Kaunas Artists' House Lithuanian art news website
Skip to main content
Kaunas Architecture and Urbanism Experts’ Council (KAUET) did not approve of Mega development project and the new administrative and commercial building near the Carmelite Church.
Shortage of ideas is felt in project offers of Vilijampolė Commercial centre and multi-functional complex of buildings in the neighbourhood of Kalniečiai Park, they lack conceptual and aesthetical depth, urbanistic arguements. This was the decision of Kaunas Architecture and Urbanism Experts‘ Council.
Artists of various countries got acquainted with Kaunas using the Internet. Therefore, an impression is formed that the participants of the project “Kaunas in Art: Contexts” are inclined to romanticise the past of the city, its personalities or they trend to nihilism registering the disappearing originality of the city. The curators regretted that the creators did not reveal Kaunas contexts lively enough, they did not present any futuristic or utopian ideas or works related with Kaunas.
Released energy, authenticity, uttered internal truth – a live performance stimulating imagination and belief in what you are doing may be born only from this. One may only hope that the new actors’ course will find their own director and that Kaunas Drama Theatre will discover its personality attracting young people as well as everybody searching for the “real door”.
The future of the Nemunas island in Kaunas is in hands of Kaunas inhabitants themselves. The Public Enterprise Kaunas Architecture and Urbanism Experts’ Council (KAUET) grants the possibility for people to decide regarding the perspective of the unique city territory.
Perhaps reality is too banal and too dirty to writers for them to step down from the shining ivory towers. Of course, the creators' imagination is free and does not have to obey requirements of readers. Meanwhile, readers may only hope that they will discover themselves and their city without insights of “the talented conglomerate” while wandering along tenebrous streets of Kaunas.
The attempt to squeeze into the old town of Kaunas is still unsuccessful. Principles should be followed. The presented space decision is incorrect, the entrance place is unsuitable, the volume is too big. Urbanism rather than aesthetics is the most important. The majority of experts preferred the offer 1, everybody criticised the solution of the attic, too contrasting accord of two volumes, unoriginal segmentation. The conclusion: there is no integrity; no historical development of the land plot and quarter has been presented.
Even 7 versions, where Kaunas City Municipality should be located, and finally green light for a residential quarter with administrative buildings at Brastos Str.14 – this was the result of the penultimate meeting of Kaunas Architecture and Urbanism Experts’ Council (KAUET) in 2008.
