During the last decade, Latvia managed to accomplish the construction of regional concert halls, a new National Library, to extend the National Art museum, and other buildings with national significance. The competition process and its consequent results have made a significant contribution to the national infrastructure and the architectural culture of Latvia. The lecture will be on cultural buildings in Latvia and spatial aspects of Riga’s urban development.

Biography:

Jānis Dripe is the Architecture Programme director at RISEBA University and Expert on architecture and creative industries at the Ministry of Culture. He is a former City architect of Riga, Head of State Protocol, Ambassador of Latvia to the Kingdom of Sweden, Minister of Culture of Latvia, and President of Architects Association of Latvia. He wrote more than 350 articles on architecture and culture, and is author of the books “Architecture in Latvia 1991 – 2012”, and “Gunnar Birkerts. National Library of Latvia. Riga”