Private house in Zemenu street | Studio Arhis

Private house in Jurmala is built in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1950s the building was first rebuilt. After last reconstruction in 2007 the building surprised neighbors although the old house the old house had only changed „skin” and obtained a glazed miniature conservatory or a modern veranda actually deserved by any house in Jurmala. An occasional passer-by pays attention to the detached house with grey boarding too, because it differs from the „common” Jurmala houses with their ornamented gables and turrets. After reconstruction attic obtained a studio with a kitchen niche where only shower and toilet were screened off. An attractive and practical detail was the old winding stair, a testimony of the mastery of a previous generation Jurmala carpenter. After the present reconstruction the division does not split off kitchen from the „big” room (actually only 14 sqm) anymore. Fireplace now takes a central place in the house, and the formerly labor-consuming has become a common family event. From most angles it seems that the building’s general form has not changed, and only the glazed cube of conservatory or veranda, the most luxurious part of the living room, stands out against the gray stature of the house. The building is insulated, and the preserved old windows show how thin the old wooden pile building had been. Also roof is made from boards, with a carefully laid roofing „pie” and heated drainpipes. The chosen colour reminds a bleached tar on a fisherman’s boat, a common sight in Jurmala times ago. The house’s identity, its specific qualities distinguishes it from most of the other Jurmala development and makes it more similar to a fisherman’s farmstead from the last century. Evolution of a form offered by architect Andris Kronbergs has a short and expressive definition – a phrase by philosopher Hegel – “another oneself”.