above: Adjaye Associates + AB3D. The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Design Competition.© MRC/Adjaye Associates (UK).



The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art International Design Competition

British architectural practice Adjaye Associates and local office AB3D are the winner of the invited competition to design the new Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art.

Intended to become one of most important cultural center in the country, the new museum will be located in New Hanza City (NHC), a commercial and residential district close to the center of Riga, the capital of Latvia. The museum’s permanent collection will include visual artworks from Latvia and the Baltic Sea region and dating from 1960 to the present.

The competition manager Malcolm Reading Consultants selected 25 international architects who were invited to submit a proposal for the 1st stage of the competition. Seven offices were admitted to the second stage, each in team with a local architect.

The selected teams were:

Adjaye Associates (UK) + AB3D

Caruso St John Architects (UK) + Arhitektu birojs Jaunromāns un Ābele

Henning Larsen Architects (Denmark) + MARK arhitekti

Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects (Finland) + MADE arhitekti

Neutelings Riedijk Architects (Netherlands) + Brigita Bula arhitekte

Sauerbruch Hutton (Germany) + Arhitekts Ingurds Lazdiņš

wHY (US) + OUTOFBOX Architecture + ALPS

From June 6 to 7, each of the seven teams presented its proposal to the jury, which finally named the project of Adjaye Associates + AB3D as winner.

above: Adjaye Associates + AB3D, The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Design Competition.© MRC/Adjaye Associates (UK)



The winning design maximizes the use of natural light, which is conveyed into the exhibition galleries by a roof elements. The proposal, along with being extremely functional, was also appreciated for its references to the traditional timber architecture of Latvia.

The design team proposed a contemporary museum, a social aggregator conceived to facilitate the relationships among people.

The building is distributed on three levels, with a ground floor, in direct physical and conceptual relationship with the adjacent outdoor areas, encompassing performance spaces, green areas, the entrance lobby, and an auditorium.

The permanent exhibition spaces and a multifunctional hall for special events are located at the upper floor and illuminated by an array of glass openings studding the building’s sloped roof.

above: Adjaye Associates + AB3D, The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Design Competition. © MRC/Adjaye Associates (UK)

The € 30,000,000 museum project is a mixed private-public initiative – with funding provided by the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation and by the ABLV Charitable Foundation, and the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.

The other 6 finalist designs

above: Caruso St John Architects + Arhitektu birojs Jaunromāns un Ābele. The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Design Competition. © MRC/Caruso St John Architects

above: Henning Larsen Architects + MARK arhitekti. The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Design Competition. © MRC/Henning Larsen Architects.

above: Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects + MADE arhitekti. The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Design Competition. © MRC/Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects.

above:Neutelings Riedijk Architects + Brigita Bula arhitekte. The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Design Competition. © MRC/Neutelings Riedijk Architects.

above:Sauerbruch Hutton + Arhitekts Ingurds Lazdiņš. The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Design Competition. © MRC/Sauerbruch Hutton.

above: wHY + OUTOFBOX Architecture + ALPS. The Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art Design Competition. © MRC/wHY.