Concrete Fan. Imanta guide. Part 2

Among hundreds of standard buildings from the 1960s–1980s, you can find interesting examples of modernist and postmodernist architecture, as well as a manor house from 1886. We’ve put together a detailed guide to Imanta so you can explore this less touristy area of Riga with interest.

We released the first part of the story about Imanta’s architecture earlier. Read the text at the link.

Buildings of the Soviet period

Since the end of the 1960s, the image of Imanta began to change dramatically. The construction of new residential districts with apartment buildings of standard series began here. As in other neighborhoods of Riga, the designers developed plans for microdistricts, which would later form a district with a population of several tens of thousands. The first such microdistricts were Imanta-1 and Imanta-2, which partially occupied the territory of the cooperative Imanta, which emerged in the 1920s. Nowadays, the boundaries of these microdistricts can be conditionally drawn along Kurzemes prospekts, Jūrmalas gatve, Anniņmuižas Bulvāris and Kleistu iela. 

By the end of the 1970s, the influence of postmodernism, which at that time was gaining popularity in many capitalist countries of Europe, was becoming increasingly clear in Latvian architecture. In the gradual transition from the strict utilitarianism of modernism to the normalization of the use of a limited number of decorative elements, one could sense the architects’ fatigue with the limitations that strict standardization in construction inevitably led to.

The timid postmodernist decorativeness of the turn of the 1970s and 1980s often manifested itself in the brutalization of projects. Architects tried to harmonize the decoration into the geometrically clear structure of buildings, which sometimes led to visual weighting of some elements. This is evident in the building of the Riga Art and Media School, designed and built between 1979 and 1990 by architect Viktors Rimša. The facades of several buildings are flanked by ribbons with volumetric trapezoidal elements. The use of these elements is primarily explained by the desire to create a unique image of the project using a limited number of decorative means.

The original geometric plasticity is reflected in the design of the complex of buildings of the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of Latvia, the dormitory and now the Psychological Help Center. The complex planning structure, consisting of interconnected multi-height buildings, is enriched by a variety of architectural forms: arc-shaped curves, stepped cascade of floors, skylights and many other elements. It is one of the most expressive yet abandoned Riga buildings of the 1980s.

The architecture of the high-rise red-brick residential complex on Anniņmuižas boulevard clearly shows the stylistic changes of late Soviet architecture. The ascetic “boxy” forms are replaced by complex geometry of facades with many volumetric elements. The first building was constructed by 1991, designed by Zane Kalinka and Vita Rauhvargere, at what is now Kleistu iela 2. The residential complex was further expanded along the boulevard, becoming one of the largest in the city. It was started to be designed in 1984, and the construction was finished only by 1996—after Latvia left the USSR. The unique character of these houses is added by pitched elements on the upper floors—a favorite technique of Latvian architects, referring to the historical roofs of Old Riga.

It is difficult to attribute some of Imanta’s buildings to a specific period: Soviet or independent Latvia. The project at Anniņmuižas bulvāris 26A started to be built back in the mid-1980s for a children’s outpatient clinic, but was finished only in 2012. According to the photos of the unfinished building, it is clear that it consisted of stepped elements made of red bricks. Now the facades are completely covered with white and gray plaster. Since 2012, Rīga Stradiņš University has been located here, where students from all over the world study. 

One of the most interesting buildings, in terms of architectural plasticity, can be called the Culture and Recreation Center Imanta at Anniņmuižas bulvāris 29. In this project, smooth arc-shaped elements are interestingly combined with angular trapezoidal and rectangular structures. The building was designed in the 1980s, but was completed only in 1995.

Modern architecture

Since Latvia’s secession from the Soviet Union, there has been an increase in the diversity of architectural styles throughout the country. For example, along with the development of national and traditional motifs, there is a noticeable turn to the heritage of the 1920s—1930s period: Art Deco and functionalism. In addition, there are many examples of local high-tech style: large cylindrical forms, polyhedrons, abundance of glass and metal in the projects of the late 1990s—2000s. Architectural concepts have developed over a very wide range: from traditionalism to internationalism. It would be fair to say that most of these styles had time to manifest themselves in the late 1970s and 1980s, but the heyday of artistic diversity was in the post-Soviet period.

The diversity of architectural styles is especially noticeable in the central districts of Riga and in the area of private houses. There are also interesting projects among multi-storey microdistricts with standard series houses, but their concentration per conventional square kilometer is much lower. This is explained by the peculiarities of the layout of such areas and the significant size of buildings: one house can stretch for dozens of meters. A lot of space for new construction was left in the courtyards between residential buildings and along wide streets, where at the project stage the potential for further development was laid down. 

It is unlikely that you will be happy if a new building occupies a part of the yard next to your house. Such construction may cause a wave of indignation from people who already live in the neighborhood. Less social problems are caused by projects that appear on ownerless vacant lots between houses and the road. This is the type of construction that has been prioritized in Imanta.   

From the late 1980s to the 2000s, the most active development was on Anniņmuižas bulvāris, a wide, arched road that encircles the historical park around the manor of the same name. High-rise construction was preferred here: Imanta is located almost between Old Riga and the Gulf of Riga, which means that in good weather the upper floors of the houses offer good views of the city and the surrounding area.

Another example of a building in the spirit of metamodernism, which is currently fashionable, is the residential complex CityZEN, built in 2005 by a group of architects from Vizuālās mākslas studija. The authors rethink the modernist ideas of the first third of the 20th century related to the maximum rationalization of space and the rejection of decorative “excesses”, which are not justified from a practical point of view. There is also an influence of Japanese laconism in this project—the composition of the inner courtyard with a garden of stones. The geometry of the facades is very ascetic: expressiveness is achieved by the rhythm of protruding rectangular elements, as well as by the contrast of blind and transparent materials. In addition, this residential complex is located not on a noisy street, but inside a quiet courtyard, which was formed in the 1970s during the construction of residential buildings of standard series. 

Above we have already written about the building of Riga Art and Media School, built in 1979. The example of its new building, designed by architects from MADE arhitekti and built in 2016–2021, shows how Imanta’s architecture has developed over 50 years. In the 1970s—1980s, the appearance of the neighborhood was greatly transformed by the construction of model apartment buildings. Their forms are close to parallelepiped and very ascetic—in the best traditions of utilitarian Soviet construction. But the design of residential buildings in the USSR did not exist in a vacuum, but was subject to the universal modernist logic of architectural development. 

Modern architecture, which has learned the charms and adversities of postmodernist playfulness, again turned to the modernist ideas of the XX century. However, designers are still more interested in the “first wave” of modernism—the period of 1920–1930s. In the building of the modern Media Building of Riga Art and Media School, references to the works of the great architects of that time, such as Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, are clearly visible. Its facades are so laconic that many typical houses of the 1960s and 1980s will seem full of decorative excesses in comparison. 

The development of architectural styles resembles the movement of a pendulum: one wants more utilitarianism and seriousness, or, on the contrary, playfulness. Now we are witnessing the renaissance of modernism, but some time will pass and perhaps we will see the beginning of the architectural “pendulum” moving in the other direction.