Vello (Ergav-Vello) Asi (October 18, 1927 – November 20, 2016) was an Estonian interior architect, graphic designer and professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Together with Väino Tamm, he has been one of the most important interior architects and representer of modernist interiors in Estonia since the late 1950s.
Youth and education
Born in Vana-Saaluse village in Saaluse rural municipality, Võrumaa. Bother parents were from Võrumaa, mother was a farmer and father was a craftsman.
Interest in arts started already in high school, where he began to design school wallpapers and leaflets. Even though his parents wanted him to continue studies in medecine at the University of Tartu, he decided to study interior architecture at ERKI. He graduated from Võru Secondary School No. 1 in 1948 and began studying at ERKI from the same year.
A significant part of his university projects is made up of copying historic furniture drawings. They were mostly made at the Tallinn Art Museum and the Peeter I House Museum in Kadriorg. Interior and furniture design projects were also made for a cabin, a clubhouse, a small apartment. His graduation work was the interior design for the hall of Tallinn Polytechnic Institute.
Work experience
From 1954-55, he worked in Tallinn at the national architecture design studio "Estonproject". In the studio Asi`s tasks were primarily drawing architectural details, sections, plans and coloring them.
Subsequently, he worked in the ARS institute from 1956-1964. During those years he completed several museum exhibition designs and he also belonged to the team of interior architects who in 1954-61 made a new interior design for the Estonian Pavilion of the USSR Economic Achievements Exhibition in Moscow. After working in ARS Vello Asi continued creating exhibition designs in Estonia, as well in Moscow, London, Ulaanbaatar. In addition to interior architecture, he also did graphic design and book design, most of which consists of designing Jaan Kross's books and several architecture related books.
His most important works express rationality and tectonic clarity: the Kurtna poultry farm (1967), the offices of the Writers' House in Tallinn (1963), the Tuljak (1967) and Tallinn cafes (1967-69), Karolina bar (1968; the last three with Väino Tamm), the Radio House studio (1965-77, with H. Oruve), the Viru hotel(1972, with V. Tamme and L. Raudsep, Nõuk, Estonian prize ) and interiors of the Pirita Marine Center Yacht Club and Press Center (1980).
One of his early career`s most important works are the Tallinn Writers' House offices (1963), most significantly the hall with the black ceiling. This was his minimalist and severe reaction to the existing 1950s official style that was more theatrical and festive. Although some have associated the black color with a strong symbolic shadow, Asi has acclaimed he chose the color primarily for practical reasons - to hide holes and dents of the ceiling. However, he was obliged to go to Moscow in order to justify the color choice as the bosses in Tallinn did not dare to give their signature to the project. In addition to the hall, Asi designed in the Writers' House the cabinets and its furniture.
Collaboration with Väino Tamm
An important part of his work was born in collaboration with the interior designer and university schoolmate Väino Tamm. Together they created interior design for Valve Pormeister's architectural masterpieces - the cafe Tuljak and the Kurtna Poultry Farm Testing building. The patron of both buildings was Edgar Tõnurist. He wished that the Tuljak Cafe (1967) would be a self-service brasserie, with a terrace for barbecue and a terrace with fireplaces. The interior of the cafe had a long table along the wall and the room was filled with wood furniture.
Tõnurist was also the patron for the main building of the Kurtna Poultry Farm Testing building, designed by Valve Pormeister. The interior design by Tamm and Asi is based on the architecture and complements it. Modernist interior design is important in the interior: furniture is not designed as a single object but rather as an architectural space element.