Jurmala has a great tradition as a spa and stands for distinguished quality of life. The demolition of the old Kurhaus during Soviet times was a sign of the vanishing of a whole culture. The Kurhaus has served in both directions: as a centre of culture and art and as a spatial centre of Jurmala. To give the site a new idea and a sustainable concept it should be linked to the old traditions by giving space towards new developments. Culture and commerce will be the right amalgam to define a strong gravity on the site, which can attract visitors and guest as well as it serves for the needs of the Jurmala citizen. The plot is a palimpsest of almost contradictory requirements: The visitor will reach the beach but can’t cross the street due to traffic. The accessibility of the strand promenade is neither inevitable nor will it meet the need of elder and disabled persons.

The design area is both, linked and divided by traffic. To enhance the urban quality and create a positive economic development, the city of Jurmala should focus on the following strategic interventions:

1. Building a new transport corridor south of the river Lielupe including cargo and high speed train
2. Developing of a Park+Ride system for visitors and guest from the south motorway A 10 at high season
3. Installing a ferry service over the river Lielupe
4. Narrowing the main road to a two lane street
5. Installing a light rail system to Riga and its region as the main public transport system

The better Jurmala is linked to Riga and its neighbouring regions the better the city will reach its strategic development goals and will support the national strategy to establish Riga as a Baltic metropolis with supreme quality of life.

By providing a passage to the beach, visitors and guest should motivated to explore Jurmalas natural beauty and urban life. The great issues of the design are to establish a connection between river and sea and programme this linkage in an urban and urbane sense. The development of an "Urban Landscape" reacts to the different spatial and functional requirements by zoning the strip and give the visitor a specific perception of Jurmala’s urban quality: the river landscape, the public urban space, the culture of living, its natural beauty and the overwhelming sea of the Riga Bay. An overlapping take place.

The "Urban Landscape" brings the beach to the city an the city to the beach. The zoning into well defined areas supports the idea of a stepwise development. "Urban Landscape" is a urban concept which gives space for further ideas.