The first prize in Riga Philharmonic design competition is awarded to the design with the motto BALTIC SHINE, created by the partnership of LLC (SIA) MARK arhitekti, LLC (SIA) LABIE KOKI projekti and Mailītis A.I.I.M., which also receives a prize of EUR 30,000.
Thethird place and 15,000 euros was awarded to the design with the motto TAKE FIVE, the authors of which are the association of SIA Arhitektu birojs Jaunromāns un Ābele, LLC (SIA) ALPS ainavu darbnīca, KAHLE ACOUSTICS SRL, Studio GERTNERS, LLC (SIA) ARENSO, LLC (SIA) Ēku inženiertīklu projektēšanas birojs, LLC (SIA) IE.LA inženieri, and AKUKON OY.
Promotion prizes of EUR 7,500 have been awarded to works with the slogans RIG199006504 and EKADEFT13. The authors of the work with the slogan RIG199006504 are the association of persons MANUELLE GAUTRAND ARCHITECTURE (France), LLC (SIA) Sudraba architektūra, LLC (SIA) Landshape, Marchall Day Acoustics (France), The Space factory, IG Kurbads, LLC (SIA) Uppe, LLC (SIA) O3FM and LLC (SIA) Citrus solutions. The second promotion prize of EUR 7,500 was awarded to EKADEFT13 by Efrat Kowalsky Architects (Israel) in collaboration with DEFT architects (Spain).
The additional remuneration for each of the six participants in the second round of the competition is EUR 30,000.
"Rarely has a building in Latvia been as anticipated as the Riga Philharmonic. Today, as we open and celebrate the results of the competition, we can be pleased both by the many strong entries and by the fact that the Philharmonic's story moving forward is not only about expectations, but also about creativity, concreteness and results. The Riga Philharmonic would not only provide creative and growth opportunities for our musicians, it is an opportunity to complement Riga's urban environment and put into practice the values of the New European Bauhaus Initiative, so that the Philharmonic's spaces can safely serve the needs of both our and future generations. My sincere thanks to everyone who took part in this competition, both as participants and as judges. The Ministry of Culture will follow the design work to ensure that the story of the Philharmonic continues to unfold," says Agnese Logina, Minister of Culture.
"Music and architecture have a lot in common – and above all, they are a team effort. The orchestra as a team on stage, the architects and their experts in all fields as a team for the design of the Riga Philharmonic. Officials from the Ministry of Culture and Riga City Council have and will have to work as a cohesive team to take the project through its next steps – negotiating with the winner of the tender, drawing up the state-funded construction project, concluding the contract and also finding additional funding in the Cabinet of Ministers. I would like to thank the jury commission, Riga City Council, the Latvian Association of Architects and my colleagues at the Ministry for their work so far," said Dace Vilsone, State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture.
Deputy Chairman of the Riga City Council Edvards Ratnieks: "The Riga Philharmonic will be one of the most important city facilities, which will contribute to the international prestige of our music, as well as to the recognition of Riga and the country; it will be a place where the stars of world music will meet and will be able to bring every music lover to Latvia. The Philharmonic will reflect the gems of music and the power of talented creativity, while making a significant positive contribution to our city and country's economy, tourism and people themselves. We are confident that together we can create a place that will foster cultural development. Thank you to everyone involved for preparing this competition and to the participants for submitting their proposals. The Riga Philharmonic has come as far as never before in its journey. The project is on the rails and the road leads only forward before it reaches its destination. Riga local government is proud to implement and build the Riga Philharmonic with state support. It is no coincidence that the Philharmonic will bear the name of Riga and will be located in Riga."
"Indra Lūkina, Member of the Board of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO): "I think that today the LNSO musicians are the happiest, because they are finding out and seeing what their new home will be like – a concert hall with excellent acoustics in which to play, develop and improve their artistic performance to an ever higher quality. This is the 80th anniversary year of Mariss Jansons, which we have just celebrated with a concert dedicated to his memory. We all know that one of Maestro Jansons' dreams was to see a new, great concert hall in Riga, so I consider it a happy coincidence that the Riga Concert Hall's journey begins right now and I wish it a successful and fast journey so that the LNSO can invite the audience to the opening concert of the Riga Philharmonic very soon!"
After the opening of the transcripts of the slogans, the Property Department of the Riga City Council will verify the eligibility of the participants in the second round design competition in accordance with the professional classification requirements laid down in the competition regulations.
The aim of the sketch design competition was to find the best, architecturally and functionally most well-thought-out and sustainable vision for the future development of the Riga Philharmonic by rebuilding the Riga Congress Hall at 5 Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street, and to select the designer of the construction project. A total of 38 sketch designs were submitted to the Riga Philharmonic Architecture Competition, and 6 of them were selected for the second round of the competition.
The maximum contract amount attracted by the Ministry of Culture from the state budget funds and assigned by the Riga City Council for the design and supervision of the Riga Philharmonic (excluding construction supervision costs) is EUR 3.5 million.
Information prepared by Solvita Brence-Kauste, project coordinator, Riga City Council Department of External Communication, e-mail: solvita.brence@riga.lv
