Opening of the exhibition “Rome and the Teacher, Astra Zariņa” organised by the RISEBA Faculty of Architecture and Design

We invite you to participate foundation “Arhiteksti” and RISEBA University, Faculty of Architecture and Design the co-organised exhibition of the Rainbeck, New York-based gallery T’ Space / Steven Myron Holl Foundation in the opening of the exhibition “Rome. Teacher: Astra Zariņa”, which will be held at the National Library in Riga starting from 14 March till 27 April 2024.

The aim of the exhibition is to introduce the intellectual legacy of the remarkable Latvian architect Astra Zariņa to a wider public.

Why is Astra Zariņa’s contribution to the field of architecture remarkable?

Astra Zariņa worked for more than 30 years as a lecturer in architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle. She influenced hundreds of architects who were her students with her design brilliance and passion for historic preservation. Born in 1929 in Riga, Latvia, she emigrated with her family to the Northwest Pacific in 1949. Zarina received her BA from the University of Washington and her Master of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1960, she became the first woman to receive the prestigious Rome Prize for Architecture and was subsequently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. In 1970, she founded the International Programme for the Study of Architecture in Rome at the University of Washington. Six years later, she established a second architecture programme at the University of Washington, focusing on Italian mountain towns and located in the historic village of Civita di Bagnoregio, about 60 miles north of Rome. To promote design excellence through education and cultural exchange, she co-founded the non-profit Civita Institute in Seattle. Zarina passed away on 31 August 2008 at the age of 79.

Astras Zariņa’s high achieving students

Steven Holl was born in 1947 in Bremerton, Washington. He graduated from the University of Washington and went on to study architecture in Rome in 1970. In 1976 he joined the Architectural Association in London and founded STEVEN HOLL ARCHITECTS in New York. Considered one of America’s most important architects, Stephen Holl is recognised for his ability to combine space and light with great contextual sensitivity and to use the unique qualities of each project to create conceptual design. He specialises in the seamless integration of new projects in contexts of particular cultural and historical significance.

Among Hall’s most acclaimed works are the REACH expansion of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Hunters Point Library building in Queens, New York in 2019, the 2007 Bloch Building addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri and the Linked Hybrid building complex in Beijing, China in 2009

We invite you to participate foundation “Arhiteksti” and RISEBA University, Faculty of Architecture and Design the co-organised exhibition of the Rainbeck, New York-based gallery T’ Space / Steven Myron Holl Foundation in the opening of the exhibition “Rome. Teacher: Astra Zariņa”, which will be held at the National Library in Riga starting from 14 March till 27 April 2024.

The aim of the exhibition is to introduce the intellectual legacy of the remarkable Latvian architect Astra Zariņa to a wider public.

The opening programme will feature a virtual interview with Zariņa’s most famous student, the renowned American architect Steven Holl. The exhibition will be included in the programme of the second international architecture conference RIXARCH 2024, organised by the RISEBA Faculty of Architecture and Design (FAD), which will be dedicated to Astra Zariņa. The conference will also feature the leaders of the Civita Institute, founded by Zariņa, as one of the keynote speakers.

On the opening day of the exhibition, a virtual interview with Stephen Hall will take place from 17:00 – 19:00, while the gala event is scheduled for 19:00 – 21:00 and will include speeches and a reception.

Visitors can leave their cars in the Mūkusalas iela 5 car park.