The project submitted by Valdas Ozarinskas, Viktoras Kormilcevas, and Aida Čeponytė for the 1992 commercial building competition, intended to complement the layout of Žygimantų Street, marked the beginning of a new wave of construction in Vilnius’s historic centre following independence. One of these new buildings – the former headquarters of Hermis Bank – is now listed in the Cultural Heritage Register.[1]

The proximity of the river, although separated from the site by a busy street, inspired the idea of a dynamic building that would echo the flow of water. The authors chose to complement the river’s longitudinal axis with a crossing axis: ‘the object, standing on the left bank of the river, mirrors the right bank with its seven mirrored glass segments.'[2] This visual connection between the two banks was significant not only as an enhancement of the multidirectional spatial relationships characteristic of the urban environment, but also as a means of harmoniously integrating the new building into its surroundings. Through reflection, ‘the object levels out and blends into the urban environment; depending on the season, lighting, and time of day, a different mood is created.'[3]

The project engages not only with the natural context. Although inserted into an established streetscape, the relatively massive six-storey tower was divided into separate segments that ‘echo the configuration of the former single-story houses, creating a historical parterre for the object.'[4] This conceptual approach – combining contextual sensitivity with contemporary materiality – can be understood as an example of balanced contrast: while the volume logically complements the urban structure, its material expression introduces a degree of tension.

In later interviews, Ozarinskas reflected on the historical environment in a far more pointed and provocative manner:

I would rather like to free imagination from its dependence on pragmatism. I would like someone not to be afraid of being drastic and to present – if not a vision of demolishing Vilnius’s Old Town (Le Corbusier once showed no mercy toward Paris’s historic centre, proposing its demolition together with the Cathedral of Notre Dame [5]) – then at least the product of an unsuccessful fantasy: the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. [6]

Although the development of Žygimantų Street did not envision a radical intervention, this building – through its creative interpretation of the surrounding context and its recognisable technological aesthetic – would have significantly enriched the architectural landscape of the early independence period.

[1] Hermis Bank building, Register of Cultural Values, https://kvr.kpd.lt/#/static-heritage-detail/848DDCAA-1DB8-4A08-9CC2-8DF6B5ED2614.
[2] Aiškinamasis raštas (Explanatory note), 1992. From the Valdas Ozarinskas Foundation archive
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] In fact, Le Corbusier did not propose demolishing the Île de la Cité or the Cathedral of Notre Dame; however, he approached the historical environment without scruples and planned the demolition of the adjacent Le Marais district.
[6] Valdas Ozarinskas, ‘Valdas Ozarinskas ant psichoanalitiko kušetės’ (‘Valdas Ozarinskas on the Psychoanalyst’s Couch’) (interview transcribed by Valentinas Klimašauskas), Literatūra ir menas, February 9, 2007, p. 2

– Vaidas Petrulis