“We are on the lookout for innovative and tradition-breaking solutions to improve the quality of life for city residents. As we spend so much of our time inside buildings, we had this idea to offer the residents of Vilnius and Nida and people on vacation to try an outdoor office environment during the summer season, so they could work surrounded by nature and enjoy fresh air,” – said Akvilė Liaudanskienė, Director of Sustainable Initiative Support Foundation established by Darnu Group holding the Garden Office Competition.
The Competition accepted applications from March 19 to April 12. A total of 45 designers from all over Lithuania submitted their applications for Vilnius and Nida. The jury assessed all the submissions, focusing on workplace functionality, creativity, sustainability and mobility. Having evaluated all the participants, the jury selected two winners: Andrius Tautvaišas and his Closer to Nature design for Vilnius City and Gintarė Stonkutė and her Powerbloc design for Nida Town.
The Closer to Nature design went strictly by the guidelines of the Competition. The organizers encouraged designers to create spaces, where working people could spend as much time as possible in the fresh air. “I decided that the shape of workspaces should be as close to nature as possible,” said Andrius Tautvaišas, winner of the Competition in Vilnius.
Gintarė Stonkutė who won the Competition in Nida designed her Powerbloc to satisfy the needs for privacy, silence, serenity and keeping distance between working individuals. “I would like to use this mobile workplace design to show the range of applications of modular construction in modern architecture and the myriads of inspiring and unpredictable design possibilities this system can offer. I took my inspiration from construction blocks for kids, which are eco-friendly, sustainable and unlimited in their creative uses,” said Gintarė Stonkutė, winner of the Competition in Nida.
The Archidėja designer team and its submissions were the runner-up in both Vilnius and Nida and garnered a lot of attention with their designs.
Sustainable Initiative Support Foundation will give out monetary prizes to the winners and runner-up’s. Presently, both Vilnius and Nida are working on finding the best spots for implementing the winner projects. Once completed, all residents will be welcome to work in the garden offices.
Translated by MP Translations Agency in Kaunas