Konstantīns Pēkšēns

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Konstantīns Pēkšēns (born March 8, 1859 in the municipality of Mazsalaca , Livonia Governorate ; † June 23, 1928 in Bad Kissingen ) was one of the first professional Latvian architects . Around 250 buildings were built in Riga based on his designs.

Life

Pēkšēn's parents were farmers in the Nuķu manor near Mazsalaca . In 1869, when Konstantins was 10 years old, the family moved to the city of Riga. He was the first Latvian architect to receive his training at the Riga Polytechnic . After first working at Jānis Frīdrihs Baumanis , he headed his own architecture office from 1886. At the beginning of the 20th century, he also founded a central heating installation company , which became the largest of its kind in Riga and existed until 1940. In addition to his business work, Pēkšēns was a member of the Riga Latvian Society and from 1909 a member of the Riga City Council . He participated in the publication of several Latvian-language magazines. Pēkšēns died in 1928 while taking a spa stay in Bad Kissingen and was buried in the Riga Forest Cemetery.

  • Many later successful Latvian architects ( e.g. Laube , Vanags, Pole, Malvess) worked in the workshop of Pēkšēns at the beginning of the 20th century
  • In Riga, a street is named after Pēkšēns

plant

Pēkšēn's first buildings were carried out in the traditional eclectic manner. Buildings such as the Berga bazārs (today the "Draudzība" cultural center ) have a regular rhythm with decorative elements. As one of the first, Pēkšēns freed himself from the compositional norms of eclecticism and turned to contemporary Art Nouveau . Buildings like the tenement houses Smilšu ielā 2 and Strēlnieku ielā 6 have rich ornamental decorative decorations. Further Art Nouveau tenement houses in the national-romantic style are located in Brīvības ielā 192 and Alberta ielā 12 . The latter has housed an Art Nouveau museum since 2009.

Web links

Commons : Konstantīns Pēkšēns  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • O. Buka, Jānis Lejnieks: Latvijas arhitektūras mostlyari. Riga, 1995. ISBN 9984-04-059-3
personal data
SURNAME Pēkšēns, Konstantīns
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Latvian architect
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Mazsalaca municipality
DATE OF DEATH June 23, 1928
Place of death Bad Kissingen