Throughout its operation, LRT (Lithuanian
Radio and Television) was located in an anonymous to public, gated territory, and performing its functions in an outdated building complex that was not originally designed for this purpose.
The competition posed a complex task to reorganize the current site with preserved
historical radio building to fit the new headquarters with the new image of the institution.
In the current age of information overflow, the traditional
radio and television is on the verge of inevitable transformation. In order to maintain
its relevance, the institution needs to turn into a multipurpose media centre,
built upon the fundamental values of transparency, trust and openness to
public. This resulted in a concept of Forum – the platform for democratic
society, where different members indirectly meet and intertwine within a
constant exchange of ideas and information.
The future LRT headquarters is not simply the new exterior
skin, but rather its content, broadcasting creativity, innovation and openness.
The campus is combined of 4 volumes, representing the 4 program blocks, that pick up the scale from the protected building to form a united
complex of past and future, public and private. The elevated administration
block creates an indoor public space that ensures a fluent connection between
the two public squares in opposite sides of the site. The volumes are stepping down
towards the adjacent park finishing with a spacious roof terrace overlooking
the city.
The large program demanded in the brief is consciously
compressed into a compact building by utilising the height difference of the
site and placing most of the storage and service areas to the lower terrain. This
allowed to liberate the space on the ground floor for private and public activities
and resulted in a rational volume with minimum ecological footprint, putting an
emphasis on the responsible use of resources in the context of climate crisis.