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Architectural Heritage in Riga: International Summer School

Architectural Heritage in Riga:
Contemporary Development and Future Visions



International Summer School


Riga
August 14-27, 2005





· Lectures and seminars

· Intensive workshops

· Attractive social program

· ECTS credit points



Target Audience

· You are a student of architecture, urban planning, renovation,
conservation or arts.

· You will have finished at least one year of studies by the
time the Summer School starts.

· You speak fluent English.

· You value the experience of highly qualified professionals and
enjoy creative work.

· You are interested in meeting students from other countries.

· You would like to spend a fortnight in Riga – the Metropolis
of Art Nouveau.



City of Riga

The Summer School will take place in Riga, the capital of the Republic
of Latvia, which is a very lively city near the Baltic Sea with 747,2
thousand inhabitants. It is an outstanding place of architectural
treasures and offers a wide selection of leisure activities for young people.
Dynamic streets, countless coffee-bars, beautiful parks and squares and
excellent concerts will offer you different opportunities for an
exciting stay.



Host of the Summer School

The Summer School is organised by Riga Technical University. It is the
oldest university in Latvia, and it has long-standing almost 150 years
old traditions dating back to 1862. At present it is one of the largest
universities in the country and gathers nearly 15,000 students at eight
faculties in various study programs. Riga Technical University is the
only institution in Latvia providing higher education in architecture
and urban planning in Latvia at graduate and post-graduate levels. About
300 students are studying at the Faculty of Architecture and Urban
Planning, which is active in carrying out scientific research activities
and developing practical design.



Topic

Riga, the city of architecture, was founded in 1201. The historic
centre of Riga is located on the right bank of the Daugava and it is
composed of three distinctive urban structures – the medieval core, the curve
of boulevards encircling the medieval core and former suburban area
having the regular gridiron street pattern. The boulevards were developed
in the second half of the 19th century after the former fortress
ramparts were levelled down to realise a complex reconstruction program of
the city. The boulevards constitute a uniform ensemble of urban planning
and architecture of the period of Eclecticism and Art Nouveau. An
extensive development of the former suburbs began at late 19th century with
the rapid growth of economy and the population. These areas present
picturesque mixture of timber buildings surviving from earlier periods and
multi-story masonry dwelling blocks from the period of the most booming
development of the city.



The early 20th century was the epoch of Art Nouveau. By the year of
1905, Eclecticism had disappeared from the architectural practice in the
city giving its place to intense flow of fresh mood of Art Nouveau. Thus
the central part of Riga comprises more than 40% of the Art Nouveau
structures concentrated in a relatively small area. The total number of
Art Nouveau buildings in Riga is larger than in any other city in the
world – Riga is the Metropolis of Art Nouveau.



Although the Art Nouveau of Riga was greatly influenced by German,
Austrian and Finnish schools, it has its own distinctive features. Many
local architects worked in Riga at that time, and most of them were
graduates of Riga Polytechnical Institute where the Faculty of Architecture
was established in 1869. Outstanding European architects as Henry Van de
Velde (his only work in Riga has not survived) and Peter Behrens as
well as some Finnish and Russian architects have designed several
buildings in Riga. Nevertheless, much more work was done by the local
architects. This mood of the city is still alive.



Âgenskalns – one of the historical parts of Riga – has been developing
through centuries as the centre of social life of Pârdaugava – the part
of Riga located on the right bank of the Daugava, known for active
trade, culture and administrative functions as well as peculiar life
environment. The essential role of Âgenskalns in the life of the city has
been kept up until today. The retained historical urban planning structure
– the old highways and the street network formed in the 19th century as
well as wooden and stone buildings typical for this period (many of
these buildings have the status of a cultural monument) make Âgenskalns as
a united part of the city a unique value. Âgenskalns represents a wide
variety of architectural styles such as historicism, Art Nouveau and
Modern Movement. Part of Âgenskalns has been registered in the list of
the protected cultural monuments as urban planning monument. The
convenient location in the city, the excellent service infrastructure,
transport accessibility and the peculiar charm of a suburb are values,
which have been attracting investments to this part of the city during
the recent years. There are projects for new buildings as well as
projects for reconstruction and modernization of buildings. Keeping the
identity and the cultural and historical values of this region alive,
envisaging also the perspective development and future-oriented approach to
historic buildings of Âgenskalns are the main tasks of the Summer
School projects. A sustainable future vision for the development of
Âgenskalns will also be created.



Study Program

During the Summer School you will be offered a wide program consisting
of lectures, seminars and discussions, sightseeing tours and workshops.
These will be headed by qualified practising and academic architects,
historians, investors, urban planners, etc.



You will be offered the following topics:

· Quo vadis Riga? City development in the 21st century;

· The history of origin and growth of Riga city centre;

· The pearls of Riga – Art Nouveau District and the garden city
of Meþaparks (Kaiserwald);

· Timber architecture of the 19th century – problems of
preservation and renovation;

· The Moscow Suburb of Riga – its cultural features,
architectural and social background;

· The reflections of Latvian national consciousness and identity
in architecture.



You will participate in workshops and create your own visions and
proposals on specific topics. The results of your work will be presented at
an exhibition in Riga. They will be displayed on the Internet, too.



The following workshops will be offered:

· Cultural heritage and contemporary architecture;

· Historical timber buildings in urban context;

· Public open space in historic urban environment.



You are kindly requested to choose your favourite workshop and indicate
it in the application form.



Language of Instruction

Seminars, lectures and workshops will be held in English.



Social Program

We will organise an attractive social program. The social program will
include tours to the seaside resort town Jûrmala and other
architecturally impressive cities and to the District of Kurzeme (Courland), visits
to the museums, film and folkdance evenings, sailing tour and more.



Arrival and Departure

The transfer to and from Riga should be organised individually. Riga
can be easily reached by plane (www.riga-airport.com; www.airbaltic.com),
bus (www.eurolines.lv; www.ecolines.lv), train (from Belarus, Russia,
the Ukraine) or ferry (from Germany, Sweden). Please do not hesitate to
contact us if you need any further information. The organising
committee will be happy to provide it.



Accommodation and Meals

You will stay at a students dormitories in the centre of Riga. You will
receive catering coupons for three meals a day.



Participation Fee

The participation fee, including registration, tuition, accommodation,
meals and social program is EUR 625. A limited number of partial
bursaries are available, however, you should be able to cover your own travel
expenses and health insurance.



Insurance

The International Summer School in Riga accepts no liability for
accidents, theft or any damage or injury that might occur during the course.
For the duration of the course you are asked to carry an extended
personal liability insurance and a health insurance.



Application

The deadline of submitting the application is May 23, 2005. The
application documents should be in English. For the application form, please
visit the homepage of RTU www.summerschool.rtu.lv or it can be sent to
you by e-mail, upon request.



Please enclose the following documents:

· CV;

· Letter of motivation (1 page);

· Brief motivation for bursary.



Contact

The organising committee at the International Relations Office of RTU
will be happy to answer all questions concerning organisational matters,
which might occur before the Summer School starts or during its course.



Contact person: Ms Evita Serjogina

Phone: +371 7089021

Fax: + 371 7089312

e-mail: evita.serjogina@rtu.lv


International Relations Office
Riga Technical University

1 Kaïíu Street, Room 222

LV 1658 Riga, Latvia

www.summerschool.rtu.lv

posted by Administrator @ 3:34 AM