Architectural Tour of Zuzeum: From a Cork Factory to an Art Museum

We invite you to special tours introducing the Zuzeum art museum building and its transformation.

• 📅Saturday, November 14, 1:00–2:00 PM (in Latvian) and 2:00–3:00 PM (in English)
• 🎟️Admission: 12 EUR for adults, 8 EUR for students and seniors. Registration in advance is required here.

🗣️ The event will take place in Latvian or English

More than a hundred years old, the cork factory has become one of Latvia’s most important contemporary art institutions. What began as a small pop-up initiative grew into the revitalization of an entire site, creating an open, multifunctional, and freely accessible cultural environment. Courtyards, the entrance area, the cafe, exhibition halls, and the roof terrace function as a flexible system for art, education, events, and everyday use, bringing an formerly closed part of the city back to life.

Very recently, in October 2026, the Latvian Association of Architects and an international jury evaluated the revitalization of the Zuzeum site, the renovation of the historic buildings, and the interiors, awarding it the Latvian Architecture Silver Annual Award. The jury also especially highlighted the importance of inclusive design in the museum’s operation. The jury notes that Latvia has not had a contemporary art museum for several generations, which is why Zuzeum is becoming more than a private art space. They describe the result as a precise hit, where the spatial idea, materiality, and color language have created an identity that has transformed the environment into a new public space.

What will you see on the tour?

As we walk through Zuzeum, we will pay attention to how the new layer speaks with the historic factory architecture, how the orange color becomes an element of transformation, and how the areas around the building have turned into a bright and complementary part of the urban environment. Special attention will also be given to parts of the building that visitors do not usually see in everyday life: the office spaces and the residence apartment. You will also learn some behind-the-scenes details about how the building works in service of art: why air temperature and humidity are so important for exhibitions, how logistics inside the building are organized so that artworks reach the exhibition halls and the viewer safely and at the right moment.

The tour will be led in Latvian by Madara Vinklere and in English by Timur Revunov. The young architects got to know the Zuzeum building before the architecture festival Open House Riga, which took place for the first time this October, offering visitors the chance to explore several dozen buildings of different eras and functions across Riga.

About the tour leaders

Madara Vinklere

An architecture student with three years of study experience in Germany, in Berlin. Returning to Riga, the capital of Art Nouveau, her interest in working and studying in building restoration and reconstruction has flourished.

Timur Revunov

With a bachelor's degree in architecture, study experience in Belgium, and work at a design office in Zurich, he has spent years exploring buildings from every possible angle. He currently lives in Riga, where he works in an office and, in parallel, teaches drawing to children, while also caring for his well-being and mental balance. Timur also notes that he is easy to get along with, curious, and always ready to turn a building’s more complicated facts into an exciting and easy-to-understand story.

*By attending the event, you agree to photo and video recording and their use for Zuzeum marketing purposes. You have the right to object to being photographed or filmed, or to your child being photographed or filmed, by informing us during the photo or video session.