Dome Next Door: Reimagining Public Life at the Heart of Riga

Doğukan Güngör
Jan 5
2 min read

For a limited time, Dome Square, Riga Old Town’s largest and most iconic public space, became home to Dome Next Door / Kopā pie Doma, an urban installation that invited residents and visitors to experience the square in a new, playful, and collective way.

Set at the intersection of seven historic streets within a UNESCO World Heritage site, Dome Square has long been a crossroads of culture, history, and everyday life. Dome Next Door builds on this layered context, transforming the square into an interactive social landscape where architecture, art, and public life intertwine.

A Contemporary Dialogue with History

Inspired by Riga’s architectural heritage, the installation draws references from medieval vaults, the Dome Cathedral’s cloister, arched windows, and the strong geometries of historic façades. Rather than reproducing these elements literally, Dome Next Door reinterprets them through a contemporary lens—creating a structure that feels both familiar and refreshingly new.

Timber frameworks, open structures, and carefully positioned elements establish a spatial rhythm that echoes the surrounding architecture while remaining light, accessible, and inviting.

A Space to Pause, Play, and Connect

More than a static installation, Dome Next Door functions as a shared urban experience. Visitors are encouraged to slow down and engage with the space in multiple ways: lying in hammocks, enjoying a casual picnic, meeting friends, swinging while taking in views of the cathedral tower, or interacting with mirrors that distort and reflect the city around them.

These playful and relaxed interactions bring different generations and cultures together, allowing the square to shift from a place of passage into a place of presence.

A Living Public Artwork

As people move through and occupy the installation, Dome Next Door comes alive. The project relies on participation—each visitor contributes to the atmosphere, transforming the structure into a living, breathing part of the city. In doing so, it reinforces the idea that public space gains meaning through use, encounter, and shared experience.

Open and accessible to all, the installation invites visitors to rediscover their inner child while engaging with Riga’s urban fabric in an unexpected way. It honors the city’s past while playfully embracing its future—demonstrating how temporary interventions can have a lasting impact on how we experience public space.