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

| Oct 25, 2013

Hoffmann Architects announces launch of U.S. Capitol Dome restoration

The Architect of the Capitol will undertake comprehensive restoration of the 150-year-old cast iron Dome, which has not undergone a complete restoration since 1959-1960.

| Oct 23, 2013

AIA: Crowd-funding shows promise for financing real estate projects

The American Institute of Architects issued a statement on the SEC's recent 5-0 vote to propose rules aimed at letting startups tap large numbers of ordinary investors for small amounts of capital. 

| Oct 23, 2013

Gehry, Foster join Battersea Power Station redevelopment

Norman Foster and Frank Gehry have been selected to design a retail section within the £8 billion redevelopment of Battersea Power Station in London.

| Oct 23, 2013

Some lesser-known benefits of metal buildings

While the durability of metal as a construction material is widely recognized, some of its other advantages are less commonly acknowledged and appreciated.  

| Oct 23, 2013

Architecture Billings Index hits seven-month high in September

AIA's Architecture Billings Index was 54.3 in September, the highest level since February 2013 

| Oct 18, 2013

Meet the winners of BD+C's $5,000 Vision U40 Competition

Fifteen teams competed last week in the first annual Vision U40 Competition at BD+C's Under 40 Leadership Summit in San Francisco. Here are the five winning teams, including the $3,000 grand prize honorees.

| Oct 18, 2013

A picture’s worth a thousand words… if you can find it

Photographs are becoming more essential to project communication and documentation. Recently, I sat in a local airport integration project meeting in which the owner outlined their expectation for construction documentation. One of the first requirements was to provide photographs throughout the building process.

| Oct 18, 2013

Researchers discover tension-fusing properties of metal

When a group of MIT researchers recently discovered that stress can cause metal alloy to fuse rather than break apart, they assumed it must be a mistake. It wasn't. The surprising finding could lead to self-healing materials that repair early damage before it has a chance to spread. 

| Oct 18, 2013

Call for submissions: AIA Emerging Professionals Summit essays

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is seeking essays that will address what role architects will play in society in 2033.

| Oct 16, 2013

5 secrets of successful entrepreneurs

If you’re on the outside looking in, successful entrepreneurship may seem mysterious. But it isn’t. Here are five patterns of behavior that are common to successful entrepreneurs.

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