Misionieriu Park

The Misionieriu-park lies close to the historic center of Vilnius. Despite its natural beauty and location the park has been neglected, cut in two pieces by a large road. One part is accessible; with a steep elevation towards the monastery. This remains a place where the beauty of both site and city can be experienced. When crossing the road downhill though, walking towards the three ponds, one experiences a cluttered, fragmented area. The city of Vilnius announced an international design competition to rejuvenate the park.

In karres+brands’ design, the gardenesque quality of the hill side will be extended to the pond part by ‘acupunctural interventions’; not by changing the landscape dramatically, but by a strategic addition of elements. By doing so, the true beauty of the site will be fully exposed, turning it into an inviting, all-embracing city park.

Firstly, the north-east area will be completely cleaned up by removing sub-standard trees, creating fresh visual relationships between the park, the surrounding apartments, the monastery and the historic city. Secondly, we add a main path, which will be the connector between the north-east and south-west, hosting the most important pedestrian movement through the area. Like a pearl necklace this path ties together the newly designed elements, exposing the qualities along the route.

Thirdly, a series of new components will be added to the route, which activate the unique experiences of the specific site they are added to. The monastery, the highest point of the site, will acquire an orchard with lush trees. The little forest on the foot of the monastery will be enriched with a forest boardwalk, which hovers up to four meters above ground. To the west, on an existing viewpoint, a new panorama bench is added. To the north of the road, an ingenious water retention and –cleaning system will be the main feature, cleaning and upgrading the existing ponds. The apartments framing the park obtain a long park terrace, which ties together living, leisure and nature. With this strategy of acupuncture the Misionieriu park will once again be an accessible, visible and interesting place for the people of Vilnius to hang out.