Urban Nodes

Authors’ Comment

The intervention targets the conversion of a former industrial area in Vilnius, Lithuania, located within an urban zone undergoing transformation. The goal is to reactivate this space as a social and economic hub, generating new community dynamics. The strategy focuses on preserving and highlighting the site’s identity, emphasizing its industrial character through the reinterpretation of materials, textures, and the connection between indoor and outdoor spaces.
The project aims to establish a model of intergenerational social housing intended for vulnerable groups such as single-parent families, elderly people in difficulty, young adults without family support, and students seeking affordable housing. The objective is to create a sustainable micro-community based on mutual support, social inclusion, and intergenerational exchange. In addition, a local commercial center has been designed to generate new jobs and create new contexts for socializing and interaction between the community and the city, aiming to reduce social isolation both at the individual and collective levels.
The concept of Urban Networks forms the theoretical framework of the project. It proposes two types of nodes: catalyst and generator. Catalyst nodes concentrate public and commercial functions with roles in urban attraction and creating new social contexts, while generator nodes support the formation of the residential community by providing users and activities for the aforementioned nodes. The model seeks to create an active urban network with long-term social and economic impact, which can be replicated and adapted to multiple urban contexts requiring reactivation and adjustment to contemporary society.