On 4 April 1905, Erika Nõva was born in a small village in the municipality of Kuusalu in northern Estonia, as the eighth child of a large family. She moved to the capital Tallinn to study architecture at the Tallinn College of Engineering. She graduated in 1931 and is thus considered the first female architect in Estonia.

Her first job began in 1933 at the Estonian Ministry of Agriculture, where she designed collective farms in the traditional Estonian style after the land reform. At the same time, she designed rural school buildings in the villages of Pillapalu, Koiduküla and Peressaare. By designing buildings for agriculture, she became known as an architect in her country. A short time later, Nõva worked for the Estonian-Soviet state construction company “Eesti Projekt” (1944-1954 and 1957-1960).

Nõva’s building style was based on the traditional style of her homeland and was characterised by functionality and simplicity. Her own house was also built according to these premises. One of her best-known works is the main building of Tallinn University, which is still in use today. She also collaborated with Alar Kotli in 1939/40, which also resulted in the building of a French grammar school. Furthermore, Nõva created the Tallinn Central Hospital (1940) and the Kalevi Keskstaadion sports stadium (1952).

Her work thus left its mark on the representative buildings and structures of the Estonian capital. As an architect who worked a lot in the field of agriculture, she also played a major role in the process of collectivisation, especially through her involvement in the planning and construction of the Soviet Union’s large-scale agricultural enterprise (sovkhozes). Nõva was also involved in the design of furniture.