More space for business
Andrius Mikalauskas, Head of Urban LIVE, the SBA company developing Nemunaičiai: „In the summer, we started the development of the second phase of Nemunaičiai – the business centre Hermanas and the residential project Pasaka are under construction. In our near-future plans, we also have a new office building named in honour of Hermanas Minkovski's brother, Oskaras, located on H. and O. Minkovskių Street. We plan Oskaras as a high-end, 7880 sqm, 6-storey A++ class business centre“.
A. Mikalauskas continues: „Oskaras business centre aims to achieve BREEAM New Construction sustainability and WELL employee well-being certifications. The architectural concept of the new business centre differs from its counterpart: Oskaras is designed as a bold manifesto—featuring refined lines and forms, without excessive ornamentation, large windows, and ceilings reaching up to 4 meters. Such architectural solutions are among the first in Kaunas. Although we placed a lot of emphasis on aesthetics, the internal spaces are equally important in this business centre. We are creating a 16-metre-high interior atrium with an exceptional design. There will be a lounge, communal areas, a café, and exceptional light compositions“.
A new architectural force for Kaunas modernism
SBA Urban will offer 200–3850 sqm of office space for businesses, much of which overlooks the Nemunas River. The floors will also include shared and individually tailored outdoor terraces for tenants, ranging from 40 to 185 sqm.
According to A. Mikalauskas, one of the biggest challenges in developing this business centre and the entire Nemunaičiai district is to use world-class architects to turn a page of architecture in developing the new Kaunas city centre. Over time, this would establish a new standard—just as the interwar modernist architecture once made Kaunas famous.
A. Mikalauskas concludes: „As we implement future projects, the sense of the left bank of the Nemunas River being reborn with a metropolitan character will remain. Oskaras will rise at the axis of the newly built pedestrian bridge and, I have no doubt, will become a symbolic gateway to the new centre of Kaunas. The SBA Urban team and I are giving it special attention“.
This is the second project SBA Urban is working on in Lithuania with Gensler Architects. The first is Vėjo Miestelis (Wind Town), developed in Svencelė. Meanwhile, A. Kančas studio and SBA also designed the architecture of another Kaunas business centre on the bank of the Neris River, Kauno Dokas.