The “Mantas House” in Klaipeda

About object:

The “Mantas House“, a complex, housing both residential and commercial premises, is built in an important location in Klaipeda, i. e. by the central H. Mantas street and Mazvydas alley – the city’s only pedestrian street. Previously twin residential buildings in Stalin’s era architectural style with commercial premises on the ground floor stood on both sides of H. Mantas street like the gates to the city. The location’s strategic character determined the demolition of one of the said buildings and when the new building was designed, the architects, in their own words “attempted not to violate the third parties’ interests and keep the scale of Klaipeda’s new town. Certainly, the historical construction lines were observed – the new structure, as did its precursor, shapes the perimeter of H. Mantas street and Mazvydas alley.
Thus one building was born of three different volumes, different in proportion, facades and character. The architectural solution optically reduced the size of the structure and helped to harmoniously integrate the building into the existing environment. On the other hand, the attractive details, and the architectural solutions, uncharacteristic to Klaipeda tell that “Mantas House” is a newcomer. However that is a phenomenon, acceptable to a port city, the important thing is that the high-quality architectural line is continued further and is not interrupted upon first glance.

A. Stelbiene