After the death of his father, the “chef” and creator of Lithuanian diplomacy, Voldemaras Čarneckis decided to demolish the old parents` house and build a new one where he was planning to move with his own family. He was one of those cornerstones of the state that shaped the foundations and traditions of Lithuania’s political life. The list of his merits of a long-term diplomatic career includes participation in bilateral Lithuanian-Polish relations, the mission to the United States and its result – recognition of Lithuania de jure and lastly, fourteen years of service as Lithuanian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Rome. Long years of service abroad delayed the establishment of a family in Kaunas but also had its advantages. While working at the Lithuanian representation in Washington, V. Čarneckis met here and married his wife, Lithuanian American Eleonora Šaltenytė. With a wealth of public service experience, communicative and accustomed to participating in various events, Eleonora became an indispensable companion to her husband and a diplomatic and social assistant. While working in Italy, V. Čarneckis and his wife contributed a lot to helping the Lithuanians studying there, and as a result – an association was formed. Its purpose was to bring together Lithuanians living in Italy, to maintain friendly relations between them, to develop patriotism and to provide moral and material assistance to its members. At that time, Čarneckiai met a young architect Stasys Kudokas.
From 1920 to 1924, S. Kudokas studied art at Kaunas Art School. After graduation, he received a state grant for further study abroad. Determined to study architecture, S. Kudokas chose Italy, which impressed the artistic young man with his magnificent past. He studied at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Rome (Regia Scuola Superiore di Architettura). After graduating in architecture in Rome, he passed the international architectural examinations in Milan. A talented and promising architect was offered to stay in Italy and was invited to work in India and America. But in 1930, S. Kudokas returned to work in Lithuania. Having acquired a good education and considerable design experience, a young architect was invited to work as an architect for Kaunas City Municipality.
Čarneckiai decided to support a young and promising architect and asked him to design their house in Kaunas. E. Čarneckienė actively participated in the design process of her own home and dreamed of seeing the Resurrection Church through the bedroom window. A modern three-story house with eight apartments was soon built. The building has two entrances from the street façade, which has circular elements on top. There are also circular elements between the first and second floors in rectangles. Vertically between the windows, there are columns with modest capitals. At the back façade of the structure, there are different-sized balconies. The architect himself also included the image of the house on his business card. According to the photograph on this card, the building had a passageway to the backyard from its left axis when it was first built. However, it was closed and turned into a window later. Soon after, S. Kudokas became one of the most famous architects in Lithuania, influencing later generations.
