Portfolio - Agne Selemonaite

A.

2005 / 2010

HELLO. I’m an architect & urban designer Welcome to the summary of my most exciting past 5 years of work in Lithuania and the UK. Agne Selemonaite 2005 / 2010

Excitement. is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase.

Timothy Ferris

A.

“Agne is one of those rare people who manages to combine a serious approach to her work with a winning personality with great social skills. She has developed a very positive reputation with Birmingham’s professional design community.

She is an able and effective negotiator with developers and their architects securing significant improvements and change that will have a far reaching impact on the quality of the city centre. As well as her impressive design skills Agne brings an academic rigour and thorough understanding of international best practice based on research, knowledge and experience, to all areas of her work.”

Nigel Edmondson, City Centre Design Manager, BCC “Agne is an intelligent designer ad possesses initiative, dedication, and good self-organisation. She is one of our best graduates and I’m proud that she has done good work since.”

Joe Holyoak, Architect & Urban Designer, former Director of the MA Urban Design at BCU (UK).

Work history Birmingham City Council (Birmingham, UK)

since 06 2008

2T studio (Vilnius, LT)

since 01 2008

Culture Jam Ltd. & JKLJS (LT & UK)

since 2007

RPS Design (Birmingham, UK)

01 2007 – 01 2008

Halcrow Group Ltd. (Birmingham, UK)

01 2006 – 01 2007

Freelance (LT & UK)

since 2005

My interests Besides my passion for Urbanism, I am a co-founder and creative director of Culture Jam Ltd. - arts and culture organisation in the UK. As such, I am constantly involved in a number of international music and cultural events. My special interest is in music, street & visual arts and dance. Self development and new age phylosophy is one of my most explored topics at the moment.

CONTENt.

URBAN DESIGN. Big City Plan (UK) Greater Icknield Port (UK) Birmingham House (UK) North Priory in Dudley (UK) The Maze Prison Regeneration (UK)

ARCHITECTURE. Countryside function venue (LT) Druskininkai Apartment Block (LT) Birmingham City Centre Developments (UK)

COMPETITIONS. Business Triangle (LT) Sports & Congress Complex (LT)

URBAN DESIGN.

BIG CITY PLAN. (UK) 2010 Client: Birmingham City Council “Is the Big City Plan an inspiring document? Yes.” The Birmingham Post, 2010

“This is the most comprehensive destinations toolkit the city council has produced for the development agenda for a generation.”

Neil Rami, chief executive at Marketing Birmingham

CITY CENTRE MASTERPLAN Sept 2010

SUTTON COLDFIELD

KINGSTANDING

PERRY BARR

ICKNIELD PORT

Glenn Howells of Glenn Howells Architects.

LOZELLS, NEWTOWN & ASTON

BIG CITY PLAN

EDGBASTON

“This is the most readable planning document, I’ve ever seen”

BALSALL HEATH SPARKHILL

SELLY OAK

Stephen Hughes, chief Executive if Birmingham City Council

MOSELEY

KINGS HEATH BOURNVILLE

NORTHFIELD

LONGBRIDGE

KINGS NORTON

© Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Birmingham City Council 100021326, 2010.

The Big City Plan (BCP) is the most ambitious, development project ever undertaken in the UK. This masterplan sets out a clear vision for the future growth and defines how more than 800 ha of land in city centre will be developed over the next 20 years.

This masterplan is about delivering transformational change in the city centre by supporting sustainable growth, creating new and improved public spaces, giving streets back to pedestrians and bringing cultural life of Birmingham to the heart of the city.

GUNSMITHS QUARTER

JEWELLERY QUARTER EASTSIDE

CITY CORE

WESTSIDE & LADYWOOD

DIGBETH

SOUTHSIDE & HIGHGATE

The masterplan was based on 5 key elements identified by Prof. Michael Parkinson. These should form city’s main focus in order to create a successful and competitive city centre: Innovation & skills; Economic & cultural diversity; Connectivity; Place quality; and Strategic Decision Making.

BORDESLEY PARK

HARBORNE

When I was invited to join the City Centre Development Team led by Waheed Nazir director of Planning & Regeneration - and take a leading role for design of the BCP Masterplan, I took it with great enthusiasm to solve the most complex puzzle of urban challenges in the city.

ERDINGTON

HS2

“This is the first time I’ve seen clear suggestions creating a fantastic, workable city.”

HANDSWORTH

ACOCKS GREEN

HS2

EASTERN GROWTH AREA

NEC BHX

Walsall

Wolverhampton

Newtown

The masterplan does the following: Jewellery Quarter St. Paul’s Snow Hill

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Moor Street & HS2 Stations

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Bull St.

ea dw ay

Aston University

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Colmore Row

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Eastside

Corporation St. New Street Ladywood

Centenary Square

Sheldon

Birmingham International Airport, HS2 Interchange & Train Station

• Identifies city’s priorities for main transformational areas delivering over 1.5mln. m² of new floorspace, over 50,000 new jobs and contributing £2.1 billion to the economy each year.

• Identifies key projects to deliver over 65,000 m² of new and improved public spaces and 28 km of enhanced walking and cycling routes.

Broad Street

Five Ways

Edgbaston

Bearwood interchange

Quinton

Birmingham University University Hospital

Longbridge

• Sets out a movement framework transforming connectivity.

• Explores the evolution of land uses and activities, locations for tall buildings and the role of heritage.

• Sets out visionary proposals for each of the city centre quarters.

• Fully integrates sustainable development as part of the future transformation of the city centre.

This agenda is guided by a spatial strategy presented in most expressive graphics.

Until 2010, over £1 billion of public investment in the city centre were committed in the last 3 years as part of the BCP. Most important - the masterplan will not just be the city council’s vision, but one owned by a range of public and private sector organisations.

The document is available for download on www.bigcityplan.org.uk

Open spaces

GUNSMITHS QUARTER

17

major developments Rail viaducts M

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Mailbox underpass NEW - New Street Station Square Rotunda Square

16 & Moat Square NEW - St. Martin’s

12 Colmore Plaza

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Primary walking routes Local walking routes W RO A38 Corridor RE O Major road LMinterventions and CO pedestrian crossing improved

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Chamberlains Square

11 Old Square

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2New open spaces

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Victoria Square

10 NEW- Eastside Square

Existing open spaces

13 Snow Hill Plaza 14 St. Chad’s public realm 11 15 NEW - Lancaster Circus open space interventions

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16 Corporation St. open space 17

NEW - other key opportunities for various open spaces

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URBAN STRUCTURE in 7 20 years 9

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CITY CORE

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NEW S TREE T

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URBAN STRUCTURE at present

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St. Paul’s Square 15

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Church St public realm improvement

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SOUTHSIDE & HIGHGATE

St.Philip’s Churchyard

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DIGBETH

1 2 W A Q Y S 3 Metro stops AD CH 4 T Access to rail stations S 5 14 Existing block structure 17 6 Prposed high speed rail viaduct 7 Blocks within various major 8 17 transformation areas 9 Blocks forming part of other Rail stations

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WESTSIDE & LADYWOOD

EASTSIDE

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CITY CORE

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KEY

JEWELLERY QUARTER

CITY CORE

Quarter boundary Business District & New Street Station Increased permeability & access Pedestrian connections

GREATER ICKNIELD ICKNIELD PORT LOOP. PORT. (UK) (UK)2010 2009Client: Client:Birmingham BirminghamCity CityCouncil Council The city of Birmingham anticipates its population growth by 10% in next 20 years. One of the strategic city’s growth areas to the West of the city centre is to be transformed to sustainable urban neighbourhood called Greater Icknield Port.

The 400ha area has a tremendous potential due to its ‘blue’ infrastructure – 28ha reservoir and 2 loops of canal system.

Greater Icknield Port will show the way for high quality design and sustainable community living in Birmingham. It aims to address a wide range of social, economic and environmental sustainability needs through its land use, environment and open space proposals.

After several attempts to design the area by London based consultants, our City Design Team were appointed to create the urban design vision for the area. By improving

water, cycling, foot and rail infrastructure we made sure the activity clusters for residents’ primary needs are distributed around public transport access points and sensibly mixed to avoid monotonous developments. The idea for the area is that urban life and activities will be organised in a structure that is closer and denser. It will lead the way in energy efficient new family based models of medium to high density housing as well as refurbishment of existing buildings in the area. This new community will be supported by a wide range of local shopping, credible urban spaces, community facilities, working opportunities, and open spaces as well as accessible public transport and walking options to reduce reliance on the car.

It is anticipated that Greater Icknield Port will provide 6000 new homes. This urban vision will inform the Development Framework to form the base guidelines for future developments.

BIRMINGHAM HOUSE. (UK) 2009 Client: Birmingham City Council The Birmingham House is about three things: • Birmingham • City centre living • Challenged living space standards In 2009, BCC decided to address the increasing city centre housing challenges and search for new design talent. The competition brief was created looking for invention and innovation within the region to challenge the norm.

My role was to oversee the design process working with BRE and BCU, ensuring that all base research, analysis, presentation and outcomes are thought-provoking and that these key urban challenges visually presented in most expressive way.

A site was chosen to provide a city centre context. As a design exemplar it would have aimed to demonstrate how the Birmingham House can be a transformed into typology, which would respond to the context of other sites and places within Birmingham.

This new typology should seek to respond to increasing demand for housing and decreasing affordability in city centre as well as the aspiration of many households who wish to live in the city centre environs, in preference to the suburbs. The Birmingham House then, seeks to deliver a low impact, affordable, adaptable and sustainable housing typology that is distinct to Birmingham and the requirements of its diverse population in the 21st century.

NORTH PRIORY in DUDLEY. (UK) 2007 Client: WMHG & Persimmon Plc. Together with RPS Design, Persimmon Homes and Space 4 teams I have developed various options to transform the area of North Priory in Dudley, UK. The area of 6.5ha was to be transformed into a new residential neighbourhood of 330 new homes with exciting green infrastructure featured with a re-created old mine tramway route and reused rail track. The main theme ‘reflect and connect’ was to work as a synergy between the North Priory industrial heritage of the site and nearby major regeneration projects that are happening in near future.

Our team worked on urban design strategy and new affordable housing design typology to be adopted by Persimmon homes Ltd. The project was listed second during the tender process by the Dudley City Council.

THE MAZE PRISON REGENERATION. (UK) 2007 Client: Governmnet of N. Ireland For more than 25 years the notorious Maze Prison was home to hundreds of the most dangerous men in the world.

RPS Design team was appointed to masterplan a 140ha of historical area of Her Majesty’s Prison Maze (known as The H Blocks or The Maze), which was a famous prison used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Northern Ireland Troubles from 1971 to 2000.

The hospital and part of the H-Blocks – where prisoners convicted of terrorist offences were housed - are currently listed buildings, and would remain as part of the proposed site redevelopment as a conflict transformation centre. The design concept illustrated below on the left shows how the two most controversial elements - a 42,500-seater stadium and a conflict transformation centre - are to be married together.

In addition of new rail link, further masterplan elements included: a rural excellence and equestrian zone featuring an international exhibition centre and showground and other mixed use developments.

This was my first real large scale development project, which started at the strategic planning level and was taken into detailed masterplanning of Phase 1 area north of the stadium.

Due to changes of political powers in the government of N. Ireland, the project commission was discontinued and it never appeared in public domain.

ARCHITECTURE.

COUNTRYSIDE FUNCTION VENUE. (LT) 2006 Client: Private owner One of my few architectural works - a 500sq.m private commission for a multi functional venue located on a former site of manor house estate in South Lithuania.

The area is located within one of the most beautiful peninsulas of the lake Veisiejis.

Subtle design of the building was influenced by its majestic setting of centuries-old oaks and water surrounding the island from three sides. The building is constructed from re-used bricks, timber and stone. At the moment it is used as a conference, wedding, meeting and celebrations venue and is capable to accommodate up to 70 people on its first floor.

My involvement included all parts from conceptual design to technical detailing and interior design of the building.

More information about the venue and services to be found in www.kotrynossala.lt (Lithuanian only)

Site location - Kotrynos peninsula in the lake Veisiejis (top right) Main entrance facade (bottom right) Interior of the function hall (opposite top) Terrace in the shade of the oaks overlooking the lake (opposite bottom)

DRUSKININKAI APARTMENT BLOCK. (LT) 2008 Client: Re&Solution Lithuania While working with 2T studio team, we were comissioned to design this funky block in South of Lithuania. The client asked for trendy intervention with a dash of historical response to city heritage. As a response we designed a contemporary version of a region’s characteristic wood dominated architecture with modern interpretation of carved elements and copper roof cladding.

The building is located on the lake side within the city centre of the most graceful resort in Lithuania - Druskininkai. The 5 house blocks are ‘skewed’ with communal gallery space and staircase access. This volume gives human scale to the block and flirts with historical environment. Ground floor will be filled with mixed activities, while the secured play area is enclosed at the back of the site.

There are 15 residential units varying in size between 60 to 95sq m per unit. All the living spaces have balconies or terraces overlooking the lake and park on the Southern side. The underground car park with 18 parking spaces is accessed from internal courtyard where we have introduced special wooden landscape details to imrpve the quality of living environment.

Our involvement included conceptual design with technical plan to follow.

Site masterplan (top) Courtyard at the back with play areas (bottom) Street view (opposite page)

BIRMINGHAM CITY CENTRE DEVELOPMENTS. (UK) 2008-2010 Client: Birmingham City Council Working with City Design Team as a Senior Urban Designer and Architect for the city centre of Birmingham, I have been directly involved with major City Centre Schemes, projects and initiatives. I have been commenting on key development applications, negotiating with developers and their architects securing significant changes and achieving design excellence and quality of city’s architecture.

I have contributed to major projects such as the £650 million New Street Station development bringing focussed knowledge and advice to key meetings with project managers and contractors.

Other architectural projects involved £193 million mega-library, designed by Dutch practice Mecanoo to be completed in 2013; Birmingham’s first major city centre park in 125 years –Eastside City Park; The Magistrate Courts designed by Denton Corker Marshall and many more.

Library of Birmingham by Mecanoo (top) Eastside City Park by Patel Taylor (bottom) Student acommodation by Formroom Architects before the design advice (opposite top left) and after as approved Planning Application (opposite top right) New Street Station by FOA (opposite bottom)

COMPETITIONS.

BUSINESS TRIANGLE. (LT) 2008 Client: MG Valda & Vilnius Municipality A 2nd urban design competition that I participated with 2T and EGL studio teams in Lithuania.

The competition brief asked for design proposals for 70.000 m² mixed use development, which shows clear reorganisation and re-structure of the existing urban mess. It sought to improve area’s identity and become ‘friendly’ to its built environment. The main issues within the area at present: • It is overloaded with cars • Nobody is left in the area after 6pm.

We looked at options to integrate the business triangle quarter into the city-centrewide cycling, walking and river transport

network. The driver of our design was a ribbon of quality public and private spaces creating a journey of different experiences from the riverside to the city. The aim is to improve the riverside so it becomes a magnet and inspires people leave their vehicles and enjoy peaceful walking, cycling or boating through the area. Consequently these spaces would trigger more diverse economy, which functions throughout the day-evening-night attracting a variety of people and function into the area. The architecture would functions as a bond between spaces and set a background for public realm.

The design proposal was acknowledged with a special prize for remarkable and original ideas for business area in central Vilnius.

SPORT & CONGRESS COMPLEX. (LT) 2008 Client: Ukio bankas & Vilnius Municipality

by introducing new themes leading into and out of the city centre, home and work places around the area. This site is on the crossroads of many potential roads, which now pass around rather than through the area.

This was our 1st international urban design competition where I was working with 2T studio and EGL design teams on one of the most strategically important areas within central Vilnius.

The area accommodating the Sports Palace and the largest city’s football stadium of Zalgiris was to be transformed into the area as a Sports & Congress complex. It includes the iconic Sports Palace built in 1971, which is an example of Soviet Constructivism and Brutalist architecture, remarkable for its vessel-like exterior. The Palace is one of the architectonic icons of Soviet Vilnius now listed for its cultural values.

In addition the area accommodated 65.000m² of residential, retail, office, hotel and other uses.

The scheme was awarded with 2nd prize for outstanding urban design solutions creating continuous urban landscape within old town preservation environs; systematic and functionally integrated network of public spaces; sustainable architectural solutions; transport and pedestrian links to the adjoining areas.

Our aim was to infuse the urban life around the magnificent structure of Sports Palace

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THANK YOU.

none of this would have happened without: UK: Nigel Edmondson, Waheed Nazir, Andrew Round, Simon

Ltd., Mike Rawlinson & City ID, David Tittle & MADE, Malcolm

Delahunty-Forrest, Waylind Bester, Richard Cowell, Patricia

Griffiths, Felipe Guzman, Jeremy Ward, Stephen Miles, JKLJS

Gomez, Dom Murphy, Mandeep Malhi, Fiona Walker, Andrew

Team.

Wayro, Bharat Patel, Ken Dovey, Colin Smith, Tony White,

LT: Ruta Selemoniene, Antanas Krutulis, Andrius Pekarskas,

Jenny Walters, Martin Wright, Michael Shaw, Kate Snell,

Tomas Umbrasas, Tomas Jakovlevas, Neringa ir Aidas

Andrew Buckerfield, Hanry Cross, David Lloyd, Jim Wilson,

Zablackai, Ricardas Pruskus, Valdas Jankauskas, Alvydas

Terry Perkins, Pauline Grey, Adell Finn, Wendy Wilson, Barbara

Jatkialo, Rokas Kontvainis, Valdas Jatkialo, Audrius Šakas,

Hathaway, Gary Woodward, Kevan Spink, Ghaz Hussain, Amy

Rimante Vaitekonyte, Agne Bilkyte, Egle Lauckaite, Linas

Moloney, John Westoby, Clive Dutton, Philip Singleton, Noha

Karmaza, Eugenijus Žarkovskis, Gediminas Tunaitis

Nasser, Joe Holyoak, Jenny Peet, Claire Farrell, Glenn Howells, Birmingham Developments Ltd., Associated Architects, MAKE

My family & friends...

Birmingham, Neil Rami, Formroom Architects, Argent Group

For extensive list of my CV, work and collaboration ideas CONTACT ME:

agne@icanfunk.com

www.icanfunk.com