Klaipėda FEZ urban vision presented

The architecture studio AKETURI has developed an urban and architectural vision for part of the Klaipėda FEZ, foreseeing the transformation of two currently undeveloped areas into a modern, green and multifunctional “city within a city”. Although Klaipėda FEZ is not abandoning its industrial orientation, greater emphasis will be placed on innovation, services and recreation.

Over recent decades, Klaipėda FEZ has naturally and gradually evolved from a traditional industrial territory into an ecosystem based on innovation, technology and product development.

Among the most obvious examples are large PET manufacturers that have been operating here for decades and have over time supplemented their production activities with laboratories and new product development centres. On the other hand, new advanced investors are continuously entering Klaipėda FEZ, and from the very beginning they plan not only manufacturing, but also “creative” activities that generate much higher added value.

Changing needs of investors, employees and Klaipėda residents themselves have led Klaipėda FEZ to define new guidelines for its future development. The free zone also sought to further strengthen its ambition to become a fully integrated part of Klaipėda city, offering not only jobs but also services and even opportunities for recreation.

These goals were supported by AKETURI, which created a long term urban and architectural vision for part of the undeveloped FEZ territories. This vision continues and elaborates on the earlier Klaipėda FEZ development strategy prepared by the urban planning studio MMAP, which already at that time foresaw zones for a science and innovation park, commercial activities and other functions.

New functional zones

The new vision covers two separate areas along Pramonės street and Lypkių street. These two areas are adjacent and can form a continuous green space, but each zone is assigned different functions and priorities.

The first area, closer to the city, located in the western part of Lypkių street, is intended to serve as an innovation and competence centre. Most of the space here is allocated to office buildings, research centres and laboratories, while also leaving room for modern factories.

The centre of the first area is planned to be occupied by a kind of flagship building, a more expressive structure dedicated to advanced product development, technological progress or other innovative activities, with attractive, community-oriented and open access. This core is deliberately oriented towards attracting companies in green technologies and creating an ecosystem of climate-neutral innovation. The experience of the architects shows that further development usually forms around such a focal point over time.

In addition, the innovation and competence zone will include a public square, an open active leisure area with opportunities for various sports, and a continuous, richly landscaped green corridor for pedestrians with a pond in the western part. A wellness centre or at least an outdoor micro sauna village would also be possible in this part of the FEZ.

The second new zone, along Šilutės road in the eastern part of the FEZ, has for now been dubbed the “big shopping centre”. As the name suggests, one or more large retail facilities could indeed appear here, but the area is also planned for commercial warehouses, offices, and possibly a hotel as well as conference and exhibition centres. The future highlight of this zone could become the currently barely noticeable Žydrė stream, whose surroundings would turn into the axis of a future park and green recreational corridor. Among alternative ideas for this part of the FEZ is also allocating one plot for an artificial wave sports centre.

In both zones, part of the streets are planned as calm traffic streets, meaning that motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists would all have equal importance. The areas are also planned to have especially rich landscaping, reflecting the latest trends in residential areas and public spaces, with their own specific guidelines. Finally, the newly planned zones allow for considerable flexibility in building functions, public spaces and small scale architectural solutions. For example, green islands or amphitheatres for seating are proposed, whose location could be easily changed.

For the new territories, AKETURI also created a so called architectural style book, a set of recommended guidelines for future buildings. These guidelines cover both public and private buildings. Public buildings are encouraged to be more expressive, while private ones are encouraged to be more flexible. All buildings are advised to have more prominent representative facades, always oriented towards public spaces. The guidelines also discuss facade possibilities, colour schemes, materials and other aspects in order to reconcile a unified territorial identity with each organisation’s desire to express its own uniqueness.

Necessary for value creation

The head of AKETURI, Lukas Rekevičius, states that in order to attract high added value to a territory, one must first attract the right people. And not only from the local suburbs, but from across Europe. Therefore, in this project architecture and urban planning were primarily designed to attract people.

“We paid great attention to greenery in the area, not superficial, but genuine and abundant landscaping, the use of water and even its expansion. The area will essentially remain industrial, but the environment can become one where people want to be and want to take care of. That is why we also proposed the idea of a sauna village. It costs little, but can create a strong effect. In general, these territories should resemble a university or science campus,” says Rekevičius.

He notes that the buildings and solutions in the vision are designed as soft rules. In other words, if a specific tenant or investor arrived with precise needs, the solutions would be adjusted primarily to those needs. However, the general principles and recommendations of the vision should still remain. The new street network structure and building zones should eventually be reflected in changes to the detailed plan of the area, but a certain degree of flexibility is still necessary nowadays.

“In projects like this, the first buildings are extremely important, those that break the ice, set the tone and inspire development around them. We would very much like to see such a building in the first innovation and competence zone. For the other part of the FEZ and for the whole city, a conference centre could create a huge impulse. I think that all Lithuanian FEZs will sooner or later no longer be able to remain purely industrial, because it is hard for us to compete with cheaper labour in third countries. Therefore, such fresh territories can become like a new generation of Gediminas’ letters, promising and truly attracting research, innovative businesses, university branches and most importantly people and families,” says the architect.

Martynas Marozas, founder of the MMAP studio, which continues to work with Klaipėda FEZ and other urban projects in the city, also emphasises that these plans are primarily intended to respond to changing needs of employees and investors.

“Today’s investor asks not only about electricity capacity, but also about how they will commute to work by bicycle. Klaipėda FEZ has been successfully fulfilling economic aspects for three decades, but looking to the future, factors such as connection with the city, biodiversity, human environment and after-work activities, sustainability, fairness and social responsibility become crucial for creating high added value. Therefore, both we and our colleagues are not changing the existing urban structure, but creating an area where new industries and the environment they need can emerge,” comments Marozas.

Thus, long time FEZ stakeholders will recognise in both MMAP and AKETURI projects the Pramonės and Lypkių streets that form the backbone of the FEZ and are here to stay. However, urban planners are trying to emphasise their axes: Pramonės Street is shaped as a logistics artery, while Lypkių Street gains a more human scale, becoming a future living green connection with the city centre.

“Such plans, even if implemented over many years, step by step and not necessarily one hundred percent precisely, create value from day one. They provide a clear vector. Society and stakeholders immediately know where the territory wants to go and how it sees its future. This creates a basis for discussion and for gathering like-minded partners. Such documents also build credibility and facilitate communication with existing and future investors. Ultimately, plans help implement complex real development gradually, making it clear what should be built where and why,” says the urban planner.

A foundation for actual development

The CEO of Klaipėda FEZ Eimantas Kiudulas comments that this urban vision is long term, but the FEZ management company is already preparing some real projects in the new territories. For example, Klaipėda FEZ is currently actively working on a concrete idea for an innovation and competence centre or even a cluster, with architectural solutions being prepared and discussions ongoing with potential clients and public sector partners.

“This vision provides part of Klaipėda FEZ with guidelines and direction for long term, consistent and resilient growth. In this document, architecture and urban planning seek to address very real business, city and even state challenges: attractiveness to employees, integration with the city, orientation towards the highest added value, strong ecosystems and so on. Although most real investments in these territories would be made by private businesses, in this vision we still commit ourselves to creating a new generation of urban and at the same time very green public spaces. Finally, this vision also becomes an impulse to look with fresh eyes at other FEZ territories and public spaces not covered in the document, and at our entire city as well,” says Kiudulas.

He emphasises that the new urban and architectural vision covers several dozen hectares of currently undeveloped Klaipėda FEZ territory, but not all plots. In other words, there will still be opportunities in the FEZ for conventional greenfield investments, designing and developing new buildings, including factories, according to the choices of specific investors, both in the renewed territories and across the entire free economic zone. The total area of the FEZ in the Klaipėda city and district municipalities is 412 hectares.

Kiudulas also hopes that a more modern, cosy and urban FEZ will further contribute to the daily comfort of the southern districts of the city. Currently, the parts of the city between the FEZ and the port still lack quality recreational spaces and services, which over time could be provided by the transformation of the free zone and by strengthening the connections between the new territories and the city.

“I have spoken many times about Klaipėda FEZ moving closer to the city, about more services in our territory, the “city within a city” principle, clean industry, sustainability and other aspects that are important to all of us. We have been gradually pursuing all of this naturally for years, but the new urban vision will become a very clear goal that we would ultimately like to reach. I see Klaipėda as the best place to live, work and do business, and in this document, a small part of such ambition is truly reflected,” says the head of the FEZ.