Ghost town challenge, re-thinking Karosta neighborhood

"Ghost Town Challenge" is the architectural competition on Karosta, a former Soviet military town about 10 km North from Liepaja city center. Karosta translates as War Port (or Navy Harbor). It is used to be a closed secret military town for the Russian Empire, and later for the Soviet military. As Latvia regained its independence in 1990, the Soviet military had to leave Karosta. As a result the population dropped dramatically, leaving many abandoned buildings behind which have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair. The project is on the direction of Karosta's revitalization idea. It will more closely examine development of Karosta's urban core by planting a building complex that will be the main attraction of the town and would help to bring back the life to this part of Liepaja city. The project tries to present a vision for a multi-purpose recreation, arts and culture facility, which would foster and co-ordinate cultural activities in the town as well as work as an attraction for both locals and tourists and integrates different disciplines including urban, architectural, technological and structural design to reach the determined goals.