I have worked at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn since 1992, where I built up the Institute of Art History and continue to serve as Professor of the History of Modern Architecture. Between 2015 and 2025, I was the Rector of the Academy.

Leading the country’s only art academy was a challenge in a post-communist society governed by a neo-liberal government. We overcame a stressful and long-lasting saga of constructing a new building for the Academy. In 2018, we finally moved into a reconstructed former stockings factory in a very attractive location in Tallinn, and in 2022 we were proud to host the ELIA Leadership Symposium there.

In my academic work, I have researched Estonian and Baltic architecture during the interwar and Soviet periods and have also explored landscape architecture and heritage protection.

I co-chaired the Estonian delegation at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee from 2010 to 2013, which was a very enriching experience. Since 2010, I have been a fellow of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, and from 2014 to 2024, I served as its Vice-President.

As a member of the ELIA Representative Board (since 2018) and the Executive Group (since 2020), I have sought to bring the perspective of former Eastern Bloc countries to contemporary discussions. It has been an honour to chair the Steering Committee of the Leadership Symposium at HEAD – Genève in 2025.