Zaha Hadid Architects’ first building in Lithuania
“Architecture is really about well-being. I think that people want to feel good in a space … On the one hand it’s about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure.” – said Zaha Hadid, the icon of postmodern architecture. The Zaha Hadid Architects studio founded by her, which has designed and built buildings of exceptional architecture in more than 40 countries, will also work in Lithuania. A new business centre, Business Stadium Central, is planned to be built on Rinktinės Street in Vilnius in 2025.
The 24,000 m² office building will consist of two towers of 8 and 9 storeys, which will be connected on the ground and first floors. These floors will house offices, cafés, shops and common areas, which will be lit by an atrium on two floors.
On the fifth floor, the two towers will be connected by a bridge, which will be used as a common space for the offices next to it. The upper floors of the larger tower will include a gym space and two public swimming pools with saunas and bath areas. The terraces on these floors will offer panoramic views of Vilnius Old Town and the Gediminas Castle tower.
Zaha Hadid Architects will be joined by Unitectus, a local Lithuanian architectural practice, to realize the building in Vilnius. Responding to today’s climate change concerns, architects will use sustainable building systems to reduce the carbon footprint of the construction process and the energy consumption during the building’s operation.
“Digital optimization design processes have minimised the amount of materials required for the structure and are integrated with procurement systems that increase the project’s recycled content. The timber for the interiors will be from certified local sources and included within the project’s overall supply chains that have been established to reduce delivery distances. All specified materials are evaluated to enable disassembly and reuse at the end of the building’s operational life.”– according to the Zaha Hadid Architects website.
The public spaces around the building will be developed according to the design proposals of landscape architects Martha Schwarz Partners. A plaza will be created in front of the new building, and a tree and shrub planting in the southern part of the site will be created according to the “Urban Forest” methodology. The principle of this methodology, which involves planting 3 trees and shrubs of different species in an area of 1 m², allows the forest to grow much faster, gradually creating a local forest ecosystem that is characterised by its biodiversity.
Text author: Vita Soltonaitė-Puslienė
