On the edge of Vilnius, Lithuania in Old town a XVII century Missionary Children Shelter and Soviet era hospital is transformed to new residential housing complex. A site, which is in the center most area of the city has been neglected and closet to public, required the highest level of architectural sense and work as well as strong visionary and ability to subtly adapt to the environment of the old town. After winning the architectural contest the team was tasked with a mix of high visibility of project, complex UNSECO world heritage guidelines and clients’ interests.

The architectural approach of the project was to research and discover the uniqueness of Vilnius old-town visual and urban planning. Then interpret these principles with modern architecture and client programme. A site with such historical and cultural significance requires a considered development proposal. Thus, a subtle design that provides all of the comforts of a modern lifestyle in a complex that sits gracefully in its visible hillside context.

The overall vision of site concept was to preserve and restore the valuable historic architecture which has been deteriorating in recent years and create new volumes in respect to history. A XVII century Missionary Children Shelter and authentic city wall has been preserved, reinforced and restored to historic condition of its original structure and appearance by using their characteristic colors and finishing methods. Modern building volumes have been created on the basis of soviet-era hospital. The hospital built during the Soviet era was not valuable and, on the contrary, had deliberately destroyed the perimetric structure typical of the Old Town. Due to these reasons and the critical building condition, new residential buildings were rebuilt using the foundations of the hospital, restoring historic urban structure of the quarter. Three modern residential buildings are perpendicular to the street and one is parallel to the street, thus opening to the hill from which panoramic views are seen. In plan view the uneven structure of building volumes can be seen. Such an arrangement brings stunning city views into the apartments and facilitates the existing concept master plan for connections through the site. In everyday life a mystery of city and architecture is born: you feel constantly inspired to discover new perspectives, new walking routes, there is a moment of surprise which is unexpected. The building geometry is created consciously and deliberately – it adjusts to make historic elements of importance visible.

The materials used in façade are beige colored bricks which are typical to Vilnius and the variety of brick edging around the windows changes depending on the building and floor. The form, materiality and scale of the proposed buildings is inspired by the century-old buildings of the old town. It respects and adds to the existing urban fabric of the city.

FACADES AND MATERIALS