sprik
Reconstruction of an outdoor market. Category: public building
Design: 2015-2016
Construction: 2017-2018
Address: Taikos pr. 80, Klaipėda
Architects: Mantas Olšauskas, Donatas Cesiulis, Ieva Cicėnaitė, Kristina Puidokaitė, Mindaugas Reklaitis
The architecture firm sprik was established in 2008. In every new project, this enthusiastic team search for what they can call the ‘sprik’ (‘snap’) moment when you snap your fingers. The projects they create vary widely, they are sometimes full of youthful whim, and certainly never boring. According to sprik’s architects, every one of the firm’s actualized ideas is a small story, a legend about the sometimes difficult attempts to find common ground between the client and the architect. This project is no exception.
Architectural competitions in Lithuania are at a turning point. The customary organizational processes have been criticised and the first-place winners’ projects often go unbuilt. The reconstruction of the outdoor market in Klaipėda is a perfect example of what happens when there is not only trust in the winning architects, but when they are also actively supported by the client and the other project participants. According to the architects, the entire project preparation process was accompanied by intensive publicization of the design, and interaction with the client and the public. Open communication and the ability to to listen to one another meant that in the end the project was successfully implemented.
Most retails projects are quite predictable, and clients have strict guidelines about how a commercial building should function. The outdoor market is a bit of an exception because it is not only a retail space, but also an especially social space constantly offering up a new experience. The sprik architects sought to create a space for this specific experience, a distinctive interpretation of a classic market square. The expressively refractive lines of the roofs that look like paper cut outs extend above the square, and beneath them is an array of retail spaces, recreational and green areas, a children’s playground, and spaces for events and cafes. The architects strove for an authentic market atmosphere within this collage of varied functions in a universal public space. One can only hope that the residents take to the updated market and that it will become an important part of their everyday lives.