flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Ugly soviet parking garage takes on appearance of a cascading waterfall

Architects

Ugly soviet parking garage takes on appearance of a cascading waterfall

Architect Ignas Lukaskas worked in conjunction with Vieta and the Vilnius Street Art festival to transform the building.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | September 30, 2016

Photo courtesy of Studio Vieta

A Soviet-era parking garage in Lithuania that sits just a few dozen feet from the Neris River and has been described as an “eyesore,” has been transformed into a bright display of color and lights as part of the Vilnius Street Art Festival. Ignas Lukauskas, an architect whose PhD thesis was on urban landscapes and how art and architecture can create disruptions, created the new look for the building.

The Vilnius Waterfall, as the project has been dubbed, is based on this thesis. The photorealistic waterfall image was pasted onto more than 2,000 sm (making it the largest project like this ever executed in Lithuania) of the structure’s exterior surface and uses the building’s terraced look and its location near the Neris to further enhance the faux waterfall’s illusion.

The water appears to crash and cascade down the various terraces of the structure, which is currently used as a garage for storing and maintaining Parliament vehicles, on its way to the river. The stagnant appearance offered by the building’s former look is replaced with one that is dynamic and flowing.

The new façade is only temporary, but the goal is for it to bring a refreshing hint of the natural landscape to Lithuania’s capital city.

View more images of The Vilnius Waterfall here.

Related Stories

BIM and Information Technology | Apr 9, 2015

A carboard box by Google can bring virtual reality to architecture

The global search engine giant has launched a new product, Google Cardboard, that easily allows users to experience virtual reality.

Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015

Multifaced fitness center becomes campus landmark

A sloped running track and open-concept design put this Building Team to the test. 

Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015

Nation's first LEED-certified bus depot

A bus garage in Harlem shows that even the most mundane of facilities can strut its environmentally sensitive stuff.

Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015

Setting the bar for port-of-entry design

Whenever you eat a tomato from Mexico, there’s a one-in-three chance it came through this LEED Gold gateway.

Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015

Big D’s billion-dollar baby: New Parkland Hospital Tops the Chart | BD+C

Dallas’s new $1.27 billion public hospital preserves an important civic anchor, Texas-style.

Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015

IPD-driven fusion facility serves science and student life in Chicago

In dire need of modern science labs and a student union, North Park University built both—in the same building.

Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015

‘Prudent, not opulent’ sets the tone for this Catholic hospital

This Building Team stuck with a project for seven years to get a new hospital built for a faithful client.

Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015

9/11 museum triumphs over controversy

The Building Team for this highly visible project had much more than design, engineering, and construction problems to deal with.

Building Team Awards | Apr 7, 2015

Unique test facility will help make wind power more feasible

A new facility at Clemson University makes it possible to test the huge stresses that large-scale wind turbines must be able to withstand.

Cultural Facilities | Apr 7, 2015

Mies’ Martin Luther King Jr. Library to get makeover

The architects say the modernization aims to improve “Mies in a contemporary Miesian way.”

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021