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Courtyard of Terraces

Courtyard of Terraces

Vilnius, Lithuania

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Courtyard of Terraces

Vilnius, Lithuania

Firm

arches

Type

Residential › Apartment Multi Unit Housing

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2025

SIZE

100,000 sqft - 300,000 sqft

BUDGET

Unknown

Context
The Algirdo Street Apartment Complex is conceived as a contemporary, high-quality and sustainable residential development embedded within the established urban fabric of Naujamiestis.
The design responds to the area’s historic patterns of development, its morphological structure, network of urban spaces and distinctive architectural character. Rather than introducing an isolated object, the project seeks to become a natural continuation of the existing city.
The proposal draws on the characteristic structure of Naujamiestis, where perimeter blocks define the relationship with the street, while their interiors become greener, quieter and more private. The new architecture follows this logic, respecting the established scale and height hierarchy while introducing a contemporary architectural identity.
Urban Strategy
Along Algirdo Street, a continuous perimeter frontage reinstates the characteristic urban edge of the neighbourhood. Behind it, a series of internal volumes extends the existing block structure, creating a gradual transition from the intensity of the street to a more intimate residential environment.
The overall mass is carefully broken down into individual volumes, with their heights and silhouettes calibrated to the surrounding buildings. This fragmented composition preserves the established scale of the urban block while giving the development a coherent and recognisable architectural presence.
Visual permeability is a key principle of the scheme. Openings between the buildings establish visual connections with the courtyards of neighbouring properties, ensuring that the interior of the block remains connected to the wider urban fabric rather than becoming an enclosed enclave. These framed views extend the perceived depth of the site and create a more continuous spatial experience across the block.
The Courtyard as the Heart of the Development
At the centre of the complex, the courtyard becomes the primary shared landscape and the setting for everyday life. It is conceived not simply as residual space between buildings, but as a carefully designed outdoor environment supporting a range of activities and social interactions.
The courtyard is gently articulated through changes in topography and layers of planting. Private terraces coexist with shared areas for children’s play, exercise, relaxation and community activities. Different uses are woven together through a continuous landscape rather than separated into rigid functional zones.
A sculpted terrain and generous planting create a sense of enclosure and intimacy while helping to define individual areas and improve the local microclimate. Landscape is therefore treated as an integral part of the architecture—an active tool for shaping space, movement and atmosphere.
Architectural Expression
The perimeter ensemble is articulated as a composition of distinct volumes, with the rhythm of cornice lines and the geometry of pitched roofs defining its architectural character. This fragmentation reduces the perceived scale of the development and allows it to respond to the heterogeneous character of Naujamiestis.
The courtyard façades are conceived as a sequence of projecting volumes, rhythmically articulated by recessed terraces and loggias. Their depth and variation give the façades a pronounced three-dimensional quality while creating outdoor spaces with different degrees of privacy.
A lower two-storey wing along the northern edge acts as a mediator between the new development and the neighbouring properties. Its reduced height softens the transition in scale and strengthens the spatial continuity of the inner block.
Facing Algirdo Street, the composition is governed by a strong horizontal order. A lower cornice line establishes the principal street frontage, while taller residential volumes are set back from the street. Sloping roof planes contribute to the changing silhouette, introducing movement and variation while maintaining a restrained dialogue with the historic urban context.
Double Façade
The double-façade structure along Algirdo Street is one of the defining architectural features of the project. Conceived as an intermediate layer, it mediates between the active urban street and the more private residential environment.
The lower levels establish a clear and continuous urban base, while the residential volumes above are set back, reducing their visual presence from the street. This layered composition allows the project to reinforce the continuity of the street wall while simultaneously moderating the apparent scale of the building.
The double façade also creates a more nuanced relationship between the apartments and the city. It provides a degree of separation and privacy without turning away from the street, allowing natural daylight and views to penetrate deep into the residential spaces while maintaining a sense of connection with urban life.
Materiality
The material palette is rooted in the colours and textures of the surrounding architecture while deliberately expressing a contemporary sensibility.
Pink-toned natural stone is used across the façades and selected communal interiors. Its warm colour and tactile surface establish a subtle dialogue with the architectural palette of Naujamiestis, while its solidity and permanence reinforce the character of the development.
Stone surfaces are contrasted with areas of glazing within the façades and pitched roofs, introducing lightness, transparency and depth. Natural materials continue across terraces, loggias and balconies, creating a restrained and tactile palette that visually connects the buildings with the planted courtyard.
Quality of Living
The project is conceived as more than a collection of apartments. It aims to create a complete residential environment in which architecture, landscape and the city are experienced as a continuous system.
Every apartment has a direct relationship with the outdoors through a terrace, loggia or balcony. Ground-floor residences extend directly into the courtyard landscape, while upper-level outdoor spaces act as intermediate thresholds between the private interior and the wider urban setting.
Daylight, carefully framed views, access to greenery, a landscape-generated microclimate and a range of outdoor spaces with different degrees of privacy contribute to an environment centred on the everyday experience of its residents.
Ultimately, the project is shaped by a balance between city and home. Along Algirdo Street, the architecture contributes actively to the life and continuity of the city. Within the block, it turns inward towards a greener, quieter and more communal landscape—creating a sequence from the public realm to the shared courtyard and, finally, to the privacy of the home.

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Collaborating Firms

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