{"id":11034,"date":"2026-01-21T13:38:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rutha.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/21\/sampling-transforms-industrial-site-in-latvia-into-colourful-residential-complex\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T13:38:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:38:41","slug":"sampling-transforms-industrial-site-in-latvia-into-colourful-residential-complex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rutha.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/21\/sampling-transforms-industrial-site-in-latvia-into-colourful-residential-complex\/","title":{"rendered":"Sampling transforms industrial site in Latvia into colourful residential complex"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Augustine's<\/div>\n

Colourful metalwork contrasts with the worn bricks<\/a> of this former industrial courtyard in Riga<\/a>, Latvia, which has been converted into a residential<\/a> complex by local studio Sampling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Named Augustine’s Garden, the cluster of low-rise industrial buildings sits off a main street behind an Art Nouveau apartment<\/a> block with a white plaster facade, which was also renovated by Sampling<\/a> as part of the scheme.<\/p>\n

\"Exterior
Sampling has completed a housing complex on a former industrial courtyard in Riga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the existing industrial buildings not being heritage protected or deemed historically significant, the studio decided to alter them as little as possible, contrasting their worn brickwork with colourful metal accents.<\/p>\n

“We are deeply interested in advancing the paradigm of adaptive reuse and in working with existing built heritage, regardless of its aesthetic or historical value,” said Sampling founders Liene Jakobsone and Manten Devriendt.<\/p>\n

\"Entrance
It sits behind an Art Nouveau apartment block<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Care and repair lie at the heart of the project. The ambition was to introduce as little new material as possible, allowing the site itself to determine the material strategy,” they told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“Our challenge was to demonstrate that even materials burdened with negative connotations, such as white silicate brick, can be reevaluated and reactivated through careful and sensitive architectural intervention.”<\/p>\n

\"Exterior
Green, blue and red-painted metalwork contrasts with the brickwork<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The organisation of the apartments at Augustine’s Garden was guided by the site’s existing layout. A mixture of apartments with private entrances sits directly off the courtyard, while smaller duplex studios and upper-floor units are accessed via a shared staircase.<\/p>\n

Its external courtyard is equally shared between all residents and has been divided into a series of planted bays around which a paved path winds.<\/p>\n

\"Augustine's
The colours are similarly used across the interiors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The outdoor space is shared, and there is no fencing around the terraces. Nevertheless, they feel remarkably private,” Jakobsone and Devriendt explained.<\/p>\n

“This balance is one of the qualities most appreciated by the residents, living within a small, intimate community while at the same time being located in the centre of a large city,” they added.<\/p>\n