SIA Riga Architecture Institute designing Latvia pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai

Jan 07, 2019 Joe Kleiman Europe & Middle East, News, World Expos, World markets 0

Latvia’s largest business association, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), on December 28, announces that after the additional talks and clarification of the competition, the concept of SIA “Riga Architecture Institute” “Ēter”, developed by internationally renowned professionals, was chosen for the Latvian pavilion Expo 2020 in Dubai. a team.

The team includes the following professionals: Niklavs Paegle, Dagnija Smilga, Kārlis Bērziņš and Peter Bauer.

Although, after the first round of winners of the contest, SIA Mailītis AIIM was awarded for “Sound Forest”, after further talks, clarifications, estimates and consultations with the builders on the site in Dubai, it was decided that the Latvian pavilion would be designed by SIA “Riga” Architecture Institute. The idea is not to have a material resource, but to position Latvia as a place with intellectual resources, creating the image of the state for the future. “We wanted to get away from the usual and show Latvia as a modern and development-oriented place. The pavilion is based on an open-type design that looks like a wave where different islands are integrated, combining nature, technology, intellectual experience, and business opportunities, ”says Expo 2020 Project Manager Ansis Egle.

The third place after the second round of the contest was maintained by SIA “Low Tech” with the work “Moving Forest”.

The findings the builders received from Dubai show that the ideas presented are feasible, so the main task of the jury was to agree on how Latvia will be better positioned. “The job was interesting and agreeing on the best idea was very complicated because the projects were professionally designed, offering both architectural and creative solutions to make the visitors experience unique,” says A.Egle.

In total, LCCI received 17 applications for the pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai, where the jury, when evaluating ideas, technical solutions and other information, chose three of the best works.

The Expo 2020 Dubai motto is: Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. The sub-themes of the exhibition are: Sustainability, Opportunity and Mobility.

The jury for Expo 2020 included two architects – Zane Tetere and Artis Zvirgzdiņš -, social anthropologist Robert Kīlis, graphic designer Artis Tauriņš and creative agencies’ representative Annie Mezgaile. Representatives of the Design Council and Latvian Association of Civil Engineers participated as observers in the work of the jury.

LCCI has so far organized Latvia’s participation in several Expo exhibitions – in 1992 in Seville (Spain), in 1993 in Daejeon (South Korea), in 1998 in Lisbon (Portugal) and in 2017 in Astana (Kazakhstan).

Expo 2020 in Dubai promises to be an important event in the world. So far, more than 190 countries have confirmed their membership. The organizers themselves emphasize that this will be the best Expo ever. Expo 2020 Dubai organizers are already working on new ways of organizing the exhibition, such as the creation of a special € 100 million innovation fund to support a variety of start-ups. One Latvian company has also received funding.