Architect Brigita Bula urges rethinking whether new buildings are needed before construction

Latvian architect Brigita Bula, through her initiative "Build–Don't Build" ("Būvēt–Nebūvēt"), is calling on the public, clients, the state and municipalities to think carefully before putting up new buildings: why and for whom it is being built, who will use it, and whether the goal could be reached by improving existing buildings and infrastructure. In her view, good projects in Latvia and Europe are accompanied by poor-quality ones, and there are already problems with using and maintaining existing structures.

Bula stresses that the aim is not to discourage building altogether. She describes "not building" as a "Shakespearean" provocation meant to spark discussion, and understands "building" broadly – not only buildings, but also roads, systems, ideas and action plans. As a simple example, she cites a neighbour's swimming pool: if it is used once or twice a week, it may be cheaper to agree on shared use and split the costs.

The concert hall example

As a more concrete example, Bula mentions the planned Riga concert hall. She understands musicians' wishes and believes the hall was needed 20 years ago, but says a project's usefulness is better re-evaluated even if time and money have already been invested. She notes that Latvia already has four acoustic concert halls, and suggests limited funds could instead go to a safe high-speed road or train services to them. She sees the reconstruction of the Congress House as mixed: the building is preserved, but the planned rebuild is very large.

Handbook and workshops

The initiative plans to produce a methodological handbook useful to students, clients, the state and municipalities. Bula has given herself a year to hold talks and workshops with architects, builders, developers, lawyers, sociologists, cultural representatives and economists. This summer's workshop in Pāvilosta also involved chef Ēriks Dreibants, and the discussion covered seasonality in cooking and architecture.

The architect also urges a reassessment of her profession's role: an architect should be seen not merely as a draughtsman but as a specialist who sees the whole process. She argues that public procurement often favours the cheapest bid, which affects quality. Bula also challenges the belief that rebuilding old buildings is always expensive, calling for comparison of specific estimate items and consideration of a building's whole life cycle. She also wants more flexible regulation and stresses the importance of hearing criticism.