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Ugly soviet parking garage takes on appearance of a cascading waterfall

Architects

Ugly soviet parking garage takes on appearance of a cascading waterfall

Architect Ignas Lukaskas worked in conjunction with Vieta and the Vilnius Street Art festival to transform the building.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | September 30, 2016

Photo courtesy of Studio Vieta

A Soviet-era parking garage in Lithuania that sits just a few dozen feet from the Neris River and has been described as an “eyesore,” has been transformed into a bright display of color and lights as part of the Vilnius Street Art Festival. Ignas Lukauskas, an architect whose PhD thesis was on urban landscapes and how art and architecture can create disruptions, created the new look for the building.

The Vilnius Waterfall, as the project has been dubbed, is based on this thesis. The photorealistic waterfall image was pasted onto more than 2,000 sm (making it the largest project like this ever executed in Lithuania) of the structure’s exterior surface and uses the building’s terraced look and its location near the Neris to further enhance the faux waterfall’s illusion.

The water appears to crash and cascade down the various terraces of the structure, which is currently used as a garage for storing and maintaining Parliament vehicles, on its way to the river. The stagnant appearance offered by the building’s former look is replaced with one that is dynamic and flowing.

The new façade is only temporary, but the goal is for it to bring a refreshing hint of the natural landscape to Lithuania’s capital city.

View more images of The Vilnius Waterfall here.

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