Klaipėda FEZ unveils the Curonia campus

Klaipėda Free Economic Zone presents Curonia, a campus of administrative and production buildings planned along Lypkių Street. An architectural competition has already selected the concept for the first buildings in this area, which the FEZ management company could begin constructing as early as next year.

In its effort to create conditions for companies focusing on innovation, green technologies and other high-value-added activities to expand, Klaipėda FEZ had previously introduced an urban vision developed together with the studios AKETURI and MMAP.

The Curonia campus aims to transform the image and function of industrial territories by developing infrastructure and an environment more typical of cities or so-called campuses, attractive to creators of novel products and technologies. Consequently, some currently undeveloped parts of the FEZ area are planned not for traditional industry and logistics but for offices, research centres and light production, with the Curonia campus becoming the first step of this vision.

Klaipėda FEZ is now detailing the first practical steps of this vision by presenting the Curonia campus concept and the first building complex prepared together with architecture studio Š A Atelier on a site at Lypkių St. 6.

The first Curonia campus project envisions development in two stages across a 1.8 hectare site, creating more than 12,000 square metres of production, storage, administrative and community spaces suitable for technology companies. This complex could become the anchor of the entire campus, around which further development would take place in the future.

Klaipėda FEZ is currently preparing for the first stage of the building, which will provide more than 6,000 square metres of space. The new building typology will provide functional connections between administration and production areas required by high-value-added companies while maintaining flexibility to adapt to the needs of specific tenants.

After analysing similar campuses, competence centres and projects in Belgium, the Netherlands and other countries, the new building will include shared spaces designed for creative collaboration, rooftop terraces, sports facilities and bridges connecting the buildings. The project is also aligned with the urban vision presented earlier this year for part of the FEZ territory, which emphasises green public spaces and recreation. While the first Curonia building focuses on technological functionality for business, it will also provide space for ecosystem connections.

The first campus complex has been designed with phased expansion in mind. After the first stage is completed, buildings developed in the second stage would form a functionally and architecturally unified ensemble.

Investment in the first stage of the building could amount to around EUR 10 million, although the final details are still being coordinated. Klaipėda FEZ management company will serve as the general designer, and a contractor tender could be expected by the end of the year.

Klaipėda FEZ CEO Eimantas Kiudulas says the Curonia campus vision and the concept of the first building strengthen the territory’s strategy of focusing on high-value-added investors and infrastructure tailored to their needs. In the future, the new project could also serve not only as rental space but as a hub for competence development, for example, by hosting a testing or training centre for advanced industrial technologies.

“We expect to begin actual construction works on this complex already next year. The Curonia campus and its first building are not only spaces intended for innovative businesses from Lithuania and abroad. They are also the beginning of a much broader transformation of the territory aimed at making it far more attractive to companies creating high value, their employees and the entire coastal region,” says Kiudulas.

Shaping the image of Klaipėda FEZ

The first Curonia campus building also stands out because the Klaipėda FEZ management company organised an architectural concept competition for it. Five studios participated: Heima architects, Fragment, Altitudes, Nebrau and Š A Atelier.

Simas Ozolinčius, the Real Estate Development Manager at Klaipėda FEZ, says that as the territory transforms from traditional warehouses and industrial premises into hybrid innovation infrastructure, the project required strong urban and architectural direction. For this reason, the competition participants were carefully selected and each of them was personally introduced to the development vision of the Klaipėda FEZ territory.

“Through the architectural competition, we sought to create not just an industrial building but the core of a contemporary smart manufacturing ecosystem. It had to be urbanistically integrated into the Curonia campus structure while consciously contrasting with the traditional scale of Klaipėda FEZ and the typical warehouse typology. Our aim was to shape a new identity for the territory and create a human-scale environment,” says Ozolinčius.

According to him, the building is aimed at advanced companies by combining creative workspaces with easily divisible production spaces, ensuring convenient functional links between work and production zones, as well as a strong visual and physical connection with the main street of the Curonia district and the planned park. The park will act as a green community axis providing infrastructure for recreation, social interaction and sports.

High architectural quality standards were also set for the project, including contemporary expression, the use of natural and recyclable materials, and a construction system that allows phased and rational expansion. Due to the strong focus on the surrounding environment, light and heavy transport flows are clearly separated near the complex, while the area will feature community-oriented spaces attractive to employees, landscaping, sustainable rainwater management solutions and green parking areas.

“The winning proposal stood out for its restrained yet identity-forming architecture that reflects the spirit of the ecosystem being created, as well as for its clear and functional urban structure and rational spatial layout,” says Ozolinčius.

One of the authors of the building concept, architect Antanas Šarkauskas, adds that the contemporary and rational architectural expression created for this project aims to organically integrate into the emerging urban vision of the new FEZ district.

“From a typological perspective, the project subtly combines two seemingly different elements, industry and a human scale understanding of space. The key spatial idea is the perspective opening between the buildings in the centre of the site, emphasised by bridges. This solution not only ensures functional connections but also creates a clearly recognisable identity for the complex linked to the broader context of the location,” comments Šarkauskas. You can view all competition entries on the website www.curonia.eu