Riga, Latvia

LOCAL in collaboration with RUUME arhitekti have designed a state-of-the-art sports facility for the Latvian Paralympic Committee whose design emphasizes inclusivity, seamlessly integrating sports facilities with natural landscapes.

Matthieu Boustany and Benoist Desfonds have been awarded for this project with a Europe 40Under40 Architecture and Design Award by by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies , which acknowledges the talent of architects under the age of 40 across Europe.

Positioning a sizable sports facility in a sparsely populated wooded area prompts considerations about the project’s appropriateness and strategies for cultivating a new community while preserving its natural charm.

Leveraging the waterway’s inherent path that divides the site, the architects envisioned an expansive public strip animating this river landscape.

This communal space, accessible to all, links outdoor fields with the Paralympic Center.

Serving as a mineral ribbon on the same plane, it highlights diverse sporting activities and opens the sports enclave.

The ditch appears and creates many sequences: diversity of landscape, nature, water, and playground. It links the different activities outdoors and indoors.

Evolving into a hub for interactions among athletes, spectators, and neighbors, it ensures the perpetual vitality of the site.

This city investment extends benefits to the entire community, fostering a shared environment.

Project: Paralympic Center of Latvia
Architects: LOCAL
Collaborators: RUUME arhitekti
Design Team: Matthieu Boustany, Benoist Desfonds, Elida Mosquera, and Jerome Picard
Client: Latvian Paralympic Committee
Photographs: Courtesy of the Architects