On 17 January 2025, the travelling large-format photo exhibition “Architecture. Engineering. Form and Function”, which brings together and showcases outstanding architectural and engineering objects, was opened outside Origo Shopping Centre. The large-scale open-air exhibition with high-quality and specially selected photographic material will delight the people of Riga and visitors until the end of May. The exhibition features architectural objects and structures that have won prizes in the Latvian Construction Award of the Year competition, the Baltic-wide Sustainability in Architecture, Construction and Design competition, and which have been designed by engineers who have won prizes in the Latvian Construction Engineer of the Year competition.

The large-format open-air exhibition space of 450 m² in the square in front of Origo Shopping Centre is a unique urban facility complementing the centre and can be visited and viewed by anyone. This gift from Linstow Baltic to the community promotes the accessibility of art in the public space and has been bringing art lovers together since 2014.

“Traditionally, we launch the cycle of large-scale open-air exhibitions with an exhibition of outstanding Latvian architectural and engineering achievements. Innovative, modern and sustainable solutions are also at the heart of Linstow Baltic’s business strategy to develop modern and sustainable urban environments. This is evidenced by the high expert ratings and international recognition of our urban developments – Origo Multifunctional Centre, Origo One and the future Satekles Business Centre, which will open this year. We are witnessing a significant transformation of the neighbourhood, making it one of the most important infrastructure hubs of the future. Modernisation and sustainable development solutions make it a strategically important city development point not only in Latvia, but also in the Baltics. We invite everyone to see the work of outstanding architects in the large-format exhibition space next to Origo Multifunctional Centre, which is recognised as a model of sustainable modern construction,” says Evija Majevska, Commercial Director of Linstow Baltic and Origo Multifunctional Centre, welcoming the long-term cooperation with the BDCC and the annual opening of the exhibition.

The travelling exhibitions are organised already for the ninth year by the Building Design and Construction Council (BDCC) under the leadership of Gunita Jansone and Agrita Lūse (www.buvniekupadome.lv). The number of visitors is in the hundreds of thousands, as the exhibition is displayed in public gathering places in the urban environment – at traffic junctions, promenades, shopping centres and sports grounds. Taking into account different language preferences, the descriptions are in Latvian and English, while a QR code on each panel takes you to more information on the websites. It is worth noting the educational nature of the exhibition, which acts as an information platform on key achievements in architecture and construction in Latvia and the companies involved in building the structures. The title of the exhibition emphasises the sense of form, style and architectural expressiveness, which is an essential parameter for a building of any function – public buildings, private houses, civil engineering structures, etc.

The exhibition is supported by Aimasa, Projekts 3, Baltijas Būve, Pro Dev, Rīgas tilti, UPTK, Linstow.

Photo: Valters Poļakovs, Renārs Koris