Vilnius residents are invited to the opening celebration of Šnipiškiau Square: live music and entertainment for children awaits | Business

After the garages were erected, the 84-acre plot between Kintos and Giedraičiai streets was equipped with Šnipiškių Square – the main space for community outdoor events with sports and children’s playgrounds, an original walking path-bridge and terraces with seating.

“During the Snipiški transformations, we pay great attention to the creation of a network of public spaces. We hope that this square will become not only a place for neighbors’ gatherings and celebrations, but also for employees of the surrounding offices. Šnipiškės are changing – they accommodate both traditional wooden buildings that have preserved their originality, and modern offices. We are creating a diverse, multi-layered city, where we give priority to the needs of communities,” says Vilnius City Mayor Valdas Benkunskas.

Saulius Žiura’s photo/Šnipiškiau Square

At the opening celebration of Snipiškii on April 16. folk group “Kūjeliai” will perform, whose energetic and sincere live performances create a fun mood. There will also be entertainment for the whole family – children will be invited to drawing education and a soap bubble show. Attendees will be treated to waffles and hot drinks.

The renovation and installation of Šnipiškiau Square cost 1.95 million. EUR, of which 1.2 million allocated from the EU Regional Development Fund. The municipality allocated 586 thousand for the construction of the square. EUR, the rest – state budget funds.

The project was prepared taking into account the desire of the community to have as many functional areas as possible in the square. The name of Šnipiškiau Square was also chosen by the community itself.

“During the design, we thought for a long time regarding how the new space should connect the very different cityscapes surrounding the future square: old wooden houses on the east side, new apartment buildings rising in the south and north, and the historical buildings of Kintos Street on the west side. This changing place required atypical solutions and an unusual structure of space, therefore a circle was chosen as the main element of the architectural composition, symbolizing unity, growth and completeness”, said one of the authors of the project, ID Vilnius architect Paulius Jonys.

Saulius Žiura’s photo/Šnipiškiau Square

There is a square in the center of the public space, surrounded by an original pedestrian bridge, following stepping on it it is convenient to view the wooden Šnipiške. There are terraced seating areas nearby, so this place is perfect for small concerts and events.

According to the architect P. Jonis, the main functions are focused on the center of the square, so all the participants of the space can easily see each other, this should promote closeness and community among the neighbors. At the request of the residents, large meadows were formed, where the community will be able to comfortably organize events and activities.

The central square is dominated by natural materials – stone, wooden benches and a path, stone paths. The history of Šnipiškii is much older, when a wide river flowed here during the Ice Age, meaning a fountain-river, in the course of which you can observe the tides and tides of water.

Next to the central square, there is a children’s playground with a soft rubber surface with swings, swings, net hammocks, and a trampoline. On the side is a sports area with a soft rubber basketball court. There is a stationary tavern near the sports area, and a stationary public toilet near the walking bridge.

A great deal of attention was paid to universal design solutions, adapting all areas for comfortable use by persons with limited mobility.

It is expected that this public space will grow together with the community of Šnipiškii, who have expressed their expectations since the beginning of the project and participated not only in choosing the name of the future square, but also in creating the program of activities for this space. In addition, there is a place for artistic accents both on the paving of the square and in the very center of the square.

Snipiškii Square resembles a city garden with apple trees and decorative fruit trees. Broadleaf pears, apple trees, chestnut trees, sycamores and silver maples, rocking willows, Japanese rowan trees, black pines – a total of 62 trees are planted in it. Newly planted olives, jasmines, forsythias and Japanese and birch-leaved lichens will bloom in the spring, and junipers planted here will purify the air.

“Good weather traditionally attracts Vilnius people to the outdoors, they often choose to spend time in the city center. From now on, we will have another space in this part of the city where people of all ages and interests will feel comfortable. We searched for solutions for how this place should look together with the community, which had really valuable suggestions and insights”, says L. Joffė, head of the Vilnius development company.

The square was designed by UAB “ID Vilnius”, the implementation of the project was supervised by UAB “Vilniaus vystymo kompaniya”, and the installation work was carried out by the construction company UAB “Skomintos statyba”.