ArchitectureArchitect
LoginJoin us
Register
Forgot Password
Add to Collection

Sixteen-Storey Residential Buildings

Lithuania
cecenijos a.-FOMA-16 Large.jpeg
1 of 8
By Monika Pociūtė, 2023.

The sixteen-storey residential building in Kaunas, on Chechenia Square, is a prominent highlight of Kalnieiciai micro-district and the whole Soviet residential complex buildings. This is one of the first projects in Lithuania where monolithic reinforced concrete was used. Due to this specific material use, it was possible to achieve the original aesthetic of the apartment architecture of that time. They are undeniably vertical dominants and were the tallest houses in Lithuania at that time.

The compositional purpose of the buildings is to emphasize the place of the residential centre, but due to the undeveloped areas to the south of Chechenia Square, these houses are also perfectly visible from Savanoriai Avenue as soon as you enter Kaunas.

The architectural aesthetic went through a lot of critics from the public. People use to call them "corn" structures. Due to their brutalist grey appearance and lack of decorativeness, the residential apartment skyscrapers are often regarded as grim, depressive and a reminder of a dystopian Soviet time.

View article
View article