Award / Auszeichnung (auch für Studenten) | 06/2023
New European Bauhaus Rising Stars 2023
©Ignas Kazlauskas - Content licensed to the European Union.
Nature’s Library
Winner | Regaining a sense of belonging
Preisgeld: 15.000 EUR
Architektur
Erläuterungstext
The installation aims to revitalise a historic inner courtyard in the Old Town of Vilnius and reveal its heritage and identity through the involvement of the local community and the use of nature-based solutions. The courtyard is situated in a unique Augustinian monastery ensemble with diverse community groups coexisting within the territory - a university, a gymnasium, a nursery, local residents, a police orchestra and a chapel.
The frame of the circle-shaped installation is constructed using weathered steel components that hold dozens of metal chains, acting as rain downpours and creating a permeable veil around the inner space. The open structure will sensitively blend into the existing space and create a meditative, intimate environment inside it. At the same time, it will serve as an NBS element, collecting rain from the surrounding buildings and directing it to modular plant beds that form the base of the installation. The plant beds would consist of 17 identical modules with perforated bottoms. Top components of the structure, serving as rain collection channels, will be assembled from smaller pieces, aiming to keep the construction process as simple as possible and maximise the mobility of the installation.
The plant beds will be used to grow different kinds of flowers and shrubs, typically used to make traditional local decorations - Easter palms, thus celebrating the authentic local tradition of the Vilnius region. This way the vegetation will not only contribute to managing the rainwater and improving the local microclimate but will also perform an educational function, turning the installation into a living natural library that will be different depending on the time of the year or weather conditions.
The installation aims to involve the surrounding community as much as possible, inviting people to plant flowers, reuse the collected rainwater, and organise educational or other activities in the newly created space.
©Ignas Kazlauskas - Content licensed to the European Union.
©Ignas Kazlauskas - Content licensed to the European Union.
©Ignas Kazlauskas - Content licensed to the European Union.