Photo by Ingus Bajārs

This year, Riga Porcelain Museum introduced a new visual identity and acquired more space. The cobalt blue tone typical of porcelain painting is used both in the interior and in the navigation system, and is easily recognisable in posters on the streets of Riga. The project was created in collaboration between the graphic design studio Formup, the office of architect Agnese Putna, and architect Edgars Treimanis.

Stories Evelīna Ozola December 22, 2020

Riga Porcelain Museum is located in the Old Town, in the Convent Yard. Although small in size, the museum is filled with stories about porcelain and has the largest collection of porcelain from historical industrial manufacturers in Riga. Initially, the museum was located only in the basement of the building, but now it has expanded to the ground floor. This has allowed to create a larger entrance hall with a ticket office and a room to hold master classes in porcelain painting and making, a number of auxiliary rooms, and a small office space.

Work on the renovation began in the summer of 2018, when a new visual identity was already developed for the museum, so the task was to integrate the new image into the interior. The visual identity of the museum refers to the history and graphics used by the Riga Porcelain Factory, Kuznetsov and Jessen factories. «Saturated blue tones permeate the graphics from the very beginning, and we definitely wanted to use them for the accent walls. Black and white tones, wood textures and other materials play a complementary role in the interior. The choice of furniture and luminaires was based on their design, functionality, mobility and compliance with the various requirements of the museum,» explains the author of the interior, architect Agnese Putna.

 

While the basement of the museum was affected only by the introduction of the new visual identity, the premises on the ground floor were given a complete overhaul. The museum now has its own entrance (previously it had to be shared with a hotel), a lobby where visitors can find information about exhibitions and buy tickets, leave their belongings and outerwear in the lockers and then visit the permanent exhibition in the basement or participate in a porcelain painting master class or listen to a lecture.

«Since the museum’s premises are small, we thought a lot about how best to use the available space both for displays and for storing souvenirs, books and household items. In addition to cabinets, glass showcases and shelves have been added to window openings. Various objects can be beautifully arranged in them, by that becoming visible to passers-by,» says Agnese Putna. The room for master classes is multifunctional — it can host lectures, practical classes, there are displays of raw materials and porcelain forms here, and in the evenings the painted dishes are fired in the oven.

In the Riga Porcelain Museum one can get acquainted with the history of porcelain production in Riga, see the variety of shapes and decorations of porcelain objects; it is both a repository of design heritage and a place for contemporary porcelain exhibitions. Currently, the museum’s collection contains more than 10,000 items — porcelain, faience, ceramics, as well as documents, photographs, sketches and other artifacts related to the history of porcelain production. The museum invites everyone to visit and get acquainted with the extensive collection and exhibitions in 2021, when it will be allowed again.

Authors of the project:

Architecture by «Treimanis un sabiedrotie» (Edgars Treimanis)
Interior by «Agnese Putna Arhitekte» (Agnese Putna, Santa Vaska)
Graphic desugn by «Formup» (Artis Tauriņš)