It has been decided what changes await the streets Vokieči capital of the capital: the most promising idea has been chosen

“The level of professionalism of the ideas presented to the competition, the depth of the understanding of the problem and the fulfillment of the solutions presented with the problems of the space are very different. This is understandable: both experienced landscape architects and novice architects could participate in open competition. But at a time when public criticism of some of the work submitted to the competition was beginning to spread, it seemed to us that a good job would suffice to say that the competition was a success. I would say we have found it: while it is not one that is suitable for implementation “here and now,” it is still really adjustable, adjustable, but it meets the expectations of both the municipality and residents in essential ways, “said Mindaugas Pakalnis, Vilnius’ chief architect.

“The Commission has chosen the most promising idea on which to continue working: in this case, there is no rush, the priority is quality. The aim is for Vokiečių street to be green, comfortable for the sustainable movement, to respect, preserving and emphasizing historicity, so that people feel comfortable in it and for renovation to be found, the best architectural solutions would be found. These expectations of the city for designers must be met. There will be no quality commitments in this place ” Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius said.

According to M. Pakalnis, it is obvious that after the last reconstruction, which was carried out more than 20 years ago, Vokieči la street acquired new functions and became more attractive, but its potential has not yet been fully revealed and fully exploited, especially taking into account the fact that public green spaces are more active For recreation, the old town is very poor.

Vilnius’ chief architect notes that the municipality’s decision not to continue designing in accordance with the project proposals for the reconstruction of Vokieči calle Street prepared in 2015, which envisaged marking the contours of the old building with greenery and therefore breaking down the most used pedestrian path, but organizing an architectural competition for one of the most important public spaces in the old town. It was timely and necessary.

The organizer of the competition, the Union of Lithuanian Architects, was forced to formulate the conditions for the competition, whose participants would offer solutions for the street reconstruction project that meet the urban, architectural and functional challenges of this place. Participants were expected to find ways to reveal multi-layered local history, highlight the most valuable street elements, suggest ways to perpetuate local history, regenerate and enrich street vegetation, optimize car, pedestrian traffic, bicycles, facilitating the development of service infrastructure in public buildings and surrounding buildings. In addition, propose scenarios for the use of public space for different stations, evaluating the possibility of using it for urban events, celebrations, commerce, etc.

Evaluation Commission (Chairman – Mindaugas Pakalnis, Architect, Head of the City Chief Architect Division of the Vilnius City Municipality Administration, members – Rūta Matonienė, Architect, Senior Advisor to the City Chief Architect Division from Vilnius City Municipality Administration, Villemas Tomiste, Architect (Estonia), Ceylan Belek Ombregt, The architect (Martha Schwartz office, London, UK), Irena Kliobavičiūtė, architect, Viltė Janušauskaitė, architect, protection specialist of the royal cultural heritage, Mantas Pilkauskas, president of the Lithuanian Union of Landscape Architects) decided that the “Strassen-Platz” Street Square project) responded.

When evaluating the urban integrity of the winning team’s solutions, it was mentioned that it is a professional, logical and moderately philosophical work, in which the main criteria of this space are understood: history, pedestrians, vegetation and versatility. The heritage layer is resolved with great grace at work: the old building is highlighted by overlapping pavements that cross the slow-moving street, which is visually identified with the pedestrian space. The construction lines are highlighted by subtle metal threads and islands, with some archaeological layers on display. A clear priority for pedestrians even foresees the possibility of eliminating traffic in the future. New vegetation is planted on the sites of the old courtyards, protecting the shallow cultural layer, existing trees are integrated into the new space and universal spaces allow the space to adapt to the needs of the city and people.

According to the commission, the authors of Strassen-Platz, a multifunctional system of public spaces on Vokiečių Street, managed to create laconic rational solutions that allow the character of the street to spread and highlight the identity of the place.

Professional proposals and management practices for green areas in this project. The authors of the project have sufficiently studied the maintenance of the vegetation on Vokiečių street, the practical aspects and the challenges of seasonality. The use of technological solutions, such as a root barrier or a waterproof coating, in a project is designed and adapted to the local context. It is realistic that such a project can be implemented qualitatively using durable materials. In the Commission’s view, the design and details of the small architecture cast doubt on its feasibility, but these problems could be successfully addressed in the development of the project.

Addressing the challenge of historical compatibility, the authors of the project proposed to subtly highlight the contours of the previous building, visually restoring the structure of the sessions, but avoiding artificial changes in the terrain.

“The functional division of the space is not physical, therefore, it does not jeopardize the general perception of the space of the boulevard, the facades of the street pavement are not covered, the main axis of the boulevard, which opens the Baroque street. The perspective of the Catherine Church in the south, the old footprints of the Jewish cross streets and Mėsinių are shown, “said M. Pakalnis.

The Commission’s conclusion for this project was the most favorable: it was noted that the project authors created a dynamic evolving public space using simple configuration tools that are unique to each segment and take into account the context. At the same time, both sides of the street combine, thus creating a perfect and easy to use urban nucleus. The drawing of the sky proposed by the authors, which marks the historical urban structure, forms zones that adapt to different functions: the design of cafes, green areas, recreational spaces. Such a solution provides opportunities for improvisation, does not unify the space of the street, creates conditions to create a unique character of each element of the individual street, separate section, formed by the functions of historical facades, vegetation and street space. The commission estimated that in this way the authors create the possibility of different scenarios in the street space.

Calming traffic on the new side of the street allows for a more cohesive street space, but also poses challenges for pedestrian safety. (The project authors emphasized that to create the impression that car drivers would feel they were walking in a pedestrian zone, not the other way around.) The jury concluded that the location of the project on the historic pavement was changing. It is recommended that cyclists be moved to the new part of the street where they can move in the quieter general flow of traffic.

In the Commission’s opinion, the authors of the project have not yet been able to find the optimal proportion of street vegetation and hard covers, further development of the project requires increasing the area and diversity of street vegetation and selecting various scenarios to overcome this vegetation. .

The Commission has made detailed comments on the three main projects, all of which can be implemented in certain procedural circumstances.

Second Place Competition Work Willkommen extended the tradition of the boulevard to highlight the “old” and “new” parts of the street. The commission called the increase in the number of green areas, but at the same time preserved the image of the street boulevard, pragmatic and simple solutions of street elements as the strength of the project. The main weakness of the project is the universal and inextricably expressed expression of architectural and landscape elements.

The creators of the Parallel project, ranked third, were praised for being able to free the eastern pavement of the street from traffic, thus gaining space for pedestrians and the development of the service on the sunny side of the street. This creates unique conditions both for the development of new activities in the street space and for the development of vegetation. The Commission called it a bold experiment and a strong discovery by the authors. Finally, the work was evaluated as a conceptual and sensitive project based on respect for the history of Vokiečių Street, which offers minimal invasion. Unfortunately, the proposal remained at the stage of an abstract, unspecified concept, so it was not possible to assess what would have been in real terms, especially in terms of the organization of plantations and flows.

The creators of the three best works will receive prizes: the first place winner will receive 9000 Eur, the second – 7000 Eur, the third – 4000 EUR. After that, the client of the project, the municipality of Vilnius city, and the author of the winning idea expect long, exhaustive work, research, discussions with experts and communities, so that the idea submitted to the contest becomes a draft.

You can find all the competition materials works here.