USF Architecture Alumni Win Honorable Mention in International Design Contest
December 05, 2017
Images courtesy of TARI-Architects and Derek Pirozzi Design Workshop
USF architecture Alumni Derek Pirozzi, Chris Weaver, Rachael Dippel and Luke Keene are part of a design team that recently won an honorable mention in the Malcolm Reading International Competition to design the new M.K. Čiurlionis Concert Centre in Kaunas, Lithuania.
The team is one of six to receive an honorable mention among the 117 teams from 36 countries who entered the competition to design the €30 million riverside concert and multipurpose space.
Other members of the design team include William Antozzi Office of Architecture, TARI Architects (Italy), structural consultant Buro Hapold, sustainability consultant Atelier Ten, OvS Landscape Architecture, and acoustical consultant Presence Lab.
The competition was held to design the new M.K. Ciurlionis Concert Centre in Kaunas, Lithuania, the second largest city in Lithuania and a UNESCO global creative city. The M.K. Ciurlionis Concert Centre, named after the gifted painter, composer, and writer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, is to serve as a performance space for top musical performances while also providing a space for other events such as conferences and symposia.
The USF alumni-supported design entry harnesses the natural materials of the region, allusions to the light and movement of Ciurlionis' paintings, public open space, and a commitment to sustainability.
More About the Design Entry
The life and legacy of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis entwined with the Lithuanian culture and people of the past through today are the foundation of what is to become the Kaunas M.K. Ciurlionis Concert Centre. As the new lungs of the city, the center will sit lightly on the banks of the Nemunas River. Falling within the viewshed of Old Town Kaunas, the site will be an integral part of the urban fabric.
A place for everyone, the Centre will be the point where community and culture perform a harmonious marriage. Connecting to the left bank, science island and the surrounding districts, the Cultural Center will be known as the place where the city breaths. A place of knowledge and ideas, Kaunas's Concert Center will inspire throughout Europe of what it means to live in the Baltic State.
Visit the contest website for more information.