Vilnius full of space

Abstract: Today, one of the main economic engines is construction field. A few periods of history showed that in Lithuania, the main goal for the companies were to build fast, cheap dwellings on the empty lots. The capital of Lithuania, Vilnius city is not an exception. City is built ineffectively. Functions, neighbourhoods are far apart from each other and the transportation ineffectiveness leads to the longer and tedious hours of commuting, dwellings and structures are in poor condition and don’t fit living standards anymore. People naturally moves out from these buildings, leaving neighbourhoods, villages or even cities desolated. But the paradox is that city has a great number of vacant property and land. These properties create borders, which people avoid. The snow ball is rolling and it brings emptiness, disorder and crime to the place, while it could be used for numerous diverse developments and to make the city pattern more vibrant and sustainable. The starting point of the project was from well-known quote in Vilnius by the street artist: “Vilnius full of space”. It was written on the emptied building in the city centre. The quote appeared around 2007, when Vilnius suffered from grand and cheap developments on the new plots. The project focus is on one city centre block, which lies next to the main train station. It has various parts and problems to be considered: historical aspects, preservation rules, topography, history, high crime rates, emptiness and etc. But the main questions to be answered are about architecture role in making community bonds and what is required to involve people in the decision making. The project should be read as a framework, which has different stages and community decides when these stages will be reached. The project also wants to prove, that for big plans there is no need for big investments.