Sampling Architects

For Pauls Stradiņš Medicine History Museum, this exhibition centred around sneakers is an experiment of venturing outside the familiar playing field. Peppered throughout with paradoxes of social history, the course of sports footwear development is a subject that helps make better sense of instances where society’s idea of healthy lifestyle is shaped by consumerist dependency on the commodity market.

Design of the exhibition features unusual elements and their combinations. The spaces are defined by curtains that form a backdrop for the exhibits, which seem to be levitating in front of the curtain folds. Most of the objects are displayed on a light and transparent construction of metal mesh. Its fluorescent colour dematerialises the construction consolidating the content of the exhibition and facilitating the conversation between the various objects.

Exhibition curated by Elīna Sproģe, Kaspars Vanags and Kristīne Liniņa, graphic designer Kirils Kirasirovs.

Nominated for the finals of the Latvian Design Award 2023.

Published on Fold, 09/02/2023;
on Satori, 11/01/2023;
in ir magazine, 22/02/2023. 

*2023 / completed

Photos: Liene Jākobsone, Mikus Kļaviņš, Viesturs Radovičs

Hatch is a cabinet inspired by architecture and the aesthetics of raw building materials. It samples standard shapes, textures and patterns combining those in a multi-functional storage unit that plays with scale and context. Materials that are normally not considered beautiful and are often hidden behind finishing layers are the protagonists of this storage unit. Bringing these elements into an intimate living environment shifts the perspective and reveals their inherent beauty. Hatch is as a collage that decontextualises elements of our material environment and assigns them new values and meanings by bringing them together in an unexpected way.

Presented at the London Design Festival 2021 as part of the exhibition Tactile Baltics.

*2021 / completed

Photos: Reinis Hofmanis

Exhibition and performance that took place as part of the MAD Space projects series organised by architecture office NRJA in protest against demolition of the modernist building in Riga, Elizabetes street 2.

Our contribution was centered around a self-made cake in the shape of this building. The guests were encouraged to enjoy a piece of the cake thus participating in a symbolic demolition of the building. This performance was intended to emphasize the seeming ease and nonchalance that caracterized the decision making process in this serious matter.

The performance was accompanied by a publication that reflected on the relation between architecture and patissery (download booklet).

*2020 / completed

Photos: Andrejs Strokins

This project – a poetic fiction on future housing architecture – was commissioned by Evelīna Ozola and Matīss Groskaufmanis, editors of the book "Together and Apart". The book is based on the research conducted for the Latvian national contribution to the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018, and it discusses the role of the architecture of apartment buildings in the economic, political, and social landscape of Latvia.

Excerpt from the concept by Sampling:
"Šodien ir grūti iztēloties, ka kādreiz apbūve bijusi strikti saistīta ar funkciju: cilvēki dzīvoja viena veida ēkās, strādāja citādās, bet atpūtās un iepirkās vēl citās. Tā laika sabiedrība nereti lielāku nozīmi piešķīra ārišķībām nekā saturam. Biroju ēkas tika grupētas darījumu centros, tām bija plaši vestibili ar marmora apdari un nepraktiskas stiklotas fasādes. Par spīti tam, ka interneta tehnoloģijas jau bija pietiekami attīstītas un pieejamas gandrīz jebkurā vietā, cilvēki joprojām izvēlējās pavadīt garas stundas satiksmes sastrēgumos, lai nokļūtu šajās darbam paredzētajās augstceltnēs.
Visu izmainīja 2020. gadu ekoloģiskā krīze, un ikvienam kļuva skaidrs, ka līdzšinējais dzīvesveids nav ilgtspējīgs un steidzami jāatsakās no šādas funkciju nošķelšanas. Ikdienas pārbraucieni tika ierobežoti, lielāko daļu aktivitāšu veicot nelielas apkaimes ietvaros. Kā zināms, tas viss ievērojami samazināja dažādu resursu patēriņu, un, tikai pateicoties tā laika radikālajām pārmaiņām, mēs šodien varam atļauties ceļot tālāk un ilgāk, mēs biežāk tiekamies ar draugiem un radiem, kā arī baudām visas pārējās jaunā laikmeta dzīves priekšrocības."

*2018 / completed

Published in "Kopā un atsevišķi", edited by E.Ozola and M.Groskaufmanis, 2019

This project aims at creating an immersive exhibition where the space and the paintings are merged together forming a unified concept. The architecture encourages different ways of looking at the artworks and experiencing the space, in the same time delivering its own aesthetic message.

In collaboration with Latvian painter Jānis Avotiņš.

*2018 / Competition proposal for exhibition design, 2nd place.

Exposition is a tribute to the Latvian artist Juris Gagainis (1944 – 2017), who was also known for his passion – historic automobiles.

The concept of this installation draws inspiration from the personality traits of Gagainis. He was extremely organised – one could see it in his workshop were all the instruments and tools were arranged in a perfect order according to types and sizes. Also, when talking about his favourite car – the US army jeep Willy – Gagainis used to point out that its most important design feature was its thought-out functionality where “everything had its place”. This installation celebrates the aesthetic value inherent in such order – ceramic composite tiles that represent the tools used by Gagainis in scale 1:1 communicate our own sense of order.

Curated by Katrīna Jaunupe, realised in collaboration with Alvis Berngards and Rūta Jumīte

 *2019 / Completed

Photos exhibition: Reinis Hofmanis

“Greece or Italy, sell me an island, I’ll call its independence and host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country”

This exhibition shows 13 speculative flag designs, that tackle issues that have become relevant in the contemporary Western society: the meaning of a flag, matters of /national/ identity and the mass migration.

The flags were conceived within the Vexillology course lead by the collective We Became Aware at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam.

The task given to the designers was to design a new flag to a non-existing community living in a not-yet-defined place. This seemingly absurd concept was triggered by the proposal of the Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris to buy and island in the Mediterranean Sea and to offer it to the refugees of the Syrian war as a safe place to stay and to build their own country.

Exhibition conception: We Became Aware (BE) T. Lootens, V. Goethals
Curators: Sampling
Flag design: R. Berny, S. Dries, H. Holmes, J. Jekiel, P. Kortes, S. Lempsink, P. Lyaruu, D. van Mousch, A. Mulder, S. van de Reep, O. Sanders, A. Stefani, We Became Aware

The exhibition is part of the Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2016. It complements the instalation of the flag “ACCEPT CHANGE” on the AB dambis (10.09.2016.-28.10.2016.).

*2016 Latvian Museum of Architecture / Exhibition

News report video by LTV1.
Video of the opening.

The exhibition gives insight into the contemporary architecture scene in Flanders. The quality of Flemish architecture has improved considerably in the last few years. There are various reasons for this evolution, the most significant of which are: a good education, professional criticism and, undoubtedly, the efforts of the Team Vlaams Bouwmeester. 

All the displayed buildings are presented in photographs that reveal the relation between the building and its environment from the point of view of a user. Plans, elevations and other technical information which are normally indispensable for architecture documentation were intentionally omitted this time. The exhibition aims at triggering the attention for, giving  an overview of and raising awareness of Flemish architecture.

*2014 Latvian Museum of Architecture / Exhibition concept and design

Photos exhibition: Reinis Hofmanis 

Every year the European Central Bank organises European Cultural Days of one of the European countries. 2013 was Latvia's turn to show its culture in the city of Frankfurt. The exhibition, held in the Goethe University as part of the Cultural Days, was dedicated to the exploration of a new and fresh interpretation of architectural observation - the various urban typologies.
The exhibition comprises more than 50 most recent architecture and urban planning projects of Riga. They have been grouped into typological categories according to different architectural principles and characterize different conditions of the city Riga. The exhibition does not support the traditional classification of buildings according to their function and style. Instead, it comes forward with a new system of classification. In order to describe the 9 conditions of Riga, different medical, financial and economic terms are used. The aim of this classification is to reveal the relationship between the physical structure of the city, its social structure (in its broadest sense) and the intangible constituents of modern capitalism.

Curator: Oskars Redbergs (Megaphone Publishers)
Graphic design: Associates, Partners et Sons

*2013 Goethe University, Frankfurt / Exhibition design

Sampling was the initiator and organiser of an intensive design workshop where students from the Latvian Academy of Art and the Design Academy Eindhoven joined forces, creating new designs and prototypes by making use of traditional Latvian handcraft techniques. Mentors from the Design Academy Eindhoven along with the designers from the Netherlands and Latvia gave lectures during the workshop week. Students of both academies took part in a thematical PechaKucha night. More information about the project in MakeDesign! website.

Afterwards the exposition concept of Art Academy of Latvia at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2012 was based on concept developed during the design workshop 'Make Design!'. The exposition showed a selection of works of students and graduates of Design Department of Art Academy of Latvia, that deal with topics like crafts, handmade, ethnography, national identity, sustainibility.

Exposition design by Manten Devriendt, Liene Jākobsone, Rianne Makkink, Jan Boelen, Jekaterina Stakle and Mikus Vanags.

Exhibited works by Pablo Calderon Salazar, Guillaume Neu-Rinaudo, Meng Hsun Wu, Charles Bourrier, ChiaYun Lee, Martina Muzi, Ines Bressand, Wei-Lung Tseng, Gita Tenisa, LÄ«ga Šnore, Raitis Bobrovs, Jekaterina Stakle, ElÄ«na Ä’ce, Indra Merca, SarmÄ«te Poļakova, Simona Veilande, Tatjana Davidova, Baiba Linga-BÄ“rziņa, Agnese Pundiņa, Ints Neiberts, Laura Danilāne, Liene Podiņa.

*2011-2012 / Workshop, lectures, exhibitions curation and design

News report video by TV24.

The lamp collection Winter consists of nature inspired lights, and its title is a reference to trees in winter - naked, with some glitter of frost on the fragile branches. Their design aims at solving both functional and technological aspects in simple and pure forms, and avoiding unnecessary details. The collection includes two ceiling lamps of various sizes and a floor lamp. The large ceiling lamp provides sufficient and evenly dispersed overall lighting for living spaces, while the small ceiling lamp and the floor lamp can be used to illuminate specific areas of the space or in order to create an intimate atmosphere. Lamps are made in powder coated steel, using the LED lighting elements.

*2016

Curative Space: Five Approaches to Hospital Design in Latvia is an architectural exhibit; the first of its kind in Latvia. Curative Space explores the history of hospital design in Latvia by sampling five hospital buildings and presenting new, digital architectural drawings, and five completely new models of each of the hospitals.
Each hospital was selected from a different period in Latvia’s history ranging from Latvia’s first independence, Soviet occupation, contemporary independence, and the vision for the future. The exhibit presents the five different formal design strategies of the hospitals.

In collaboration with Andy Rauchut.

*2014 Latvian Museum of Architecture / Exhibition co-production and design

Photos: Andy Rauchut

The armchair Collage nr. 1 is created through playing with the elements of a chair, its materials and their properties. It is deconstructed and reassembled again from various parts that are very different, but together form an expressive collage. The chair is made of wood, powder coated steel and upholstered textiles.

*2016

Proposal for the Latvian national exhibition at the Venice biennial was conceived as a piece of an actual staircase of a Soviet period apartment building. Entitled "The Transition Space", it was meant to represent the physical as well as the emotional transition in time and space - from Soviet past to Capitalist future; from public space to private apartment; from inside to outside; etc.
This kind of staircases are still the places of forced confrontation among people from various social backgrounds that, unlike in old capitalist states, still live side by side in these building blocks. And while the apartments are now furnished according to the taste and needs of the current inhabitants, the staircases still bear evidence of the long forgotten Soviet period social interaction.

In collaboration with photographer Alnis Stakle and the Contemporary Art Centre kim? 

*2015 / Competition proposal for exhibition design and curation, 2nd place.

Farming is a series of handmade furniture with a crocheted upholstery and wooden details. The concept of this collection is a mutation of volumes that evolve from a traditional piece of furniture - pouf. The creations assume forms that relate with nature, landscape elements and animal world, although there are no explicit references to that.

*2012-2014

Published in:
- PROCESS 3 (Latvia) red. I. Zibarte ISBN 978-9984-49-690-0
- Project Baltia magazine (Russia) Nr. 4/14 1/15
- KOTI JA KEITTIO (Finland) nr.6-7/2013
- ACTIEF WONEN (Belgium) nr.196, March 2013 
- AZURE (Canada) March/April 2013
DESIGNBOOM.COM 25 November 2012

Feature in exhibitions:
- Wild Things, curated by Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano, 2016 at the museum Texture, BE
- Roundabout Baltic, curated by Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, 2016-2017 at the Form/Design Center, SE, Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, EE, Museum of Decorative Art and Design, LV

A toy contributing to the development and the psychological well-being for children from 3 months until 3 years of age. The toy is adaptable to the needs and abilities of various stages of child's develepment. It is aimed to support and favor the natural development of the child. The toy allows to involve child both physically and emotionally, it helps child to calm down in the moments of stress, as well as use its imagination and establish a long-lasting emotional contact. Also the therapeutic and pedagogical indications are taken into consideration. The product is made of natural and local materials.

*2016

Dining table for 6 persons. Fits perfectly also in an office as a meeting or working table.
Birch plywood with oak veneer and powder coated steel legs. Originally created as a round table, but the legs are also suitable for a rectangular table.

*2012

Holland café was a conceptual temporary meet-up place for tech companies, investors and start-ups at the Digital Future Festival in Riga. Café is an initiative of the Embassy of the Netherlands and aims at presenting Dutch entrepreneurship and culture abroad.

We conceived it as a large table, covered in oversized patterns of blue porcelain paintings, known in Dutch as Delfts blauw. The table has irregular form, which allows people to sit around it in various formations - having a private chat, holding a small meeting or just checking their e-mails all alone.
The simplistic post-modern-style table lamps and the orange neon sign complete the concept of the café setting.

* 2016 / completed

This is not a classical exhibition about architecture. Rather, it is an exhibition about the enthusiasm with which the place where we live becomes the best in the world through our joint efforts. The enthusiasm, under whose sign the last four years have been spent, has given our development an additional vector. Judged in terms of the size of its population, Sigulda is a romantic small town. However, its many achievements and considerable changes place it among Latvia’s most important cities.

*2014 Latvian National Library / Exhibition concept, design and graphics

Photos: Liene Jākobsone

Sampling joined the Belgian design organisation De Invasie in 2012. Since then we have already twice had an opportunity to exhibit our design together with them, as one of the 'warriors', as they call themselves. This is how we got to know De Invasie and its founders better and discovered that we have a lot in common. We have always promoted good architecture and design in Latvia by initiating exhibitions, organising lectures and other events. So this time it seemed appropriate to invite the best of the 'warriors to show their work in Riga. What could be a better occasion for this exhibition than the Belgian Days in Riga, organised by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium for the first time since almost a century.

*2013 Art Academy of Latvia / Exhibition curation and design

Photos: Liene Jākobsone

Exhibition, organised in occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Belgian architect Henry Van de Velde. 

In 1910 Van de Velde was invited to enter an architectural competition for a parsonage in Riga that was built in 1912 but destroyed during the World War II.

The exhibition concept is inspired by two facts in Van de Veldes life: the Riga project appears in one of the most famous photos showing the master at work in his Weimar studio, and in his Geschichte meines Lebens he describes his trips to Riga as a typical example of an experience of cultural confrontation, which has not yet lost its topical interest. The contemporary photos of Alnis Stakle in this exhibition illustrate this controversial story of ‘honest’ beauty.

In collaboration with Alnis Stakle and Ghent University.

* 2013 Art Nouveau Museum Riga / Exhibition curation and design

Process. Contemporary Architecture in Latvia was the first exhibition to study the process of contemporary architecture in Latvia involving work of both local and foreign architects. Moreover, this is the first architecture exhibition at the Latvian National Museum of Art ever. Featuring over 300 objects including architectural drawings, models and photographs of about a hundred built and un-built projects, the exhibition explores mostly discussed territories of Latvian architecture today. One of the five thematic areas in the exhibition focuses on 'internationalisation', which is of key importance in contemporary architecture. Sampling has conducted the study and designed the section of this exhibition that offers insight of foreign architectural offices doing work in Latvia.
The exhibition accompanied the fist volume of a series of books entitled Process. 

Curator: Ieva Zībārte

*2008 Latvian National Museum of Art, exhibition space Arsenāls / Exhibition co-curation and design

Photos: Māris Lapiņš