Pilkope Villa Reconstruction

The reconstructed villa is located in the Curonian Spit National Park, which is included in UNESCO World Heritage List. The Curonian Spit is also part of the Natura 2000 protected area network. It is the most valuable natural and cultural coastal landscape complex in Lithuania. The building is situated in the settlement of Juodkrantė. The settlement belongs to the Neringa municipality and is recognized as a historical and urban conservation area. Juodkrantė is one of the best-preserved examples of wooden resort architecture in Lithuania, with surviving late 19th–early 20th century villas and fishermen’s homesteads. The building’s site occupies a convenient location within the settlement, adjacent to the main pedestrian and bicycle paths leading toward the Baltic Sea. The building on this site serves as a landmark of Juodkrantė — a symbolic gateway to the sea.
 Since villa’s construction in 1978, the building had never been touched, so its physical and moral condition didn’t meet modern standards: not adapted for disabled people; does not comply with fire safety nor engineering requirements. The building’s original function had become outdated — it consisted of small separate rooms designed for short-term stays without comfortable sanitary facilities. Therefore, the goal of the reconstruction was to create a modern, attractive architectural work of new quality, while preserving the essential values of modernist architecture and enriching it with contemporary architectural features and artistic elements. During construction, the external shell of the building was dismantled and the reinforced concrete structures were strengthened. The building was expanded and elevated, maintaining the proportional principles of the original structure. Natural materials were used for the facade finishes in harmony with the wooden architectural context of Juodkrantė.

Building’s architecture and structural design feature the distinct modernist characteristics typical of that era. The architectural inspiration reflects forms reminiscent of a sailing ship or a sand dune. Characteristic materials such as stone and wood were used. The structural system is based on a repetitive 3-meter grid of reinforced concrete columns and beams, with these elements exposed in the interior—all hallmarks of the building’s modernist architectural language. The main goal of the reconstruction was to restore and preserve the building’s modernist qualities, while also enhancing and emphasizing them through contemporary architectural elements, such as a glass staircase volume, the light use of slatted thermowood, and stone masonry with pronounced joints. One of the key objectives, as defined by the client’s brief, was to create modern, high-standard holiday apartments. This required enlarging the former small guest rooms. To achieve this, it was necessary to extend the building on both the eastern and western sides and to enlarge the terraces. This presented a significant challenge, requiring great sensitivity and professionalism to preserve the building’s modernist features and maintain harmony with the surrounding environment. First and foremost, it was crucial to preserve the building’s proportions. After widening the structure, it also needed to be raised in height to maintain the principles of proportional balance characteristic of the original design.

The existing building’s structural system consists of reinforced concrete load-bearing columns, a beam grid, and prefabricated floor slabs. The roof structure is made of wooden rafters. The overall condition of the existing structures was moderate — some reinforced concrete beams were deteriorated, with exposed, rusted reinforcement, while parts of the wooden roof structure were affected by rot. During reconstruction, structural reinforcement works were carried out: exposed reinforcement surfaces were insulated, and the entire wooden roof structure was replaced with a new one. For the formation of new added volumes and terraces on the eastern and western sides, light metal beams were used as the main structural elements. For the stepped loggia volumes, concrete was chosen as the structural material. Newly designed metal evacuation stairs were built, featuring granite stone steps. Particular attention was given to the new glass staircase volume, which rises above the roofline. Its structure consists of an aluminum supporting frame combined with a structural glazing system. Sustainable energy engineering solutions were selected with great care. For this purpose, a geothermal heat pump system was designed to provide heating, cooling, and domestic hot water, utilizing energy from the ground. Inside the building, suspended ceilings were designed for cooling, and underfloor heating was installed for space heating. To meet electricity needs, a remote solar power plant was incorporated into the energy system. For the building’s materials, durable and low-maintenance solutions were chosen: thermally treated wood and stonewere used for walls, loggias, and balconies.