This week was celebrated the birthday of latvian architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns (1859 -1928). Let's turn our look in the sky of soon coming spring and look to the house where both the architect and his family and the great painter Janis Rozentāls lived. K. Pēkšēns was the first architect of Riga to start accentuating the corners of the quarters with expressive towers. Before Museum Riga Art Nouveau Centre and Jaņa Rozentāla un Rūdolfa Blaumaņa muzejs will open its doors to visitors and allow to enjoy the charm of Art Nouveau interiors, we invite you to look at the exquisite façade Alberta street 12.
The building in Alberta iela 12 (1903) was a property of architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns. Eižens Laube, then architecture student, also took part in designing the building. It stands out due to strong formation of the massing and impressive silhouette. It has several strongly projected avant-corpses, bay windows, balconies, loggias, gables, corner tower and massive entrance portals. Some motifs of architectonic shapes characteristic of Renaissance or Middle Ages are used, though the general image of the building is close to National Romanticism. Stylised motifs of local plants and animals – needles, cones and squirrels – are included in the ornamental reliefs, thus creating an architectural image of the building. Windows of several dwelling rooms are adorned with stained glass with images of exotic plants.
Text material using Dr. arch. Dr. arch. Jānis Krastiņš studies. Photo by Margarita Fedina, Marika Vanaga, Aigars Altenbergs.
