Artificial Forest for a choir of 20 000 singers
The Latvian Nationwide Song and Dance Celebration is one of the largest choral events in the world and is responsible for the development of the Latvian national identity. A unique building typology, which dates back to the late 19th century, was developed specifically for these large scale performances. Learning from nature has been the leading principle to develop the new design, which brings together an extraordinarily large choir of 20 000 singers.
Acapella singing of a choir this size challenges the audibility for both the performers and the audience. The new venues’ spatial analogy with a forest strengthens the sound and creates a smooth reverberation, thus solving the acoustic challenge. Parametric panels - leaves of the trees - variable in size and positioning distributes the singers’ voice evenly and takes into consideration the long distances between voice groups, conductor and audience. The new stage hones a natural sound which local choirists have described as unique and “silver-like”.
The volume of the stage blends harmonically in the dunes of the natural coastal forest of the Baltic sea. Calm aestetics are achieved by a visually monochrome use of mainly locally-sourced materials. The venue is open daily as a centre for culture and leisure and provides adaptable indoor and outdoor spaces for various types of performances, sports and culture events throughout the year. Mezaparks Open-Air stage is a community centre, which invites to nurture the sense of belonging and responsibility for the preservation and development of the local cultural heritage.
Team:
Architects: Mailitis Architects, Arhitekta J. Pogas birojs
Client: Riga City Council Department of City Development, Riga City Council Department of Property
General Contractors: LNK Industries RERE buve, LNK Industries
Consultants:
Concept: Austris Mailitis, Ivars Mailitis, Matiss Mailitis
Architects: Austris Mailitis, Reiji Kobayashi, Andra Odumane, Janis Lielmanis, Deniss Maruhlenko, Zanete Berzina, Darja Melnikova (Mailitis arhitekti), Juris Poga, Astra Poga, Ilva Asmusa, Zanna Turova, Janis Melders, Reinis Vilnitis (Arhitekta J. Pogas birojs)
Structural Engineers: LVCT, Buvinzenieru konstruktoru birojs, Strandeck,
Roof Membrane: Michael Kiefer (Kiefer. Textile Architectur)
Acoustics: Andris Zabrauskis (RTU), Prof. Karlheinz Müller (Müller-BBM GmbH), Michael Wahl, Harald Frisch, Juris Saprovskis (RD akustika)
