Until mid-March, the innovation and scientific achievements exhibition space RTU and Origo Future Stop will showcase the diploma works of young architects who have recently graduated from Riga Technical University (RTU). The collection of diploma works covers a wide range of thematic and geographical issues.

The diploma project marks the beginning of the architect’s professional life. “Young architects are not only proposing new buildings, but are tackling themes where it is necessary to assess and balance various, even contradictory, factors influencing the development of the environment – the development prospects of the recognised and inconvenient historical heritage, the revitalisation of the residential environment and urban public space, and even the expansion of living space beyond our planet’s boundaries. They create a vision of the ideal living space and environment in which we could live in the future. The students’ proposals are not utopian, they are rooted in thorough research of the subject and serious analysis of the environmental context and history,” says Velta Holcmane, curator of the exhibition and project manager at the RTU Institute of Architecture and Design.

Viktorija Bižāne, Marketing Manager of Origo Shopping Centre, points out that “Origo’s strategy is based on a focus on sustainability and orientation towards innovation and the use of technologies. In the framework of our cooperation with RTU, we have the opportunity to promote innovation and support talented young people, giving them a platform to develop their talents, as well as to introduce Origo’s visitors to young RTU architects, their dream projects and their vision for the future, demonstrating the latest trends in sustainable architecture, including concern for the climate.”

The exhibition includes the diploma project ‘New building of the Ogre Central Library’, developed in 2018 by Rūdis Rubenis. In less than four years, his dream project has become a real object that has won public and professional acclaim. Another bold and intriguing project is Helmuts Nežborts’s design from 2020 for a space exploration station on Mars. The author outlines the spatial contours of the theoretical possibilities for the future development of civilisation. He has created an artificial habitat for the space station and used human-friendly spatial planning techniques in order to ensure human psychological well-being. The exterior design of the structure was challenging because of the radiation, extreme climate, gravity and engineering solutions that must be taken into account.

Raivis Jānis Mucenieks has developed a project for a prison in Riga region using a concept common in Scandinavia for prisons, where buildings are divided into smaller units according to function and arranged in a village-like central composition. This solution brings life in prison closer to life outside the prison walls and could help prisoners to reintegrate more successfully into society. Jānis Lielmanis has created a vision for the future of the Central Market area by studying and summarising the principles of the development of historical European markets in a contemporary urban environment. The project comprises a comprehensive urban-planning package of commerce and industry with the aim of restoring the role of the Central Market in Riga and making it competitive in Europe. Dāvis Jansons has designed the Latvian Sculpture Museum on the site occupied by creative quarter Kombināts MĀKSLA of the Latvian Artists’ Union. The new buildings are designed using various types of concrete structures, emphasising the possibilities offered by concrete shells and 3D printed concrete.

RTU and Origo Future Stop is located on the second floor of the new Origo shopping centre building at Stacijas laukums 4. It introduces the public to the latest technological solutions, scientific discoveries, achievements of RTU students, engineers and scientists.