The Business, Innovation and Leisure Hub – how the first CBD in Pārdaugava will transform the left bank of Daugava River
Preses Nama Kvartāls is a major development that envelops an iconic Riga landmark of the 1970s into a sustainable meta-city with a diverse infrastructure combining premises for business with facilities for recreation, sport, and leisure. Its fortuitous location embeds its diverse services at the heart of the local community, and places it at the centre of the Riga Knowledge Mile enabling it to be a symbol for the long-term development of Riga.
The 5.8 ha site on the left bank of the Daugava is a 15 minute walk from old town next to a public transport interchange that connects to the entire city, on the edge of a major traffic artery. The project consists of 3 stages. The first stage is under development and includes an 11-floor 26 000 sqm. A class business centre certified as BREEAM EXCELLENT and designed as a Near Zero Energy building to offer work places for 2,600 employees. A glass atrium will connect it to the 40,000 sqm. Multifunctional centre, which will offer a variety of retail, sports, medical, beauty and leisure services as well as food court, dinning and conference facilities. The multi-story car park will have electric charging stations and secured bicycle places. The roof of the fifth floor of the multifunctional centre, will feature the first rooftop football field in the Baltics, as well as a green terrace and a cafe. Next to this centre will be a 307 room 4 star Holiday Inn hotel (the first in Latvia). The creator of the overall vision of the 1st stage of the development and the multifunctional centre is the architects’ bureau Arhis Arhitekti. The business centre architect is Arrow Architects from Denmark. The second stage next to the Zunda canal will include an educational institution and an BREEAM Outstanding office building, third one – premises for business and offices. The entire site is carefully landscaped allowing it to serve not only as a one stop location that provides various services and solutions, but also as a sanctuary for the employees, the local community, and visitors.
The Location is the Innovation
A location is not merely geographic; it is also an intellectual construct. The development of Pārdaugava has great potential, and one of the reasons is that Latvia’s leading universities are located here. They form a common knowledge space, where entrepreneurs can meet science, students can meet future employers, science can meet reality, and ideas can be transformed into new products for the market. As world experience shows that the emergence of innovations is significantly promoted by the convenience of daily movement and proximity, an association was created to promote this interchange. The Riga Knowledge Mile fosters the cooperation of universities, higher education institutions and real estate developers to promote the sustainable development and the unique identity of Pārdaugava. It stretches from The Riga Stradiņš University to the Turība Business School and also includes the Latvian National Library, the Zunda Towers and the Preses Nama Kvartāls. As the City of Riga has identified the Pārdaugava neighbourhood as one of the capital’s priority territories for development, it is an important framework for co-creation and cooperation in the planning of improvements to engineering, traffic, and social infrastructure.
Sustainability Values
Sustainability and energy efficiency are no longer an optional extra, they are a necessity in order to reduce the impact on climate change and remain competitive. In addition to the obligatory guidelines, sustainability values are apparent throughout the project in both formal and informal aspects. Building materials from the demolished parts of the building have been reused, existing structures preserved as far as possible and environmentally friendly materials have been chosen throughout. Energy efficiency includes fully metered energy consumption and an adjustable internal climate system for each tenant. Humidification is installed in each office and an overall well-being sensibility will be apparent in numerous interior design and ergonomics solutions throughout the site.
Parking will come with electric charging hubs and secure bicycle storage that comes with showering facilities, will be a default. A welcome service addition will be a bicycle maintenance centre. The entire site will be suitable for people with mobility impairments, parents with prams and cyclists. The entire territory is built without kerbs.
Unique landscaping solutions will include comfortable public access to the site for physical activities, and leisure opportunities for the local community and employees alike. They include access to waterfront infrastructure and the Zunda canal terrace in stage two. The design includes trees, hundreds of shrubs, rainwater run-off ponds, bird boxes and insect habitats. The bicycle path along Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela will be edged with an avenue of oak trees and wooden structures to provide sound isolation and shade.
Diverse infrastructure
Usually referred to people, Preses Nama Kvartals embeds diversity in its infrastructure. It offers a harmonious business environment with individual solutions. That means flexible office space with high quality standards for any size of business and smart office planning which matches the structure, functions, the culture and values of the organization. Furthermore, no new business environment is imaginable without comfortable and well-managed co-working spaces. A broad range of retailers, restauranteurs and providers of sports, medical and beauty services with demonstrably similar values will be attracted to the business opportunities offered by such a vibrant clientele.
A green oasis and waterfront that is available for all
Easily accessible by public transport and even water transport, Preses Nama Kvartāls will be a public green oasis on the left bank of the Daugava offering a large variety of activities, services and venues in which to gather and socialise. Conveniently situated at the gateway to and from the centre and Pārdaugava, it has an added advantage of being attractive not only to employees and the local community, but also to passers-by. A football field, a running track, a children’s’ playground and cafe on the roof will guarantee attention for a very long time.
Lords LB Asset Management, as the initiators of this development, believe that the cooperation of the municipality, the local community, entrepreneurs, and educational institutions will contribute not only to the development of the territory, but also to the growth and attractiveness of Riga as a city based on innovation and the knowledge economy.
