1st prize winner: Aidan Doyle ,Sarah Wan, USA

all images courtesy of Bee Breeders Architecture Competitions

Bee Breeders Architecture Competitions presents the winners of the Baltic Way Memorial architecture competition have been announced. The Baltic Way Memorial architecture competition looked to create an architectural reminder of the impact of the Baltic way movement in 1989, and the influence nonviolent protest can have. The Baltic way movement united some two million people in an effort to gain their freedom, as such the winning entries were selected for their ability to capture both the seriousness of the topic, while also illustrating a lightness and hope for the future. 

The jury evaluated each entry on a number of criteria, taking into account: the strength and clarity of their concept; originality and quality of their presentation; and the appropriateness of scale and context in their designs. However, the most important factor - and the reason our winners were chosen - was the strength of the designs ability to act as a public space in Riga that memorializes the Baltic Way and other successful peaceful protests. 

The 1st place winning submission, created by a team from the US, stood out as a potential icon in memory of the movement. Second place went to a team from the Netherlands, whose project was a unique and meditative environment that encourages personal reflection. Third place winners from Switzerland succinctly portrayed the power of the Baltic Way protest by creating a linear path across the site to represent the full path of the 675 kilometer-long human chain.

1st prize winner: Aidan Doyle ,Sarah Wan, USA

The winning submission stands out as a potential icon of memory and hope for the city of Riga. It seamlessly weaves together the program into one coherent whole while reaching beyond its site to make a statement for the city, ultimately spreading its message and increasing interest more effectively. The scale of the monument is appropriate for the program, and thoughtfully bridges the smaller individual scale with a broader urban scale. The organization of the program at the ground level fits this logic accordingly, with each of the three smaller program components nested inside each of the three fins, all united by a central atrium space. 

The images are of a high quality, and invoke a dreamlike vision of Riga’s riverside that encourages collective learning and reflection. The amphitheater component at the center of the project, while not included in the program, is a clever addition in its potential to serve the people of Riga and Latvia by hosting lectures or events. This in turn could raise more awareness of both historic and contemporary political movements, thus becoming a local forum for discussion and ideas. Not only does it fulfill the program requested while providing a visible icon for the city of Riga, but this project contributes additional program that would augment the impact of the memorial....Continue Reading

2nd prize winner: Alessandro Arcangeli, Rory Alasdair Downes, Silvio Pennesi, Netherlands

This project takes a simple proposal to create a unique and meditative environment that encourages personal reflection. Drawing upon the history of the Baltic Way, this memorial places a series of walls lined up across the site to represent the many people lined up throughout Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia during the Baltic Way. The result is an environment that, in its rigid repetition, seeks to make an emotional impact on its visitors.

The design also cleverly utilizes its site, as it is experienced differently with the differing speeds of movement around it. On the one hand, the memorial is first meant to be experienced at walking speed, and allows for peaceful reflection while ambulating through the site. On the other hand, vehicles are also speeding by the site, and one may also experience the quick strum of layered walls while viewing from a passenger window. The layering may even be experienced from the water, for occasional boat traffic, which slowly reveals the inside each void while floating by.....Continue Reading

3rd prize winner: Federico Malnati, Thomas Giuliani, Switzerland

This project succinctly conveys the power of the Baltic Way nonviolent protest by creating a linear path across the site to represent the full path of the 675 kilometer-long human chain. This is expressed with one block of marble for each of the 675 kilometers for the full route, periodically identifying various cities and state borders along the path. As one moves through the site, one may begin to understand the scale and impact of this historical event as each step of the foot represents 1 kilometer of joined hands throughout the Baltic states. 

This poetic gesture is then taken a step further with the introduction of the red cube in the center, placed in the symbolic location for Riga, and housing the various memorial functions. The red brick cube, representing soviet control in its monolithic presence, is literally sliced in two by the white marble path. White triumphs over red just as nonviolent protest triumphed over the USSR.....Continue Reading

Honorable Mention: Leila Nanuk; Ivan Mimica; Maja Mocibob; Katarina Mustac 

Honorable Mention: Stanislav Metzger

Honorable Mention: Jurgis Gecys

Honorable Mention: Benjamin Nicaud; Victor Trosset

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