The architectural concept behind the reconstruction of the hundred year old Cēsis Community Centre (built by architect Augusts Malvess, 1878–1951) was based on openness and authenticity, an interplay between old and new, unity of place and space, and diverse functionality.  We tried to maximise the link between the interior and the location wherever we could.  We achieved architectural openness by revealing the construction to its maximum and by not using a covered finish. Everywhere in the newly built part of the building a variety of materials are exposed – brickwork, natural stone, wood, concrete, and metal. By contrast, in the historical parts of the building we chose to retain the construction techniques used a hundred years ago, namely painted plaster over brick. We further enriched the interplay of old and new by retaining and using certain decorative elements from the former community and cultural centre. The heart of the Concert Hall is the Great Auditorium which can host anything from symphony concerts and theatre performances to conferences and balls. The auditorium is designed to facilitate a quick transformation, depending on needs, with the ability to adjust both the acoustics and the layout of the stage and audience seating. The auditorium can become an amphitheatre or a level parquet floor empty of seating.

Architect Juris Poga

The location is defined by Raunas Street with its marked perimetric development. It is the New Town of Cēsis that emerged in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The street space is complemented by a tree alley and a square. The new-built parts of the concert hall building were designed to remind of stylised trees with the purpose of making them an organic part of the square. The curved brown open brickwork elements on the ground level form tree trunks, the glass area above them ‒ tree crowns, while the yellow irregularly distributed sunscreens appear to be the foliage of the trees. A physical connection with the location was established by choosing local building materials ‒ bricks produced at Lode factory, and wood. The columns and roof constructions, as well as window frames and door casings were made from Latvian wood, as were the décor and furniture.

The concert hall houses practice rooms for Alfrēds Kalniņš Cēsis School of Music and a number of amateur performing arts groups, as well as the offices of Cēsis District Centre for Culture and Tourism and the concert hall management. The Lesser Auditorium is home to a cinema.