Reconstruction of the historic New Riga Theatre (JRT) building at 25 Lāčplēša Street, Riga, under the direction of SJSC State Real Estate (hereinafter - SRE) has reached the highest point of the roof, which is symbolised by the Dragonfly crown placed there. At present, construction of the roof is actively continuing. Under favourable construction conditions, the theatre will be completely under one roof at the turn of the year, informs Renārs Griškevičs, Chairman of the Board of SRE.
Despite the conditions of the pandemic and the limitations created by it, the construction works of JRT are moving forward significantly - all three halls - the large auditorium and the construction of two new “black-box” halls - are now fully completed. The top floor has been built for the new entrance area in the yard, as well as for the administrative building of the theatre. In order to move the work forward more efficiently, work takes place in different areas of the JRT construction site at the same time. Construction and concreting of test hall structures in the yard area continues, reconstruction works of the historical facade, installation of the restored historical window blocks, construction of the suspended facades for the new volume in the yard of the complex, as well as the construction of engineering networks and partitions in the parts of the building have started where the technological process allows for such.
Minister of Culture Nauris Puntulis: “When he took office, one of the first problem situations was the stopping of the reconstruction of New Riga Theatre. When looking for solutions, one of the most important issues was not only quality, but also deadlines and finances. I am pleased that the necessary solutions have been found for the theatre to acquire new premises very soon.”
“We have completed an important stage of construction and are moving fast; the progress of construction work is obvious. It is important to fully construct the roof of the building; we are close to the next stage, which will allow us to quickly move forward with the interior. As a customer, we are demanding - we do not allow compromises in terms of quality or safety. SRE construction supervisors closely follow the execution of works and the overall progress of the project. The construction works must be completed by the end of 2022,” R. Griškevičs points out.
Simultaneously with the construction of the theatre on the construction site, interior restoration works will continue outside it - restoration of windows, doors and other interior decoration elements, as well as theatre historical parquet flooring, while the production of stage technological equipment, lighting equipment, elevators and other engineering equipment will take place at factories.
“The increase in prices of energy resources and construction materials is significant, the supply of construction materials is difficult, and human resources in this difficult situation are very limited, but work on the construction site continues uninterrupted - all employees involved in the construction process work on site; in addition, the works took place both in the harsh winter of 2020/2021 and in the atypically hot summer of Latvia, when the temperature on the concrete surfaces even reached +60 degrees Celsius. Thanks to the professional team and as a result of very precise planning, the building complex has already reached its highest point - lintel steel busbars have been assembled above the historic Lāčplēša Street house. We plan to complete construction of the roof structure in a couple of months,” says Jānis Kreicburgs, SBSC project manager.
The JRT project is technically complex, with construction taking place in the historic centre in close proximity with neighbouring buildings. A contract has been signed with the general partnership SBSC for the construction of JRT for 29.9 million euros. Cooperation with the builder - PS “SBSC” - takes place according to the principle “Design and build”, which means comprehensive responsibility of the contractor for the construction works, allowing technical issues arising during the daily construction to be resolved faster. The construction works are being performed in accordance with the design by the architect Zaiga Gaile, and they should be completed at the end of 2022, when the theatre will return to its new home.
Here is a photo gallery of placing the Dragonfly Crown at the highest point of the roof: https://failiem.lv/u/fj2nd6g9p.
Last year, under the conditions of the pandemic, 17 nationally significant development projects with a total budget of 29.5 million euros were completed under the leadership of SRE. Under the conditions of the pandemic, in accordance with the precautionary and safety requirements, work on 54 different construction objects of national importance with a total project budget of more than 193 million euros continue under the management of SRE. SRE provides professional real estate management and administration for approximately 400 real estate properties with 1100 buildings of 1.02 million square metres and more than 3600 land properties of 9.6 million square metres. The company is one of 23 Latvian companies that have received the highest platinum award according to the Sustainability Index of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, confirming the good governance and sustainability of its operations. SRE was founded in 1996 and is 100% owned by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia.
