The government’s decision to build a new concert hall at 2 Elizabetes Street, once home to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, later the World Trade Center, allows the building to be demolished, but that doesn’t mean it should be done this morning in an interview with LTV Panorama “said Minister of Culture Nauris Puntulis (VL-TB / LNNK).
He believes that the government’s decision put an end to many years of discussion that began in the late 1980s, so it must now be understood that we will never build a new concert hall if there are such long and difficult discussions.
“Everyone now has to ask themselves why it is necessary? I look positively at the idea of a concert hall, and it is clear that we will move forward. Behind me is the excellent Latvian music industry, artists who trust and support me in this matter. I just I can’t let them down, “said the Minister.
According to him, the primary task is to build a concert hall, not to demolish the existing building, because there is a possibility that the project of the concert hall could be improved so that the old building would be integrated into the new one. Therefore, already in August or September, an architects’ plein air will be held, where architects could find the best solution for the implementation of the project in discussions and exchange of ideas.
“Of course, the public will have to explain quite extensively what, what and why the project will be implemented, because we do not need a hostile attitude on this issue, although it is known that nowhere in the world is the concert hall built without a huge surge,” the minister added.
LETA has already reported that the government has approved the development of the national concert hall project at Elizabetes Street 2, where the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Latvia was once located, later – the “World Trade Center”.
A group of about 20 architects has applied to the National Cultural Heritage Board, calling for the status of a cultural monument to be granted to the building in Riga, Elizabetes Street 2.
In its turn, the National Council of Architecture has encouraged the Ministry of Culture to establish a working group of the National Concert Hall project with professionals in the fields involved, whose task, involving the public, would be to create a high-quality architectural process and develop a project implementation map.
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