Eugenijus Viktoras Miliūnas, catalogue code VAM-10
The figure of Eugenijus Viktoras Miliūnas is exclusive in the horizon of Lithuanian architecture. He is not only a true professional, burning with passion for architecture, but also a thinker, trying to convey the key accents of his world-view into the field of architecture. This is what relates his former works – at least the early ones – with post-modernism. His architecture is not only buildings – each of them has a history or, as professor Vytautas Brėdikis would say, a scenario – a necessary attribute of good architecture.
Born on 8 September 1952 in Panevėžys, E. V. Miliūnas grew up in Garliava, Kaunas district, since 1959. In 1975 he graduated from Vilnius Institute of Engineering, where he acquired the speciality of an architect (as well as the nickname Simas, which leads him throughout his life) and returned to his hometown. According to V. Dičius, at that time Kaunas city really needed good professionals, creating modern architecture, and the generation of graduates of 1975 was particularly gifted. Thus a large number of them were “landed” in Kaunas (K. Kisielius, H. Žukauskas and others began their careers in Kaunas too). In 1980-1997 the artist worked with the architect AB Miestprojektas in Kaunas, as of 1991 lead the 8th planning department. In 1995 he taught at the Faculty of Arts at Vytautas Magnus University, in 1996 at the Department of Architecture at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (docent). As of 1993 he teaches at the Department of Architecture of Kaunas Art Institute of Vilnius Academy of Arts (docent). However, his active pedagogical activity does not prevent his create work: The individual planning company E. Miliūnas Studio, founded and led by the architect since 1992, successfully develops its architectural activity. E. V. Miliūnas is an active public person as well: he is a member of Lithuanian Architects’ Association as of 1977 and was a board member of Kaunas Department from 1978 to 1997.
In his professional activity, E. V. Miliūnas is established as a creative personality with deep thoughts. He finds philosophy and architecture as two inseparable things. Thus his works are also full of meanings and symbolism. L. Kahn has said that people must think in metaphors. E. Miliūnas reads these metaphors in the environment and codes them in his projects.
For example, when designing the shopping centre Kalniečiai, lack of public space around the building lead to using its interior space by creating a prototype of the Liberty Boulevard inside. During this period the architect admires clear and simple geometrical shapes (as he often calls them – “absolute shapes” [2]) – cube, rectangular prism, which make his buildings monumental. The shopping centre Kalniečiai is no exception. Here he creates aesthetics by dividing planes with straight lines into square and rectangulars or cubes and rectangular prisms.
E. Miliūnas stepped even further when creating M. Žilinskas Art Gallery – the ideas for this building came from ancient architecture and the Acropolis of Athens. Not wanting to oppose the art gallery to Kaunas Garrison Church, he as if uses the gate to fence the Gallery from Vienybė square and creates the impression of an individual “churchyard” in front of the “temple of art”.
According to architecture critics, a talented architect often changes one’s style approximately every decade. E. Miliūnas is gifted and his creative path took from getting to know and interpreting classical shapes to archetypical coding: “I would like to create architecture which claims nothing.” he admits. One of such projects is the project for expanding Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery. The co-author of the project is the sculptor M. Navakas, who suggested… to sward the future building. This would allow dematerialising and even humanising the walls of the building. A faint echo of this position could be seen in Šiauliai Arena, decorated with a holographic glass – such exterior does not declare anything, except for being pleasing to the eye. The greatest value of the building is its structure and internal spaces.
However the swansong of the architect was Žalgiris Arena in Kaunas. According to E. Miliūnas, this arena on Nemunas island was the most complicated and most interesting project throughout his entire creative career: “It is very difficult to create a building, which may be looked at from various angles and from far distances. It makes the architect as if naked, unable to hide anywhere or cover in anything. Everything is just right there. The greatest success was to incorporate such a large building in a completely open space. It could not stand out too much and had to become an organic part of Kaunas new town, not some kind of a foreign body. We did our best to make it modest on the outside and emotional and expressive on the inside.” [4]
Colleagues admit that Simas’ work is structured, he analyses the physical and semantic purpose of the building. [8] His projects give priority to space, as it is the most important field of communication: a connection of sound and visual communication. The functional units in his projects are expressed differently, each of them have a certain space, either closed or open. Thus the space of E. Miliūnas acquires a metaphysical meaning of its own. Aside from the functional comfortability, the architect cares about the organic connection with the physical environment, thus each element used is necessary in order to create aesthetics.
Although all works of E. Miliūnas are characterised by monumental, complete forms, he could by no means be accused of self-plagiarism: each creation is unique and has its own history. His success lies beneath E. Miliūnas’ attitude towards architecture: “…this field requires versatility; one cannot specialise or isolate oneself in one space – the outlook must be very wide. Perhaps such inability to deepen into one area makes you a kind of a dilettante, but one simply must have a context in order to construct buildings and urban spaces.” [5]
Works:
1981-1989 – Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery (together with K. Kisielius and S. Juškys), Kaunas;
1985 – tender project for the Inturist Hotel, I-II place;
1986 – shop for Rėda, the light industry production company, Kaunas;
1986-1988 – Shopping and public centre Kalniečiai in Kalniečiai III catchment, Kaunas;
1990-1992 – the monument for the rebels of the June 1941 at the former old cemetery (together with the sculptor R. Antinis Jr), awarded with a diploma of Kaunas Department of Lithuanian Architects’ Association as the “Best Realisation of 1992”, Kaunas;
1992 – the project the Catholic Church of the Blesseed Heart in Šiauliai (awarded with a diploma of Kaunas Department of Lithuanian Architects’ Association as the “Best Project of 1992”);
1993 – The Chapel of Exiles (together with the sculptor R. Antinis Jr), Rokiškis;
1994 – residential house with an office Lita-West (together with V. Zabulionis), awarded with a diploma of Kaunas Department of Lithuanian Architects’ Association as the “Best Realisation of a Public Building of 1994”, Kaunas;
1994 – bus and railway station hub (together with V. Merkevičius), Kaunas;
1995 – tender project for Kaunas Department of Lithuanian Stock Innovation Bank, I prize (together with D. Paulauskienė, V. Merkevičius, E. Naruševičius, V. Čalka), Kaunas;
1995 – the reconstruction of the former cemetery near Vytautas avenue (together with A. Buraitis and S. Putvis), Kaunas;
1995 – tender project for Prado National Museum in Madrid (together with M. Mankus, D. rainauskas; model by P. Narusevičius);
1996 – Resurrection Church square with access (together with M. Mankus);
1997 – the project for expanding Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery and storage (sculptor M. Navakas), Kaunas;
1998 – the plan of the use of the territory between Dangė river, Pilies street, AB Baltijos laivų statykla and the Curonian Lagoon (together with L. Šliogerienė, V. Šliogeris and D. Trainauskas), Klaipėda;
1998 – tender project for the Palace of Sports and Culture in Kaunas (together with A. Dublys, D. Paulauskienė, M. Mankus, L. Tuleikis, G. Balčytis, D. Trainauskas, V. Makaraitis, A. Kazlauskas, V. Čalka) (Kaunas);
1999 – Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Šilainiai (together with D. Paulauskienė), awarded with a diploma of Kaunas Department of Lithuanian Architects’ Association as the “Best Architectural Realisation of 2000 in Kaunas” and with a prize of the magazine Archiforma as the “Best object published in the magazine of 1999”, Kaunas;
1999 – residential house in Aukštieji Kaniūkai, Kaunas;
2000 – tender project for the Culture and Tourism Information Centre (together with M. Mankus), Nida;
2004-2007 – Aukštabalis multifunctional complex in Šiauliai (Šiauliai Arena) (together with G. Balčytis, A. Černiauskas, L. Tuleikis, V. Čalka, A. Ramanauskas K. Ščevinskas, J. Baronas, K. Vaikšnoras), Šiauliai;
2006-2011 – the project for Kaunas Arena of Entertainment and Sports (Kaunas Žalgiris Arena) on Nemunas island (together with .A Bublys, A. Ramanauskas, D. Paulauskienė, R. Bingelytė-Baltrušaitienė, V. Miliūnas, G. Eigirdas, V. Čalka, A. Ražaitis), Kaunas;
2011 – multifunctional centre instead of the old Merkurijus in Kaunas, Liberty Boulevard, together with Algimantas Kančas Studio.
Distinguished awards:
1999 – Culture and Arts Award of the Republic of Lithuania for the most significant works for Lithuanian art and culture;
2008 – Award for the most memorable Kaunas’ artist,
2009 – Silver-plated medal of Kaunas burgomaster Jonas Vileišis,
2010 – The Honorary Citizen of Kaunas for designing Žalgiris Arena;
2012 – Lithuanian National Culture and Arts Prize for conceptual understanding of architectural spaces and creation of contemporary buildings significant to the society.
Šaltinai:
1. Lietuvos architektai. Vilnius: Lietuvos architektų sąjunga, VDA leidykla, 2002. P. 432-433.
2. Dičius, Vytautas. Eugenijus Miliūnas – tikėjimas ir viltis. [In:] Archiforma, 1997, Nr. 1, p. 28-32.
3. http://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenijus_Mili%C5%ABnas
4. Mikšionienė, R. Nacionalinės premijos laureatas E. Miliūnas džiaugėsi, kad architektūra pagaliau išsikovojo deramą vietą tarp kitų menų. 2012-12-11. http://kultura.lrytas.lt/meno-pulsas/nacionalines-premijos-laureatas-e-miliunas-dziaugesi-kad-architektura-pagaliau-issikovojo-derama-vieta-tarp-kitu-menu.htm
5. Šepetytė, D. Nacionalinės premijos laureatas E.Miliūnas: Nereikia pirkti žvaigždžių lietuvių sąskaita. [interaktyvus]
6. Minkevičius, J. Kotryniečių vienuolynas Šilainiuose. Kaunas. [In:] Archiforma, 1999, Nr. 2, p. 97-102.
7. http://www.respublika.lt/lt/naujienos/lietuva/kitos_lietuvos_zinios/nacionalines_premijos_laureatas_emiliunas_nereikia_pirkti_zvaigzdziu_lietuviu_saskaita/
8. Dičius, V. Apie Areną: architektūra – tai mąstymas. 2012-08-13. http://www.bernardinai.lt/straipsnis/2012-08-13-vytautas-dicius-apie-arena-architektura-tai-mastymas/86564
9. Rėklaitė , J. Šiaulių arena. http://www.archmap.lt/objects/siauliu-arena/
10. Juocevičiūtė, E. Namai studijos „Dvyniai”. http://www.archmap.lt/objects/namai-studijos-dvyniai/
11. Štelbienė, A. Gyvenamasis namas Kaune. http://www.archmap.lt/objects/gyvenamasis-namas/
12. Rudokas, K. „Žalgirio“ arena. http://www.autc.lt/lt/architekturos-objektai/925?rt=3&type=2&ss=%C5%BEalgirio%20arena
13. Genys, Laimutis. Kaunas įvertino triūsą. – Iliustr. // Lietuvos rytas. – 2011, vas. 17, p. 19.
14. Grigalevičius, Tomas. Garbės piliečio vardas – Kauno arenos autoriui. – Iliustr. // 15 min. – 2010, gruodžio 13, p. 2.
15. Inytė, Vėjūnė. Kauniečius kūrėjus titulai įpareigojo. – Iliustr. // Lietuvos rytas. – 2009, saus. 12, p. 15.
16. http://atminimas.kvb.lt/asmenvardis.php?asm=MILI%DBNAS%20EUGENIJUS%20VIKTORAS
17. http://www.kaunastic.lt/index.php/lt/turizmas/miesto-izymybes/category/116-kauno-architektura-virtualus-turas.html
