The 20th century was a unique and extremely interesting period in Europe and the Vilnius Region. New materials such as glass, concrete and steel became an integral part of the architect’s daily routine, contributing to the creation of new and functional architecture. New artistic styles such as Cubism, De Stijl, Surrealism and Constructivism began to emerge in a similar period, which had a direct influence on the development of architecture. The statements “ornament is crime” or “form follows function” became popular and were used by modernists such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and others. The early modern architecture movement was also followed by young Polish architects from Warsaw, such as Barbara Brukalska and Stanisław Brukalski, Bohdan Lachert, Szymon and Helena Syrkus, Jerzy Sołtan and others. When the Vilnius Region became part of Poland, there was a great incentive to renew the region. The community unenthusiastically accepted the new modernist avant-garde ideas, so until the 1930s, the architecture of Vilnius was dominated by modernised neoclassical and neo-baroque forms (Antakalnis Secondary School (1931), Vilnius College of Technology and Design, Faculty of Engineering (1926)). The first examples of avant-garde modernist architecture appeared with the establishment of state institutions, such as the branch of the Polish Regional Bank, a branch of the Savings Bank, etc. The situation was similar in the architecture of residential buildings and apartment blocks. We invite you to take a closer look at the buildings in the centre of Vilnius and admire their modern forms.
Interwar Modernism
How form followed function
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1. The house of Witold Žemojtel
The building was designed in 1938 by the Polish architect Antoni Forkiewicz. In Vilnius between the wars, most of the houses of this type were designe...
2. Accommodation for students of Stephen Báthory University
In the interwar period, there was a shortage of living and leisure space for the students of Stephen Báthory University, so the construction of a new ...
3. Residential building
The house was designed in 1938 by the Jewish architect Isaac Smorgonski. The building is characterised by a clear asymmetry and dynamism. The composit...
4. Antoni Kiakszto’s Villa (Now the ‘Venclova House-Museum’)
This two-storey villa was designed in 1938 by two famous Vilnius architects, Jan Borowski and Isaac Smorgonski. The architectural duo also designed th...
5. The Pawn Shop (now restaurants and offices)
One of the more interesting buildings of interwar Vilnius modernist architecture is the pawn shop. Previously located on Trakų Street, the pawn shop h...
6. The Jabłkowski Trade House (now shops and offices)
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Zawadski brothers (Władysław and Adam) began building modern department stores in Vilnius. This building was...
7. Savings bank building (now the Gedimino branch of a bank – SEB)
The Vilnius branch of the State Savings Bank (Powszechna kasa oszczednosci as it was called in Polish) was designed by the Warsaw architects Juliusz Ż...
8. Branch of the Polish Regional Economy Bank (now commercial and office premises)
This branch of the Polish Regional Economy Bank or Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (in Polish) in Vilnius was designed by Jerzy Pańkowski and Stanisław Ga...
9. Officers’ Residential Quarters
In the 1920s, there was a shortage of apartments for the military, and on the initiative of Józef Pilsudski, the Army Accommodation Fund was set up. T...
10. M. Deul’s small apartment building for rent
The apartment block, with its proportional shapes and a distinctly modern style, was designed by the duo of architects M. Cholem and S. Bukowski. The ...
11. Social insurance company building with an apartment block for rent (now a café, office building, pharmacy, and clinic)
The Polish Social Insurance Company was founded in 1934, at which time branches were established in Vilnius, Warsaw and other cities. The competition ...
12. Chamber of Commerce and Crafts (now the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania)
The Chamber of Commerce and Crafts in Vilnius was established in 1929, covering the territory of the provinces of Vilnius, Białystok, Novogrudok and P...
13. David Strugacz’s apartment building for rent
The four-storey building is structurally integrated into the perimeter of the street. Two ground-floor overhangs of varying sizes are pulled forward a...