Competition | 3rd PRIZE | Vilnius

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GENERAL IDEA AND AMBITION OF THE PROJECT

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In the context of the planned territory, nature dominates - it is the greatest value of the place, which becomes an obligation in this project. Future structures must respond to the preservation of existing mature trees and the cultivation of biodiversity - this is not only a given, but also an added value when developing plans for Užusienis territory.

It is symbolic that the name "Launagiai" was chosen for the project. Launagis is a southerly wind, and the area covered by this project is precisely located in the southern part of the town. It is like a gateway to the future Launagiai - the first perspective and image - therefore it is important to create a high-quality architectural code that could become a factor shaping the spirit of the place and have continuity in the future development plans of the town.

The purpose of the objects being created is to ensure a variety of services and activities, to create a lively city in the evenings, and maybe even an "all-day" city. The territory is too large to become homogenous - people with different interests will be here, so it is extremely important to bring them together with architectural means, developing the most diverse, complementary functions.

Therefore, the ambition of this project is threefold - the preservation of the green environment and the development of public infrastructure, a variety of functions that activate the entire town of Launagiai, and high-quality, sensitive-scale architecture that conveys the code for the future commercial and social territory stretching to the north.

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URBAN  IDEA

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The main urban idea of the project responds to the concept of a city within a city coded by the vision of the area's development - controlling the large scale characteristic of the projected function, dividing it to the sizes characteristic of the residential typology, positioning the volumes in such a way as to preserve as many mature trees as possible. Another important aspect of the urban structure is that the divided volumes form public spaces that are distributed among plots, creating different scenarios of their use.

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URBAN SOLUTIONS

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The regular structure of the buildings, which forms the perimeter at Užusienio avenue, is diversified by the direction of the northernmost and southernmost volume changes.

The turning of the direction of the volume when entering the territory from Petro Joniko street opens a perspective to the public space inside the plot [this is the first, identity-forming image], this change of direction is also motivated by the fact that the public space is opened when coming from the pedestrian path from the west side. The positioning of this volume is also important because of the building on the neighboring plot that does not fit into the planned structure of the block - thus it is concealed and a construction line parallel to it is created.

The northern volume is rotated in response to the perspective of Užusienio avenue from the north looking in the south direction - thus creating a public space in front of the retail building.

An active connection is created between commercial premises and public spaces - this synergy accumulates mutual life - the function expands into public spaces, and passers-by are encouraged to visit them.

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ARCHITECTURAL IDEA

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The architectural idea complements the urban concept - it is a kind of scale manipulation. The unified structure is architecturally divided into a mixed building composition, creating a significantly more sensitive scale that is not characteristic of the building typology, but similar to the buildings of the residential area developed in the town.

The architectural scale does not create the image of a shopping or business center, but the image of the whole town in the territory. It is the main urban structure, with internal and external spaces, with silhouettes, materiality.