Pure minimalism in chaotic urban environment of Vilnius international airport. A tiny line between where architecture is almost a sculpture.
According to the need of parking spaces and shuttle bus stop at Vilnius international airport, more than 150 additional car parking spaces and 11 bus parking spaces were designed, including five bus parking spaces in this new bus station.
Project name: Bus station at Vilnius International Airport
Architect’ Firm: Vilniaus architektūros studija
Website: www.vas.lt
Contact e-mail: tn@vas.lt
Architects: Tomas Noreika
Project location: Rodūnios kelias 10A, Vilnius, Lithuania https://goo.gl/maps/GjZcqBg1fNP2
Completion Year: 2017
Gross Built Area (square meters or square foot): 251 m2
Photo credits: Leonas Garbačauskas
Photographer’s website: www.garbacauskas.com
Other participants
(eg. collaborators, clients, consultants, etc):
Structural engineer: Alfonsas Vaškevičius
Client: Valstybės įmonė Lietuvos oro uostai
Vilnius international airport terminal was originally designed during the period of Soviet occupation of Lithuania, by architects Dmitrij Burdin and Genadij Jelkin and built in 1954 by war prisoners. Later terminal building was reconstructed several times and some ells, including new terminal and car ramp, were built.
Place for the new bus station was chosen according to the customer approved site transport scheme, so the bus station ended up situated on the left side wing of the terminal builing and one end of it appears to be almost attached to the car ramp. In order to avoid domination or false striving to adapt to existing different architecture terminal buildings, minimalistic form and neutral raw concrete material was chosen.
It’s sculptural form with all of its plan elements is compositionally orientated diagonally – towards bus arriving direction. Its rear wall is built to separate public transport ant VIP zones and lets in some natural sun light from southeast side at daytime through narrow vertical openings. At nighttime cold concrete surfaces of inner shell of the bus stop shed is highlighted by the warm light of diagonally orietated luminaries. Concrete and light. Nothing more.
