Konstantīns Pēkšēns (1859–1928) is one of the most remarkable and productive Latvian architects of all time. His creative heritage includes 19th-century eclecticism, early 20th-century Art Nouveau architecture, and some examples of historicist architecture from the 1920s. At least 250 multi-storey masonry and not less than 110 wooden residential buildings have been built in Riga according to his projects, as well as several public and ecclesiastical buildings both in Riga and in many other places in Latvia. Having obtained the qualification of an architect at the Riga Polytechnic in 1885, K. Pēkšēns worked for some time in the construction office of the first professional Latvian architect J. F. Baumanis, but soon began an independent practice. At the beginning of the 20th century, the young architects E. Laube, A. Malves and others worked in his office. Thus, K. Pēkšēns personifies the second generation in the development of Latvian architecture. He was also an active public figure, one of the founders of the Riga Society of Architects, a spokesman of the Latvian Society, a councilor of the city of Riga, etc. He also owned a central heating system assembly company that operated under his name until 1940. An unusually wide variety of formal expressions is characteristic of K. Pēkšēns' Art Nouveau buildings. Among them are the early eclectic decorative examples of the style in Riga, iconic buildings of national romanticism, and a number of so-called perpendicular Art Nouveau houses. Among these buildings are several created by K. Pēkšēns together with his young collaborators, but the master's own work in the implementation of the most innovative approaches in architecture of his time is clearly identifiable. The last work by K. Pēkšēns is the Riga Central Health Insurance Fund Children's Holiday House "Mālkalne" in Ogre, Gaismas prospekts 2/6 (1926). This building, as well as a number of works by K. Pēkšēns created in previous stylistic periods, is a contribution of the highest quality to the Latvian built up environment.