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However, the building is included in the Register of Cultural Heritage, so the Department of Cultural Heritage has yet to see any argument as to why it might be worthless and be removed from the list of protected sites.
According to the Minister of Transport and Communications, Marius Skuodis, the building does not meet current needs.
“I have no peace of mind about the building of the Soviet Vilnius airport, which today does not fully meet modern functional needs. The minister wrote on his Facebook account last week about it and the planned decisions with the Board and the Airports administration. from Lithuania, soon.
Marius Gelžinis, director of Lithuanian airports, told BNS that as early as September it is planned to consider whether part of the building should be kept during the expansion of the airport or whether it could be demolished. However, the main condition is to ensure its function.
“It is not the first year that we mentioned that we are not satisfied with the functionality of that old Soviet terminal. We are not talking about architectural or cultural values, beautiful or ugly, but it does not help us to ensure function, we are talking about what could be an option, ”M. Gelžinis told BNS.
“Any builder would say that it is easier to demolish and build a completely new building, but in this case, if you see that there are certain historical and cultural values, I think the architects will somehow execute our technological solutions. (…) Of course, these types of solutions are more expensive, take more time, but probably anything is possible, “said the head of Lithuanian airports.
According to M. Gelžinis, it is planned to invite representatives of architects and heritage conservationists to the discussion; what solutions would be possible will be discussed.
“We are ready to start those conversations again, to determine and assess whether the entire building is really that valuable, or perhaps its core. Perhaps architects could better answer how to apply those innovations and improve our functionality, ”he said.
“Hopefully the first meetings will be held this month, I don’t know the dates, they are being adjusted,” added the head of the company.
Eglė Čiužaitė, President of the Lithuanian Airports Board, also told BNS that the old arrivals terminal is not suitable for passengers.
“Everything around it is very modern and this heritage is not passenger friendly or generally a Soviet heritage. The wish is to keep talking very clearly with the Department of Cultural Heritage and other institutions to find a compromise solution, how much to really sacrifice passenger comfort and service, thinking about how much heritage there really is, ”said E. Čiužaitė.
According to her, this issue becomes even more relevant when planning the construction of the fourth passenger departure terminal.
“It would be time to put this issue back on the priority list, so that we can bring everything together. But whether it will be possible to reach an agreement is a matter of time,” said E. Čiužaitė.
According to M. Gelžinis, the design of the arrival terminal could be carried out in conjunction with the construction works of the planned new departure terminal.
“First of all, a new terminal (passenger departure – BNS) should be put into operation, then it would allow to pick up a large number of departing passengers, and if that terminal could be put into operation in parallel, it would be possible to work with that old terminal, “he said.
Construction of the new departure terminal is expected to begin in 2022 and be completed in 2024. A tender for its contractor is slated to be announced soon.
Heritage conservationists see no case for demolishing the building
Rita Kuncevičienė, Head of the Accounting, Inventory and Registration Division of the Department of Cultural Heritage, says that the architecture of the former passenger arrivals terminal building is protected.
“It is rumored that this is a typical project, but it is not true. It was the practice in the Soviet Union to make a project and copy it in all the republics. But this building is not typical, ”R. Kuncevičienė told BNS.
According to her, the need to demolish the building and build a new one was discussed in 2019, when it was decided that it was valuable.
“Then we had a very detailed and comprehensive discussion. (..) We talked about the possibilities of reconstruction of the Vilnius airport and the issue of preservation. Everyone agreed that the building is valuable, we don’t have so many examples of architecture from that period in the Register of Cultural Values, ”said R. Kuncevičienė.
According to her, the decisions to enter and exit the registry are made by the Cultural Heritage Evaluation Council. There should be clear arguments for removing the building, but the department does not see it today.
“Today we do not have such arguments, because it is the architecture of a certain period and should be preserved as an example of the architecture of that period,” said a representative of the department.
“Nobody disputes that the airport needs to expand, we agree, but we need to find sensible and mutually acceptable compromises. The position of the department is that we are not opposed to the development of the airport, but at the same time we would like to preserve the building itself as much as possible. possible, “he added.
According to R. Kuncevičienė, in 2019 it was said that a design ideas competition should be announced; During the event, ways of preserving the cultural values of the Vilnius airport building would be presented.
The then Minister of Transport and Communications Rokas Masiulis declared in 2018 that he wanted to demolish the old terminal, and negotiations were under way with the Ministry of Culture to change the cultural purpose of the building. However, Algimantas Degutis, the then head of the Department of Cultural Heritage, called it political pressure.
According to him, the removal of the airport building built during the Soviet era from the register of cultural values should not be considered by ministries or politicians, but by specialists – the Royal Cultural Heritage Assessment Council.
Romas Pakalnis, then chairman of one of five such councils, told BNS that the airport buildings could be managed in various ways, including demolition.
The old terminal was built in 1954 and was added to the list of protected values in 1984.
The central part of the building designed by the architects Dmitry Burdin and Gennady Yelkin has been recognized as a valuable feature, as well as the north and south pylons, the central gable roof, central corridors and columns with pillars, arched niches, door openings. and windows. , central hall ceilings with rose windows, stair railings with balustrades, interior and more.
