Karosta
is defined by discrete urban objects or artefacts, like the church,
the manège, the water tower and the soviet era blocks - this
proposal adds a new object with radical social agency to the town.
The proposal deliberately maintains the existing garages and storage
spaces located on the site. A new volume is inserted, reinforcing the
social structure of the garages. The volume contains a kantine which
compensates the lack of a café or gathering space in the town. The
main volume also contains a youth centre / day care which is
specifically focused on the many young families which are attracted
by the low rent in Karosta. On the ground floor, some garages are
turned into a “make space” which offers tools, machines, storage
and education to the locals. Locals can rent equipment or use more
expensive and specialised tools in the workshop itself. The existing
garages around the new volume can develop over time on private
initiative into shops, cafés and market spaces.
The
proposal suggest that more high-profile functions as a museum or
conference centre are better situated in some of the abandoned
tsar-era buildings which are found practically everywhere in Karosta.
This would help to protect the historic fabric and is more
budget-friendly.
The
formal language of the volume enters a dialogue with the old bunkers
at the coast in Karosta . The use of concrete and gold refers
respectively to the materiality of the soviet blocks and the church.
