The new concert centre for Kaunas, named after writer, painter and composer M K Ciurlionis, will provide a world-class performance venue in the European Capital of Culture 2022.

Located in a prominent site on the south bank of the River Nemunas, the Concert Centre will be a catalyst to relocating the centre of Kaunas life towards the river. Linked to the historic old town by a curving new pedestrian and cycle bridge, the Centre is a space where the culture of the city meets the tranquillity of the water meadows. The landscape scheme creates a riverside park with a natural amphitheatre which will be a venue for informal performance.

The Centre will comprise: a 1,500-seat Concert Hall; a smaller, secondary hall; conferencing facilities; a restaurant, café and bar; back-of-house and office spaces; and underground parking.

Gathering spaces to east and west of the new building and on the roof terrace gives a sense of occasion to events and the public foyer will become animated in celebration of the audience itself, recalling the great European concert halls of the fin de siècle.

Raised high on the riverbank, the primary west façade captures views over the river, the bridge and the old town. The ventilation chimney, which allows the concert halls to be naturally ventilated, provides a vertical marker for the architecture of the building, referencing the church towers of old Kaunas as well as the industrial silos of Alexotas.

FCBStudios’ design was shortlisted in an anonymous international architectural competition and was placed as one of three finalists.