Abstract
Various concepts of preserving the cultural and historical environment of the Historical centre of Riga have been documented within the last century period, including the international status as item No. 852 on the UNESCO World heritage list. The Riga Historical Centre Preservation and Protection Law was created as one of the mechanisms for the preservation of the status, which, among other notions, makes the procedure of architectural competitions mandatory. The territory, being part of the list, contains listings that it should consider in terms of value. Under such context the competition not only determines the competition for the best and serves as formal instrument for hindering hasty or inappropriate development, but also is public interpretation of the contemporary architectural values in contra dictionary aspects. The purpose is to analyse the structure of competition procedure instrument and relation to the specifics of the heritage and contemporary challenges. The study uses 75 competitions briefs and jury protocols proceeding in period 2004–2014, in the territory of urban heritage. The results demonstrate taxonomy1 of systemic listings of architectural properties followed by expert voting form as the main mechanism for results.
Highlights
The mechanisms of sustaining, preserving and developing of the past built environment are popular in the entire Europe and discourse is often being evoked together with the ageing society and shrinking cities
In the capital of Latvia – Riga – heritage agenda brightly concerns the special territory around city centre, which is characterized by the precedent of internationally recognized valuable space and complementary aspects – small professional community and high bureaucratic culture
Expanding the architectural competition subject in the heritage context to competition procedure subject, the objective of the study is the dynamics of competition taxonomy in the heritage places, in the period of decade
Summary
The mechanisms of sustaining, preserving and developing of the past built environment are popular in the entire Europe and discourse is often being evoked together with the ageing society and shrinking cities. Besides chain of challenges within average contemporary urban developments, the city has to deal with maintenance of the assigned status and concepts of conservation (Ameloskina 2008). It has to remain balance within the neoliberal development in post-soviet space processes and the lowest price procurement law. It supposes to challenge attempts improve the quality of the built environment standards of today and of the future, ensuring that urban sustainability is integral component of its urban development attitude. Popular instruments to express the specific care of “valuable” architecture is the listing and hierarchy of the criteria’s, and legally and practically inwrought mechanisms, referable for implementing new architecture in special territory
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