Audronė Kaušpėdienė

Architect

Elina Amann, last edited on 12.10.2022

Name:

Audronė Kaušpėdienė

Life Dates:

b. 1953

Country:

Employers:

Institute of Industrial Planning in Kaunas (1976-1980)

Institute for Municipal Economic Planning in Kaunas (1980-1993)

“United Forces” Architectural Studio (1994)

Field of expertise:

Architectural design, interior design

Awards:

“Best Project of the Year” at an exhibition competition (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005)

“Horns of Abundance” prize at the Knauf exhibition (2004)

Short Biography

Audronė Kaušpėdienė, born on 27 May 1953 in the Lithuanian town of Radviliškis, became known for being an architect and social activist. She graduated from the Vilnius Engineering and Construction Institute in 1976 and shortly after became an architect at the Institute of Industrial Planning. She moved to Kaunas Municipal Economic Planning in 1980. There she joined the architectural office “United Forces” in 1994 and rose to the position of project manager (2000) and director (2007). She is married to the Lithuanian architect and singer Algirdas Kaušpėdas.

After achieving her position as director of the office, she took the opportunity to actively participate in the regaining of Lithuanian independence. She created a place for exchange and consultation in the rooms of the “Pram Projects” of the Institute of Industrial Design. The initiative group was founded in 1988. Kaušpėdienė organised small events to let like-minded people know about the organisation. The architect and her colleagues have made a significant contribution to the freedom of their country.

Currently retired, the former architect is involved in architectural education and gives readings at the Žemaitkiemis-Babtynas Manor Book Club (Žemaitkiemio-Babtyno dvaro) in the village of Žemaitkiemio (Kaunas County Municipality).

Work

In her early years she took part in the reconstruction and extension of the sanatorium “Spalis” in Birštonas – a health resort in the Kaunas district (1982-83).
The neighbourhoods of Kaunas were restored during her employment in the Department of Urban Economic Planning (1980-1994). Among them was the reconstruction of the Komsomol school in Kaunas in 1988.

Kaušpėdienė specialised in the development of restaurants and pubs for a while. Pizzerias, cafeterias or clubs she designed are not only found in Kaunas, where she usually worked, but also in Vilnius, the capital of the country. However, many of these establishments were demolished. One of her first eateries is the “Pizza Jazz” restaurant on the student campus in Kaunas from 1993, which is still in operation today (2022).

A larger project is the business and entertainment centre “Forum Palace” in Vilnius. Built in 2003, it is also used for cultural events, such as music concerts. The following year, Kaušpėdienė had a similar project built in Kaunas, the “Oazė” leisure centre.
In the same year, the architect began designing facades and interiors for the “Europa Royale” series of hotels in major Baltic cities. In 2004, the first hotel of this kind was built in Riga (capital of Latvia), followed by Bucharest and Kaunas in 2006 and another one in Vilnius the following year.

The architect has received numerous awards for her work. She received the award for “The Best Project of the Year” in an exhibition competition for the first restaurant “Pizza Jazz” for the best public interiors in Vilnius and Kaunas. The architect received this commendation six more times in the following years for different works. Among them was the “Forum Palace”, which also won her the “Horns of Abundance” prize at the Knauf exhibition in 2004.

Fig. 1: "Forum Palace" in Vilnius
Fig. 3: Restaurant "Pizza Jazz", Kaunas
Fig. 2: Interior designs for the "Europa Royale" hotel series

Illustration credits

Main image: By Pavasario Aitvaras, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Audra_Kaušpėdienė.jpg (last accessed on 07.10.2022)

Fig. 1: By Bearas – Mano darbas, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21913643 (last accessed on 07.10.2022)

Fig. 2: By Pavasario Aitvaras – CC BY-SA https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Europa_Royale_Kaunas_Hotel.jpg (last accessed on 07.10.2022)

Fig. 3: By Anna Kudryavtseva (public domain) http://wikimapia.org/6756415/Pizza-Jazz#/photo/5777439 (last accessed 11.10.2022)

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