The warehouse keeps its character.
Walk beside the old brick wall, now sheltered behind glass. The building’s former exterior has become part of the experience inside.
LV LatviaIn practice. Hanzas Perons operates as a concert and events venue in a converted cargo railway warehouse in Riga.
What to keep in view
Access is tied to events and venue arrangements. Architectural flexibility does not mean every event is public or free.
A new layer around the old
The conversion preserves the brickwork, timber beams and large cargo doors that explain what the building used to do. A glazed enclosure adds a contemporary layer while leaving those features visible.
Rather than making a replica of the past, the architects create a space between old and new. That perimeter is useful circulation space, but it also brings visitors close to the warehouse’s texture.
A room that can change its evening
Inside, the generous hall can accommodate different events. Its character comes from the existing structure as much as the temporary staging. That is the appealing proposition for a city: keep a distinctive industrial room, then give it more reasons to be used.
Read next.
A library that can rearrange the room.
Compare the reuse of railway buildings for live events in Riga and everyday reading and gathering in Tilburg.
Let the old room keep speaking.
Two venues carry older buildings into a new cultural programme. Look at which traces each conversion keeps.