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- Address : Brivibas iela
- Region : Ogre
- Area : -
- GPS X : 0.000000000000000000
- GPS Y : 0.000000000000000000
- Project start : 2005
- Project end : 2007
- Implementation start : 2007
- Implementation end : 2008
- Website : http://
- Project Status : Completed Project
- Client : Ogre Municipality
- Ownership : Public
- Accessibility : Unrestricted areas
- Project Team : Inga Langenfelde, Dace Špīsa, Jānis Rieksts
- Brief Description : The town of Ogre has a long-standing health resort history and a heavy industrialisation heritage from soviet years when vandalism had become a problem. In the extensively built-up area one had to restore the social role and aesthetic quality of a city centre. The cooperation of Vides Projektu Studija and Ogre Municipality started with the distinction between what is beautiful and what is ugly, what should be preserved and what – highlighted.
The winding Ogre River, full of rapids, was chosen as the source of inspiration. Spatial planning and paving composition of streets depicts flowing of a river in a stylised way integrating the river’s character in the historic Brīvības (Freedom) street. Greenery ‘islands’ are designed as elliptical forms in various sizes with different orientation of axes against the street’s main axis. Design’s composition includes also fountains planned to be constructed in the future.
The dynamic rhythms of curved lines and ellipses are tamed by a row of lanterns and low stone posts, as a sign of organised urban environment. Creation of a quality landscape was as important as new environmental design. It was clear that on the street there are too much trees and their landscape quality is low. One had to remove part of lastingly cut and worn-out linden trees. This helped to underline the beauty of trees characteristic to this landscape – fir trees, pines, thujas, oak trees, maples and chestnut trees. The latter was chosen as the dominant species rendering the street especially festive during their florescence. Under the trees one planted wintergreen plants and grasses that bring the air of nature into these urban settings.
We were aware that the chosen design is a venture to change traditional thinking on urban environment. Only in some stages does the built-up area form a single line. We took the liberty to ignore the limitations set by the red lines and offered to design street extensions as ‘river curves’ thus creating a space for meetings and leisure. In Latvia every owner usually fulfils his tasks only up to his or her legal borderline, investing no effort into agreement-making with neighbours on the best solutions in the name of better results. In Ogre one has managed to attain a result that permitted to extend the street’s spatial boundaries and facilitate a wider leisure area. Consequently, several adjoining areas outside the red street lines have been reconstructed and put into order.
Transformation of Brīvības street went through public and professional discussion process purposefully moderated by experts in the building administration who tried to realise their own view of city image, too. The novel appearance of the new pedestrian street surprised many city-dwellers, and they undertook active discussions on the subject. Now people have got used to the news in their urban surroundings, their street reminding a slowly flowing river in everyday life, and a bright and densely populated highway during festive events.
Text: Daiga Veinberga, architect
Photos: project team
Article summary from: "Latvijas Architectura" nr 88 (April/May 2010) - Designer : Vides Projektu Studija
- Project Name : Original : Brivibas ielas rekonstrukcija Ogre
- Type : Urban squares
- Image Title : Plan
