage more deeply with the physical and social dimensions of built form. KOKO was officially born from this ambition.
In the years that followed, KOKO began developing its architectural voice through competitions and small commissions. One of the earliest and most symbolic projects involved converting a Soviet-era fishing kolkhoz building into apartments. The proposed red-orange facade, meant to bring life to the grey residential district, sparked strong reactions—a phone call from a distressed neighbor two blocks away, threats, and eventually, acceptance. The color revolution had started.
What followed was a series of projects that would establish KOKO’s design language: rooted in context, attuned to history, yet willing to push boundaries. The studio quickly became known for its sensitivity to the past and its ability to insert new life into old structures. This was no better exemplified than in the transformation of the Fahle building, a decaying cellulose factory that KOKO turned into a mixed-use beacon. The project not only redefined the possibilities of adaptive reuse in Estonia, but also earned international acclaim. Fahle was shortlisted for the Design of the Year by the London Design Museum.
The recognition strengthened the studio’s core philosophy—that architecture can be an act of layering, where each addition builds upon what came before without erasing it. This belief was further reinforced with the nomination of Roseni 7, a revitalized carpenter’s workshop in Tallinn’s Rotermanni Quarter, for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award.
During the real estate boom of the 2000s, architecture took on new social relevance in Estonia. Discussions about density, zoning, and housing types entered the public sphere in unprecedented ways. KOKO engaged in several urban planning projects during this time, helping to shape visions for entire districts while maintaining their characteristic focus on human-scale spaces, material honesty, and historical continuity.
With the slowdown of the real estate market in 2008, KOKO shifted its focus toward cultural and public projects. Museums and exhibitions offered a new field in which the studio’s interpretive design approach could flourish. Among the most iconic results of this period was the Seaplane Harbour (Lennusadam), where a rare early-20th-century concrete hangar was transformed into Estonia’s National Maritime Museum. With its dramatic interior and seamless blend of historic and new structures, Lennusadam set a new standard for museum architecture in the region.
Other cultural landmarks soon followed, including the renewal of the Estonian History Museum in the Great Guild Hall, the design of the Museum for Puppet Arts, and the renovation of the Tallinn TV Tower. Each of these projects carried KOKO’s hallmark approach: strong narrative, contextual sensitivity, and the courage to combine old with new in unexpected ways.
As the studio matured, so did its international reach. Over the past two decades, KOKO has completed or developed projects in Norway, Finland, Germany, Georgia, the United Arab Emirates, and Italy. These ventures have allowed the team to adapt its principles to vastly different climates, cultures, and client expectations, while maintaining the core belief that architecture must be rooted in place and time.
In Finland and Norway, KOKO has worked on residential and hospitality developments that respond to Nordic sensibilities—clarity of form, quiet materiality, and a deep connection to landscape. In Georgia and the UAE, the challenges were different: how to create relevance in entirely new environments, where climate, scale, and symbolism required a more expressive language. Italy offered yet another variation: interventions in dense urban fabric, layered over centuries of architectural memory.
Despite these varied contexts, a common thread runs through all of KOKO’s work: a commitment to thoughtful transformation. Whether rebuilding a crumbling industrial site or designing a new structure from scratch, KOKO seeks to understand what exists, what is needed, and what is possible. The process is never formulaic, but always deeply analytical and collaborative.
Internally, the studio has grown from a small group of founders into a multidisciplinary team of architects, designers, researchers, and planners. Collaboration has remained at the heart of their working method, both within the office and with external partners. Over the years, KOKO has built strong relationships with engineers, conservationists, artists, and developers—relationships that have allowed even the most complex projects to move forward with clarity and shared vision.
Now, 25 years since its inception, KOKO Architects continues to operate at the intersection of memory and innovation. The studio remains committed to the belief that good architecture doesn’t shout, but rather speaks quietly and intelligently to its context. As the built environment continues to evolve, KOKO stands as a reminder that architecture can be both respectful and radical—that new layers can strengthen, rather than erase, what came before.
The work of KOKO is not about style or spectacle, but about meaning. It is about asking the right questions, listening carefully to the answers, and crafting responses that last. After 25 years, the questions continue. And so does the work.