Baltic nation’s second city plans science and innovation centre on island

An open design competition for Lithuania’s new National Science and Innovation Centre is to be launched next month.

Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) has been appointed by the city of Kaunas to develop the brief and run the single-stage international contest.

A winner will be declared this autumn, with the centre due to open in 2018.

The Science Island project centres on Nemunas Island just south of the historic centre of Kaunas, which was the nation’s temporary capital between the wars when Poland occupied Vilnius. Now known for its universities, Kaunas has been designated one of Unesco’s global creative cities, with nearly 50 museums and some significant modernist and pre-war architecture.

The island will be used to showcase recent achievements in science and global technologies, while the centre itself will focus particularly on environmental themes and ecosystems, demonstrating sustainability and future energy technologies in the design of its own building.

The mayor, Visvaldas Matijošaitis, said: “Science Island is a defining project for Kaunas. It will position the city for the future to develop a smart society attuned to learning, innovation and creativity.”

Malcolm Reading, chairman of MRC, described the Baltic as a “crucible for originality in the fields of cultural and scientific innovation”.

Architects interested in entering can pre-register here.