On February 5, a meeting of the Vilnius Regional Architectural Council (RAT) was held in the meeting hall of the Lithuanian Chamber of Architects and remotely, during which the request of architect Lukas Rekevičius regarding the urban integrity of the project at P. Lukšio g. 34, where the Banginis shopping center is located, was considered. During the meeting, the council members were introduced to the vision for the transformation of the Banginis shopping center territory and additional documents.
During the public part of the meeting, Council members and representatives of the public discussed the project, asked questions, and participated in the discussion. After that, in the closed part of the meeting, Council members presented their arguments and presented conclusions regarding the project.
The northern town could accommodate another 3 people
No specific visuals were provided during the meeting. However, it was revealed that during the transformation of the territory, it is planned to construct one 9-story building, and the remaining buildings would be 7-story.
The residential function is planned in the inner part of the plot, away from the busy P. Lukšio Street. The perimeters of the streets and public spaces would be formed by commercial premises. All residential premises would be for rent. The first floors of all buildings could be adapted for any function, integrating educational institutions, but the specific location is not specified. The plan remains flexible. 1417 apartments, 3000 residents are planned.
A new public space is also planned on the site. The current store will be moved to the northeast corner of the site, occupying two floors of the building and utilizing the roofs.
PC "Whale" possibly becoming "MEGA"?
Commissioned by the joint-stock company "Baltic Shopping Centers", the pre-project proposal (vision) was prepared by UAB "Aketuri architektai" and MB "Martynas Marozos architektu ir planavimas".
Baltic Shopping Centers operates the shopping and leisure center Mega Beautiful (102 m2), the Banginis shopping park in Vilnius (28 m2), "Lidl" building in Kaunas (Islandijos pl. 30 (2 m2)), administrative building in Kaunas (Islandijos pl. 32B (17 m2)), McDonald's building in Kaunas (Islandijos pl. 30 (405 m2)), the Decathlon building in Kaunas (Islandijos pl. 30 (3 m2)) and other real estate objects.
True, the reconstruction of the shopping center "Banginis" and its transformation into the Klaipėda "Mega" was temporarily suspended by the company that had it. So who knows, maybe in Vilnius the shopping center "Banginis" will become the shopping and leisure center "Mega". However, it remains unclear whether this project will continue, because the Vilnius Regional Architecture Council recommended organizing an urban vision competition for the most suitable transformation vision for the transformation of the territory of the shopping center "Banginis".
