Radvila Palace Competition, Art core fo Vilnius

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Radvila Palace Competition, Art core fo Vilnius

Firm

Studio Kraft

Type

Cultural › Museum

STATUS

Concept

SIZE

25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

ART CORE OF VILNIUS - A COMPETITION ENTRY FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF RADVILA PALACE

Our aim is to develop the area of Radvila Palace Complex to become the ART CORE OF VILNIUS, inviting every ages and nationalities to visit the city and meet art and design. For this we use art and architecture as a tool to link different people and also to bind different buildings together.
The idea of the community garden and the open museum need a strong and timeless yet contemporary answer. The diverse historical environment forced us to find an universal tool. We found it in the ancient art of megalithic cultures where huge stones were erected. People gathered around these first works of art which were like a beacon, art became a tool for building community.

We finish the U-shaped building with a contemporary design. The extension completes the existing historical buildings with a humble attitude giving new and balanced proportions. Huge brick pillars and thin terazzo roofs take ancient forms like colonnades and porticos. These act as an open gate and covered public space, also marking the fence of the old palace.

GALLERY NOW PAVILION
People passing through Vilnius encounter the south pavilion of GALLERY NOW with its inviting media facade. The tower showcases always the most renowned contemporary artists works, with a spectacular look-out point to Vilnius skyline and sculpture terasse on the top. It also serves as a new landmark and reference point in the junction of road axles at the edge of the old town.

ART MEETS COMMUNITY
The ART GARDEN provide all-year activities and events on art, music and design. The new museum complex will be fully open to the public on the ground floor. Open art studios for young Lithuanian artist, educational workshops, a cozy cafe with terasses. The museum entrance itself is a community space with its stepped floor with several usages.

A NEW MUSEUM WITHOUT COMPROMISE
The new WORLD ART MUSEUM with the multifunctional hall is designed behind the U-shaped Radvila Palace where large, flexible spaces can be developed without compromise. The new entrance zone flows from the Art Garden back to the museum area thus there is always a visual connection between old and new.

COMPLETING THE HISTORICAL COMPLEX
The never built-up and demolished parts of the Radvila Palace are wounds in the common memory of the city. The reconstruction of the western-north wings has started but the whole complex can be never finished since the south parts are also protected buildings with different architecture. Recognising this we decided to finish the U-shaped building with a contemporary design, focusing on the community and flexibility prepared for the next generation of artists. The extension completes the existing historical buildings with a humble attitude. The historically asymmetric complex gains new and balanced proportions.

RECONSTRUCTION OF RADVILA PALACE
The existing original pavilions and wings should be reconstructed even more thoroughly by demolishing later extensions and inserts. Opening up and reconstructing these facades and spaces make the interior areas more usable and filled with light.

Our competition entry was selected among the finalists.