Rumpiškė Regeneration

Location: Klaipėda, Lithuania Year: In 2015, the urban vision was adopted. Implementation started 2021 and is currently ongoing Architects: Urbanism studio PUPA (www. pu-pa.eu) created the urban vision and implemented projects of renovation of Vaidila square and Oak park. Housing renovation done by several businesses, including UAB Progresyvūs projektai. Renovation of public courtyards by UAB Kelprojektas and UAB Sweco Lietuva. Architects and authors: PUPA team: Tadas Jonauskis, Justina Muliuolytė, Edita Gumauskaitė, Laima Čijunskaitė, Lukas Kulikauskas, Ignas Račkauskas, Augustas Makrickas, Artūras Čertovas, Gytis Aglinskas Photographer: Norbert Tukaj, Rūta Leitanaitė. Rumpiškė and Kaunas residential districts in the city of Klaipėda, like majority of the post-war housing districts, were planned and built with public spaces and integrated with local service centres and social infrastructure. During more than 50 years of existence without any renovation, these residential estates were slowly degrading physically and visually.

When the opportunity of direct EU financial aid to improve public spaces arose, the City has chosen several problematic areas to be worked on, with Rumpiškė and Kaunas districts topping their list.

A public tender for the urban vision for the Rumpiškė district favoured a vision proposed by the Pupa studio. This vision encompassed solutions for improvement of the courtyards, public spaces, parking lots, including some proposals for renovation and even extension of the houses. The local community was invited to participate in the process of the vision-making through the series of workshops and discussions. The solutions were presented in situ (presentations, renders, models), on Pupa website and other media.

After the urban vision was adopted by the City in 2015, several different projects were designed and procured according to it. As the program of financial institutions differed from that of the initiators, the renovation process was divided into separate tasks and areas (renovation of buildings, courtyards and public spaces, such as the Oak park or Vaidila square – the latter two won by Pupa in architectural competitions). The regeneration of the public spaces and the courtyards is being managed by the City. The renovation of the buildings (each house separately) is decided by the communities of residents themselves.

Despite these circumstances, the regeneration of the area is proceeding happily. The “virus” of getting an uplift of one’s living environment is spreading, proving that the best argumentation is a real example.