Pharmaceutical Production Facility Design

Saules pharmacy (Saules aptieka) is located in Riga, Brivibas Street 68, in a historical Art Nouveau building constructed in 1903. Since the very beginning, meaning, from 1910 to 1939, the corner part of the first story of the house was occupied by a pharmacy. During the Soviet times, many different stores filled the space, however, since the year 2000, the rooms are home to Saules pharmacy.

The client’s wish was to dislocate the laboratory from the basement it has previously been established in, to the first story of the house. The idea was to create an open space within five big shop windows facing Brivibas Street, therefore letting the passers-by see the everyday work of pharmacists. It is significant to note that the space up for reconstruction had a decorative plaster interior finish, as well as plaster decors, created by the architect Joseph Goldenberg in the 1950s and nowadays considered to be of exceptionally high cultural and historical value. Regarding the advice given by experts from the State Inspection for Heritage Protection, the finish had to be preserved. The architects acknowledged that the decors within the space will grant the new interior add a different and more meaningful value. The challenge, however, was to protect and exhibit the historical decors, whilst simultaneously combining them with the new function of the space – the preparation of medicine, where sterility is the main priority.

Since the box in box principle in architecture is used to create an “overlay” of the historical building with a new protective structure, it was chosen to be the core element of the interior. Reverse architecture was used in the project. By not touching the plaster decorations, the shape of the room was copied with a transparent protective membrane (the material of stretch ceiling) within a 30×30 milimeter square tube, which visually resembles glass and is hit resistant, acoustically efficient, easily maintainable, removable and changeable. The delicacy of the plaster decors and graphicness of the metal tubes create a powerful and interesting dynmanic between the two architecture and interior eras.

To leave the wall planes (arches) and ceiling untouched, all the technical communications are hidden in the floor and built-in furniture, whereas the bodies of light above the work surfaces were designed and manufactured individually. Double construction was used in the floor, where ventilation pipes and electricity wires are also situated. Linoleum with a terrazzo pattern was used for flooring, which is not only a functional solution for these types of spaces, but a decorative element as well.

Ventilation and conditioning are hidden in the built-in furniture, replacing the enormous metal grates with delicate perforation in the façade plane. Keeping in mind that double ceiling is used in the interior, smoke detectors were placed on both planes by installing them in a dainty metal tube, therefore checking all the boxes for fire safety in a unique way.

The white color décor and black graphic line monochromatic effect is complemented by bright red accents in the furniture, which serves as a reference to the red tone of Saules pharmacy, balanced out well by the linoleum terrazzo pattern. Capacious closets are placed along the perimeter, therefore helping the rooms maintain their vastness, but in the middle of the space lays a technical block with the different instruments necessary in the work of pharmacists. The block also offers a washing option for the tools.

A block with four workspaces in the eye level of the passers-by is established by each shop window. To ensure comfort and ergonomics for the employees, tables with adjustable height and covering side panels were used in the interior.

The aesthetical uniqueness of the result acknowledges and explores history and the contribution of the previous architects, simultaneously identifying the trends of contemporary architecture and interior design. The object was critically acclaimed by experts in the field, resulting in the Latvian Architecture Award 2023 (Latvijas Arhitektūras gada balva 2023) being given to the Saules pharmacy Preparation of medicine unit interior.  The architects are grateful and appreciative of the collaboration with the client, who supported the individualistic and unusual approach and actively participated in the creation and realization process of the project.