Winning designs revealed for writers' retreat in Latvia

In October 2018, BeeBreeders launched The Pavilosta Poet Huts design competition for a writers’ community in the small coastal fishing village of Pāvilosta, Latvia. Historically a port serving the nearby city of Liepāja, the town is a tourist destination populated with seafaring locals from fishermen to windsurfers. The area also attracts creative practitioners seeking a place to relax and be inspired, making it an ideal place for a writing retreat. With competition winners being considered for construction, the jury selected strong proposals for communal complexes that captured both the ability for writers to work in isolation, as well as offering opportunities to interact with fellow visitors.

First prize has been awarded to a British student at the Accademia di Architettura Mendrisio, Daniel Brigginshaw, for his concept ‘A garden within a garden’. The design references traditional Baltic architecture and includes local materials to create a single courtyard structure. Interior and exterior spaces meet under a common roof, bringing a sense of community for users. Following the announcement of the results, David explained his approach: “Having had the opportunity throughout my studies to work on a variety of scales, from an urban masterplan to an isolated cabin, it is my belief that all architecture must be based on one strong and clear idea. Architecture affects all scales from its urban (or rural) insertion right down to the choice of materials and detail design.”

Second prize went to Linnéa Holmberg, Maria Torrent, and Karl Zetterholm from BLANK ARKITEKTER AB in Sweden. Their ‘Enclosures’ project unifies the ideals of solitude and community, placing a single building in the centre of the site enclosing a garden with a large tree and meditation zone. Third prize was awarded to Katharina Kocol and Olga Bialczak from Technische Universität Berlin, Germany for ‘The Pitch Hut’, which included two bands of buildings facing an internal street. One section provides writers’ accommodation, while the other would be used for shared facilities and host accommodation.

Lucy Nordberg
TenderStream Head of Research

This competition was first published by TenderStream  23.10.2018 here

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