Reconstruction works on the Kurzeme District Court building in Ventspils, worth 2.5 million euro, have been completed. The construction process at Katrīnas iela 14, Ventspils took place in two stages – both the construction of a new extension to the court house and the renovation of the historic building, carried out on the order of VAS “Tiesu namu aģentūra” (TNA) by AS “Būvuzņēmums Restaurators”.
In the first construction stage, which lasted two years and concluded in December 2018, a reconstruction project for the court house was drawn up, and a new building (extension) with an area of 834.2 square metres was constructed. In this stage a new, modern, functional two-storey court building was built – an extension to the existing court house with working premises for several panels of judges – six equipped courtrooms and appropriate public spaces.
Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns: “By ensuring the development of court infrastructure and the reconstruction of court houses, the fourth large-scale construction project has been commissioned within a year – Jēkabpils, Tukums, Madona and now also a modern court house in Ventspils. It provides a greater number of courtrooms, equipped with what is needed for court work. Undeniably, the professionalism of judges, good work organization and adherence to professional ethics are what primarily ensure the quality of court work and the reputation of the judiciary. At the same time, it must be emphasized that modern, functional infrastructure is one of the areas that creates the preconditions for increasing court efficiency, including balancing caseloads among judges and reducing the length of proceedings.”
“The aim of the project was to achieve positive changes in the day-to-day organization of court work, improving working conditions and increasing the efficiency, safety and accessibility of services for court participants,” says TNA board member Santa Sausiņa. She also emphasizes that “when planning the building’s architecture, modern architectural solutions were chosen that fit into the existing urban environment and harmonize with it as well as with the existing court building, while clearly demonstrating the building’s public function and social significance.”
Meanwhile, as part of the second stage, which lasted a little over a year and concluded in February 2020, renovation works were carried out on the existing court house covering an area of 525 square metres. Since the building was constructed in the mid-19th century, it was important during these works to preserve its historical character while turning the premises into a modern and functional working environment for court staff. For this purpose, the premises in the building have been adapted for the needs of the court archive, registry, and the work of court staff and judges.
“During the renovation of the historic building, we managed to uncover and preserve fragments of the original wall colouring. Ancient wooden structures were also uncovered and put on display within the interior. In my view, this ties in beautifully with architect Aldis Polis’s intention, when designing the new building, to choose structural solutions that maintain a close connection with nature and the tree-lined Baltic Sea. What’s more – respecting Latvia’s traditions of timber architecture, it must be said that timber, in this case, fits in really well in the construction of the new building, not only as the main structural element but also as the dominant façade element,” explains Mareks Mamajs, chairman of the board of AS “Būvuzņēmums Restaurators”, noting that the old court house building naturally carries its own historical heritage and is visually very much in keeping with the architecture of the Old Town, “but functionally it was very far from meeting modern requirements. The main task was therefore to preserve the existing building’s unique architecture while making the building and its new timber extension suitable and convenient for both staff and visitors. And it seems that this has been achieved!”