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BERG BAZAAR

Reconstruction and improvement of the ensemble Riga, block between Elizabetes, Marijas, Dzirnavu streets Architects: Zaiga Gaile, Iveta Cibule, Liene Griezīte Participants: Ingmārs Atavs, Ģirts Kalinkevičs, Andra Šmite, Indra Ķempe Client: Justs Karlsons Management company: SIA ”ĒKA-CENTRS” Construction company: SIA “PKE” Area 11,823 m2 Work on the restoration of Bergs Bazaar began in 1993 with the recovery of the property of the heirs of the Bergs family. Archival documents revealed the uniqueness and courage of the idea of the first shopping arcade in Riga. It was built on the former sand road blocks and cabbage gardens. The ensemble had suffered greatly during the 80-year period of reconstruction and oblivion. The aim of the reconstruction concept is to restore the unique arcade according to the original idea of the author Kristaps Bergs and the architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns from the late 19th century, creating it as a modern trade – business – residential center. The design concept is a gentle dialogue between the materials given by history and the understanding of modern forms. The project envisaged and implemented over a period of approximately 15 years of gradual renovation: – to re-convert the courtyards into pedestrian arcades, placing shops, restaurants, art galleries and other public objects in the original trading places on the ground floor; – to break through the arcades and shop windows built up in later periods, to restore the covered pedestrian galleries, making the bazaar structurally transparent and see-through; – to arrange offices and comfortable apartments on several levels with roof structures, terraces, and balconies on the upper floors of the bazaar; – to build a hotel in the center of the bazaar, to renovate a cinema, two wooden houses and a garage; – to improve the pedestrian area by laying high-quality courtyard and passage surfaces, planting trees, bushes and flowers, placing benches, lighting fixtures, advertising elements, and art objects. A metal grid motif was created for small architectural forms in the arcade space, which was used as a universal element in the bazaar’s improvement; – to place brass lettering “Berga Bazaar” at the three main entrances to the arcade and emphasize it with pairs of flying Berga Bazaar flags. Two fountains have been created in the arcade courtyards: the first is “Birth of Venus”, a bronze copy of a work by an unknown 19th-century sculptor, which was found on the territory of an abandoned factory in Pārdaugava, the granite bowl design is new; The author of the second fountain is artist Ilmārs Blumbergs, and it was unveiled in the courtyard of the Hotel Bergs in 2005. The idea for a water pump arose simultaneously with the visions of the hotel project around 1997. The model for this place is taken from the traditional European water intake points in city squares and courtyards - where there is water, there is life. In the 1930s, a petrol pump was also located in this very place, which was found in a drawing from the Riga Construction Board archive. Ilmārs Blumbergs made several sketches of the pump, which can be viewed in the hotel bar. The idea for the “Seven-Nosed Fountains” is based on an oil pump and the cabbage head motif, which is the Hotel Bergs logo - memories of even earlier times, when there was a cabbage field in the place of the Bergs Bazaar. Currently, Bergs Bazaar is inhabited by small boutiques, international and local fashion designer clothing stores, restaurants, cafes and beauty salons, as well as the five-star Small Luxury Hotels of the World Hotel Bergs, office space and rental apartments.

Riga, Berga Bazaar, Marijas Street 13/4

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