NKS TAUTOS NAMAI
At the confluence of Vilna and Neris, standing on
the highest geographical point of the city, Gediminas tower overlooks centuries
of urban growing.
From, next to its base, the Middle Age
neighbourhood, then swinging Baroque
Age, then straight and ornamented XIXth century, till harsh lines of XXth
century.
And not only from the tower but also walking along
Gedimino Prospekt, one can experience the ages of the city through the
transversal streets.
About 1,5km away from Gedimino’s castle, another
building seats on top of a lower hill. The Trade Union Palace.
ISMS
May this building belong to late late neo-classicism
? or very early post-modernism ? or definitely to realist-socialism?
with some functionalism ? and not at all to constructivism or
rationalism ?
And is it because no style can really defined it, apart
of being a blow up scale of a neo palladian archetype, that it is to be
demolished ?
Or because it is a subject of multiple
controversial memories and arguments ?
Are “ISMS”, style and other arguments still the
only questions ?
Strangely enough, this building in its relative
monumentality, looks right in the landscape, and its proportions
are balanced.
Considering the requested maximum
height (level 159.00) , the limits of the building site and the amount of m2 defined
in the programme, any scheme would comply more or less the same way in the
landscape, than the existing palace, plus a few meters in height.
This is one reason to keep this building. Other
reasons will appear further on.
ARCHITECTUR-ABLE
So RE-USE :
is the general line for this project. And, thus, be sustainABLE.
ARCHITECTURE
AND ENVIRONMENT CONCEPTS
Of course, how delightful it could have been to design
a brave shape, with some cantilevers, possibly curves, assuming the existing
building would have disappeared, and not asking oneself what means this
disappearance…But times are changing, climate too…And Greta Thunberg and all
our children are here to point it out to us…
And after counting how many cubic meters, then
tons, then trucks and nuisance this total demolition would generate, it appears
sensible and responsible to keep it.
This large building looks, in a sense, sustainably
built. The plans show 60cm thickness of mainly solid bricks for the peripherical walls, 40cm
to 80cm for interior walls. And there are so many voids, inside, that interior
demolition and transformation make sense.
That’s a second reason.
And, seen from another point of view…from a
writer’s point of view, or from a movie director’s? this building could well have been one of the
set for a Cold War spy novel - ask John LeCarré - or a movie - ask Florian
Henckel von Donnersmark, or actor James Connery -…. And one may suspect there
is some nuclear shelter in part of the basement.
That’s a third reason (meaning the novel and the
movie).
So after having demolished as less as possible and
as enough as necessary, the goal is to place the Main Hall and most of the
programme inside the existing envelope. And have a minimum footprint on the
site.
Part of the demolished material ( stone, some
bricks, some soil extracted for the underground 500 Hall) may be re-used on
site : for the pedestrian pathways, also partly
in the slope in front of the building. Even though it is said in the
programme that the slope should not change, this might be considered as a
sustainable option, and discussed with landscapers, depending on the quality of
the extracted soil.
The concept is then rather simple :
-
A new box for the Main hall, inside the existing
square frame.
-
A new public space outside
The new box is expressed all along the building as
a special entity and is understandable from bottom (level 134.10) to top (level
149.50), by the voids created between the Main hall and the 3 levels of the
foyer. An attempt to give the public a “Piranese” experience with vertical,
longitudinal and oblique views floating through space.
North, facing the park and the city, an additional
partly underground volume : the exhibition-educational space, and the
commercial premises take place under slopes about 3,7% that lead to the roof of
the Minor Hall, in the center. The roof developes also as a “piazza”, and the
whole system -slopes and roof- is a public space : the main terrace to the entrance of the
Concert Hall, facing a splendid view of the city.
Along East and West columns : stairways to all
levels, between the columns and glazed vertical
surfaces. These volumes acting as greenhouses and inter-climatic devices/thermal
insulation.
Outside , along East and West facades : gardens to
keep privacy inside the maintenance and ancillary functions and receive part of the rain water .
South façade : a passive and active ( photo
voltaic cells) solar energy surface.
Roof : partly active solar energy surface
Rainwater : to be stored in tanks and used for
toilet flush and interior maintenance .
FUNCTION-ABLE
The main levels indicated in the scheme are
guessed out of the plans and elevations given in the competition documents.
The idea is to follow, as much as possible, the
existing levels as being partly re-used, possibly adding 10cm for new flooring.
The interior walls at the four corners are kept,
the four stairways are partially kept :
-
South , from level 130.00 til level 137.50
-
North ,
from level 130.00 til level 133.00
The center is demolished down to level 130.00 and the capacity of the whole basement level is
maintained.
EXTERNAL NOISE
INSULATION :
The Main building :
-
South : double skin 150m large - external skin:
glass, internal skin : existing brik with external zinc cladding
-
East and West : double skin 3,65m large including
the columns /green houses ; other walls with hemp wool internal insulations
-
North : double skin 2,65m large between the wall
and the columns, other walls with hemp wool internal insulations
-
Roof : zinc cladding on wooden rafters and roof
board, hemp wool internal insulation over the beams.
The Northern building :
Internal and external insulation on concrete walls
INTERNAL
ACOUSTIC HYPOTHESIS
THE MAIN HALL
The
recommended Noise criterion for concert Hall is ranking from NC15t o NC 20.
To
achieve the program’s goal of NC 10, studies will probably have to use a model
1:10.
All the wood cladding
will be designed to
maintain a warm
and rich
sound while
being transparent
and promoting
the enveloping
sensation throughout the
hall. The
area of
the prized seats on
the sides
of the
stage played
an important
role in
obtaining fine acoustics
on stage,
in combination
with the
canopy.
The stage reflector's acoustics
will be optimized using computer
models and a scale
model.
The sound absorption properties
of the
finish of the
walls and
ceiling and the
seats could
be thoroughly tested in
an acoustic laboratory.
Air supply will be carried out
by means
of ventilation
by moving
under public
space, through grids
in the
floor, with
a goal of 12dB(A) achievment. A fixed
and invisible
voice system
can be made in the
hall, including
digital speakers with
a small
aperture angle. The
concert hall can
have flexibility : stage floor, ceiling
and some moving walls.
MINOR
HALL
Since this hall is at a different level and very much
away from the Main one, it makes it easier for controling side sound effects.
There might be very little, if none.
The reverberation effects of the double glass wall on
the park will be balanced by porous panels and hemp wool mat in the ceiling,
and carpet flooring on the balconies and transformable steps. Some sliding
porous panels with hemp wool mat will also be placed along the glass wall.
Wood cladding on the other walls, wood flooring.
AUDIO
and LIGHTING
Mainly LED lighting .
Audio and light control rooms are placed in the
appropriate spaces, next to the scene , and or, overlooking the scene.
Technical pathways take place in the roof structure,
to control the mobile ceiling panels and the lighting and audio systems.
BUILDING FINISH MATERIAL
External
: white coating, black zinc cladding, aluminium and wood glass frames, stone and wooden floor on the public
front space and roof
terrace .
Internal : hemp wool insulation panels, wood
cladding mainly vertically in the public spaces, the existing briks or concrete
will be revealed, and let rough, in the
insulated spaces : foyers .
In the Main Hall, some panels will be bearing slim
alternate vertical wood elements and absorbing elements.
Floors : waxed concrete or terrazzo or stone for
the public spaces . Wooden floor in the halls. Carpet and wooden floor in the
ancillary spaces. Tiling in the maintenance areas.
STRUCTURAL CONCEPT
The four facades and inside corners of the main
building will remain and the existing floors there.
The foundations of the new parts, inside, could be
done by uncased bored piles, to support concrete columns around the Main Hall and
steel tubes filled with concrete in the foyer. The seats are supported on
concrete beams and slabs.
The structure for the greenhouses and double
southern wall could be either in steel or wooden structure.
The walls around the Main hall could be concrete
or concrete columns + timber walls, any solution bearing hemp wool insulation inside. And in case of timber
walls, wooden and perforated panels. The seats are supported on concrete beams
and slabs.
The roof
structure could be studied to be
wooden beams with steel elements
and its height will merge the conditions of having top level below 159.00 and
total height of the construction at 25.00m above ground.
Diaphragm wall foundations for the minor Hall ,
exhibition and commercial premises , then concrete structure, since they are
partially below ground level will be in concrete.
