LOFT GARDEN
TYPOLOGY Building conversion
LOCATION Vilnius, Lithuania
CLIENT Reefo
INVOLVEMENT Complete interior design project of common spaces, Conversion, Art direction
TIMELINE 2025
ARCHITECTURE Aketuri
PHOTOGRAPHY Vincas Cygas
LOFT GARDEN>>
CLARITY, PROPORTION, RHYTHM & ATMOSPHERE
At ANÒTHER, we were invited to lead the art direction of the reconstruction and the interior identity of the common spaces for Loft Garden — a former Rožė sewing factory reborn in one of Vilnius’ most distinctive neighbourhoods, Užupis. This district, known for its poetic disorder, layered histories and informal greenery climbing across wooden façades, was our conceptual point of departure. We approached the building not as a tabula rasa, but as an urban organism already embedded within its context — socially, materially and topographically.
Rather than erasing the industrial legacy of the factory, we chose to work with it. The name Loft is not a marketing gesture but a continuation of the spatial logic that already exists — large structural openings, raw proportions, and a natural orientation toward adaptive reuse. At the same time, the building’s unique architectural feature — generous private terraces that open directly into panoramic views of Vilnius Old Town — informed the second part of its identity: Garden. Inspired by places like Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris, where architecture is partially overtaken by nature, we envisioned these terraces as future vertical gardens shaped by their residents.
To complement this living façade, we introduced marquisettes — referencing southern European shade culture and Parisian architectural elegance. For us, they were never merely sun protection, but a spatial and emotional device: softening the industrial base, bringing a gentle southern cadence to Vilnius, and behaving almost like jewellery — precise accents that frame rather than decorate, adding identity without noise.
The intervention was intentionally strategic rather than invasive. Instead of radical demolition or excessive addition, value was generated through clarity of vision, proportion, rhythm and atmosphere. This approach allowed the project to maintain economic accessibility while achieving a distinctly elevated character — a relevant question in today’s housing market, where quality and attainability rarely coexist. The result is a transformation that feels natural rather than imposed: a former factory quietly becoming part of Užupis again — not preserved nostalgically, but reactivated as contemporary housing with a civic and ecological intelligence.
In this project, our role at ANÒTHER was to articulate that narrative — to frame the building’s rebirth through context rather than cosmetic change, and to shape the shared spatial language that connects architecture, landscape and future inhabitation.
Clarity of vision — a strong conceptual spine: the idea that this building is not just renovated but re-situated within Užupis — as a loft typology rooted in its industrial past and as a garden system growing into its future. Every decision reinforces that narrative
Proportion — working with what already exists rather than fighting it. We highlighted the building’s inherent spatial qualities — ceiling heights, structural apertures, the depth of façades — to preserve a sense of openness and honest volume instead of fragmenting it.
Rhythm — a controlled repetition and hierarchy in façade articulation, terrace edges, metalwork and shading elements — and here the marquisettes play a key role. Inspired by southern European street façades and the iconic Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris, we introduced marquisettes not only for function, but as a spatial gesture — adding softness, a southern cadence of shadow, and a subtle sense of ornament. They behave almost like jewellery on a woman — not overpowering the architecture, but finely framing it, animating it, and giving it identity within the street.
Atmosphere — the emotional intelligence of the project. Light behaviour, material tactility, the way greenery will eventually soften the lines, how the building feels at dusk — all intentionally orchestrated to create belonging, not spectacle.
In other words: the project gains value not by adding more, but by understanding more — and by allowing the existing architecture, neighbourhood and future life to speak through refinement rather than dominance.
