Symbols, sites and structure in the architecture of Rimantas Buivydas

Abstract

As mentioned above, structuralism in Lithuania was one of the manifestations of the Modern Movement in architecture, which flourished in the 1960s–1980s and which goal was to dissociate from the aesthetics of the International Style. Though local architects were obviously lacking in theoretical sources, the information was fragmented, their desire to connect their designs with the paradigm of modernism, to synchronize with Western trends in architecture was very strong. Many architects from the late Soviet period surrendered to this strife, including professor Rimantas Buivydas, who, unlike many of his colleagues, was highly interested in architectural history and theory. Not surprisingly, he was one of the first architects to begin implementing the principles of structuralism in the context of architecture in Lithuania. His design, the recreation complex Guboja, is considered one of the most topical and outstanding examples of structuralism in Lithuanian architecture. In many of his designs (both for buildings and public spaces), grid and modular design can be observed. Although the architect has designed relatively few objects more or less large in volume, in Lithuania’s architectural history, he remains not only the pioneer of structuralism, but also a particularly creative and self-conscious architect who aimed to implement the theoretical principles of the art of architecture in practice and, apart from other things, combined aspirations of modernism with tradition and symbolism and cared about the value of cultural landscapes.