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

Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023

2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms

A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.

Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023

Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023

Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Higher Education | Aug 22, 2023

How boldly uniting divergent disciplines boosts students’ career viability

CannonDesign's Charles Smith and Patricia Bou argue that spaces designed for interdisciplinary learning will help fuel a strong, resilient generation of students in an ever-changing economy.

Apartments | Aug 22, 2023

Key takeaways from RCLCO's 2023 apartment renter preferences study

Gregg Logan, Managing Director of real estate consulting firm RCLCO, reveals the highlights of RCLCO's new research study, “2023 Rental Consumer Preferences Report.” Logan speaks with BD+C's Robert Cassidy. 

Shopping Centers | Aug 22, 2023

The mall of the future

There are three critical aspects of mall design that, through evolution, have proven to be instrumental in the staying power of a retail destination: parking, planning, and customer experience. This are crucial to the mall of the future.

Affordable Housing | Aug 21, 2023

Essential housing: What’s in a name?

For many in our communities, rising rents and increased demand for housing means they are only one paycheck away from being unhoused. It’s time to stop thinking of affordable housing as a handout and start calling it what it is: Essential Housing.

Healthcare Facilities | Aug 21, 2023

Sutter Health’s new surgical care center finishes three months early, $3 million under budget

Sutter Health’s Samaritan Court Ambulatory Care and Surgery Center (Samaritan Court), a three-story, 69,000 sf medical office building, was recently completed three months early and $3 million under budget, according to general contractor Skanska. 

Healthcare Facilities | Aug 18, 2023

Psychiatric hospital to feature biophilic elements, aim for net-zero energy

A new 521,000 sf, 350-bed behavioral health hospital in Lakewood, Wash., a Tacoma suburb, will serve forensic patients who enter care through the criminal court system, freeing other areas of campus to serve civil patients. The facility at Western State Hospital, to be designed by HOK, will promote a holistic approach to rehabilitation as part of the state’s vision for transforming behavioral health.

Vertical Transportation | Aug 17, 2023

Latest version of elevator safety code has more than 100 changes

A new version of ASME A17.1/CSA B44, a safety code for elevators, escalators, and related equipment developed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, will be released next month.

Adaptive Reuse | Aug 16, 2023

One of New York’s largest office-to-residential conversions kicks off soon

One of New York City’s largest office-to-residential conversions will soon be underway in lower Manhattan. 55 Broad Street, which served as the headquarters for Goldman Sachs from 1967 until 1983, will be reborn as a residence with 571 market rate apartments. The 30-story building will offer a wealth of amenities including a private club, wellness and fitness activities.

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