{"id":1188,"date":"2019-07-08T17:20:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T21:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-partisans.pantheonsite.io\/?post_type=project&p=1188"},"modified":"2026-04-27T17:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T21:18:11","slug":"vilnius-national-concert-hall","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"Vilnius National Concert Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our initial investigation reveals a rich history of urban scale interventions, with an intensification toward the north end of the Naujamiestis eldership, where Lukiskiu Square and Tauras Hill are located. The series of green spaces and public squares that have resulted out of such transformations place the Tauras Hill as a central node\u2014symbolically and urbanistically\u2014within a connective civic network spanning the Old Town and the New City Center.
\nThrough the incorporation of accessible lifts, bicycle paths, and pedestrian walkways, our proposal serves to strengthen role of the site as a connective node for multiple modes of sustainable and accessible transport.
\nTauras Hill represents a vital point within the larger system of ecological and urban patches of Vilnius; it is followed to the north by Lukiskiu Square and Sakura Park, and to the southeast by the Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Paminklas Memorial Square, Reformers Square, Old Town Park, Rudninku Square, and Seinu Park. Our proposal activates Taurakalnis Park and begins to consolidate it into a green corridor comprising the Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Tauras Hill, and Lukiskiu Square. These efforts serve to further implement and materialize the principles established in the Master Plan for the Territory of Vilnius City Municipality, which are of great regional significance.<\/p>\n

Historically, centers of culture such as galleries and concert halls were designed to cater to a privileged few. The Tauras Hill, as the site for the new National Concert Hall, presents an opportunity to re-envision what an open and democratic cultural institution should look like in the twenty first century. Considering historical layouts such as that observed at the Palais Garnier in Paris, our proposal extends the concept of the grand staircase traditionally conceived as the entrance and primary socializing space for the venue, to become reconceptualized as an entire park with pathways, stairs, seating, and an amphitheater. In this space, the casual stroller or the concert goer may slow down, see and be seen, socialize, or simply walk in the seeming privacy that a set of earphones bestows.
\nThe condition of seeing and being seen, reproduced within the National Concert Hall, also serves to define the main boundaries of the building and its negotiation with the site. The north end of the building, in allowing the hill to permeate into its main mingling spaces like the intermission lounges and entry hall, works to produce a continuous field of sociable space between building and site.<\/p>\n

The skin of the National Concert Hall continues the elevation of the landscape and unifies it with the main building volume. Conceived as an ETFE dress draped over the building and its immediate site, it reads from below the Tauras Hill as a continuation of the hill, with the lower portion of the drape lifted up so as to reveal the entry hall. Besides operating symbolically as a kind of completion of the hill\u2019s top, it also directly responds to the
\nheavy-looking Soviet era Union Building by embracing a more dematerialized, lightweight form, the opposite of what stood there before.<\/p>\n

In considering the program distribution within the building, crowd flow and comfort were of great importance. To ensure that the spaces are able to maintain multiple events simultaneously, bathrooms and bars are distributed with enough frequency through the building. This allows for a small hall event to take place at the same time as a grand hall event, while maintaining its crowds separate. Such distribution also enhances comfort during intermission times. Interconnected ramps within the building enhance accessibility and allow for softer transitions between the spaces.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, in order to ensure efficient functioning, our proposal enhances upkeep and maintenance operations. It incorporates a direct access between loading area and the grand and small halls to allow for smooth transportation of instruments. Instrument storage at stage level also allows for ease of storage between performances.<\/p>\n

The main programs of the building are distributed vertically, and consist of three main parts: the small hall, the entry hall, and the grand hall. Such layout places the entry hall at level with the hill, making for ease of access, and distributes the crowds upward to the grand hall and downward to the small hall. The hill, operating as a continuous field that extends into the building, becomes pressed in between the volumes comprising the grand hall and the small hall, forming the entry hall. The grand hall communicates its presence to the entry hall bellow through a cladded copper underbelly, while the small hall pushes upward from below, lifting the ground floor so as to create graded seating and a staircase.Opening up to a wide multipurpose seating gallery that also functions as a staircase, the entry hall is flanked by an exhibition space as well as a restaurant and cafe. In our conception of the National Concert Hall, we envisioned the entry hall as a continuation of the hill as well as a space to see and be seen.<\/p>\n

We studied early shoebox types such as the Vienna Musikverein, with the intention of exploiting the concordance between acoustic performance and architectural composition. Surface composition in early halls, like that of the Boston Symphony Hall, reveals a preference for flat and smooth surfaces closest to the audience, and more complexity with varying depth as it moves away, toward the upper portions of the hall and the ceiling. This composition followed from a pre-digital understanding of reverberation, with its first reflection requiring a directness and clarity of sound, the later ones needing more complexity and richness achieved by their interaction with ceiling coffers, deep aediculae, and other heavily ornamented architectural elements.
\nOur design for the grand hall is conceived as a reformulation of traditional acoustic principles through algorithm-driven software. Taking up the role of traditional ornament which commonly provided the necessary irregularities for rich late reverberation, our computationally-derived surfaces ensure acoustic excellence while pushing experimentation and innovation. As well, unlike traditional concert halls, our design incorporates a full glass wall, so as to generate a direct connection with the site and the city to the north. Its corrugation and its double-layering allow it to perform acoustically.<\/p>\n

In an urban network whose factor of mobility is of great importance, Tauras Hill presents an opportunity for the site to perform symbolically. Occupying one of the highest points in Vilnius, the site would operate as a theatre at the urban scale, offering the city back to its citizens in the form of a backdrop to outdoor plays and concerts. Benefiting from the efforts of the city to regulate heights and protect heritage views, the citizens would be able to enjoy uninterrupted views from the hill, while the site and building itself would be made visible from the city. This would allow the National Concert Hall to exert influence over the surrounding urban areas, acting as a beacon for culture.
\nBesides being able to host multiple events simultaneously, the spaces within the building are equipped to host a variety of events that require different spatial or acoustic configurations. The small hall, requiring spatial as well as acoustic flexibility, employs a telescopic seating system as well as an adaptable stage. This allows the space to be transformed for each event, while ensuring that the acoustic performance is maintained. The stage can be lowered to be at the same level with the ground, while the seating can be folded and stored away, leaving the entire floor open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":569,"template":"","project_type":[27],"project_location":[16],"class_list":["post-1188","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_type-cultural","project_location-vilnius-lithuania"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVilnius National Concert Hall | PARTISANS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"PARTISANS designs the Vilnius National Concert Hall on Tauras Hill, merging acoustic innovation, ETFE architecture, and sustainable civic space.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vilnius National Concert Hall | PARTISANS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PARTISANS designs the Vilnius National Concert Hall on Tauras Hill, merging acoustic innovation, ETFE architecture, and sustainable civic space.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PARTISANS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-27T21:18:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Project_21_201903_N13.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1379\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1125\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/\",\"name\":\"Vilnius National Concert Hall | PARTISANS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Project_21_201903_N13.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-08T21:20:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-27T21:18:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"PARTISANS designs the Vilnius National Concert Hall on Tauras Hill, merging acoustic innovation, ETFE architecture, and sustainable civic space.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Project_21_201903_N13.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Project_21_201903_N13.jpg\",\"width\":1379,\"height\":1125,\"caption\":\"A luminous, ribbed-glass volume cantilevers dramatically over a sculpted earthwork base, approached by a winding boardwalk through rolling green hills. The building's warm interior glow radiates through its translucent facade at dusk, uniting architecture with the surrounding landscape.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Projects\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Vilnius National Concert Hall\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/\",\"name\":\"Partisans\",\"description\":\"Don't Hire Us. Join Us.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/partisans.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Vilnius National Concert Hall | PARTISANS","description":"PARTISANS designs the Vilnius National Concert Hall on Tauras Hill, merging acoustic innovation, ETFE architecture, and sustainable civic space.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vilnius National Concert Hall | PARTISANS","og_description":"PARTISANS designs the Vilnius National Concert Hall on Tauras Hill, merging acoustic innovation, ETFE architecture, and sustainable civic space.","og_url":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/","og_site_name":"PARTISANS","article_modified_time":"2026-04-27T21:18:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1379,"height":1125,"url":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Project_21_201903_N13.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/","url":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/","name":"Vilnius National Concert Hall | PARTISANS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Project_21_201903_N13.jpg","datePublished":"2019-07-08T21:20:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-27T21:18:11+00:00","description":"PARTISANS designs the Vilnius National Concert Hall on Tauras Hill, merging acoustic innovation, ETFE architecture, and sustainable civic space.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Project_21_201903_N13.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Project_21_201903_N13.jpg","width":1379,"height":1125,"caption":"A luminous, ribbed-glass volume cantilevers dramatically over a sculpted earthwork base, approached by a winding boardwalk through rolling green hills. The building's warm interior glow radiates through its translucent facade at dusk, uniting architecture with the surrounding landscape."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/vilnius-national-concert-hall\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Projects","item":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/project\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Vilnius National Concert Hall"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/","name":"Partisans","description":"Don't Hire Us. Join Us.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/partisans-api\/wp\/v2\/project\/1188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/partisans-api\/wp\/v2\/project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/partisans-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/project"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/partisans-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/partisans-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/partisans-api\/wp\/v2\/project_type?post=1188"},{"taxonomy":"project_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partisans.com\/partisans-api\/wp\/v2\/project_location?post=1188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}