Project Rinktinės URBAN was announced winner in the For Cohesive Development contest

Rinktinės URBAN, a project by Merko Statyba, became the winner in the Project of the Future category at For Cohesive Development, a contest held by the Lithuanian Real Estate Development Association (LREDA).

‘It is symbolic that it was the Rinktinės URBAN project that won in the Project of the Future category. Indeed, we have started building, in an abandoned lot in the heart of Vilnius, a city of the future: comfortable, cosy, efficient homes for the modern person. A person who is dynamic, active, career-minded – the architect of future Vilnius,’ said Saulius Putrimas, General Manager of Merko Statyba.

The Rinktinės URBAN block emerged at a unique location in Vilnius, between Rinktinės and Šeimyniškių streets in front of the ex-Žalgiris stadium. The abandoned space in the centre of Vilnius is turning into a cosy residential block: new residential houses, a hotel, and a street are already in place; more houses are being built. During both the design and the building phases of this project, steps were made to make sure that it seamlessly fits into the environment, that the construction adheres to every environmental requirement, and that living here is cosy, comfortable and efficient. The complex was designed by two architectural companies: UAB Unitectus, architect Dainius Čepurna, and the architectural office of Tadas Balčiūnas.

‘Rinktinės URBAN has been acclaimed as a project under development in the central part of Vilnius, on a compact, previously abandoned territory. It is an excellent example of revitalisation of the city centre, when, rather than being built on the outskirts, new properties appear where infrastructure is already in place: the environment is refurbished, and residents and businesses are encouraged to turn back to the city centre. The buildings are being erected in harmony with the environment, and the developer is a responsible company with positive experience. These were among the main reasons why Rinktinės URBAN came out on top in the contest. It now received an accolade in the Project of the Future category, because the work is still in progress; new houses are still being built. I believe that when the complex is finished, Rinktinės URBAN will be a very real contender to claim the grand prize at the For Cohesive Development contest,’ said Mindaugas Statulevičius, president of the jury and head of the LREDA.

The project has been acclaimed by buyers as well

UAB Merko Statyba’s Rinktinės URBAN project is being carried out in two stages. Two eight-storey houses and a five-storey building with a combined number of flats of 126, as well as a hotel have been built at the complex already. The stage-two houses are being built nearby: yet another three apartment buildings of six to nine storeys, which will offer 186 flats to new settlers in 2020. The stage-one houses have already been completed and commissioned, and most of them have even found their owners, with fewer than twenty flats left unsold. The construction under stage two has already kicked off and flats will become available for reservation within a week.

Not only do the houses at Rinktinės URBAN enjoy a good location and a convenient layout, ways to reduce their maintenance costs have been taken into consideration as well. The apartment buildings will have energy efficiency class A. The houses will have central heating with heat meters installed in every flat. Each building will be equipped with a separate centralised regenerative ventilation system.

Under the buildings, two-storey parking facilities will be installed with parking spots equipped with Home Box charging stations. Additional City Charge charging stations will also be installed outside. Next to parking spots, bicycle storage facilities and self-service repair stations will be installed.

The first BREEAM-certified hotel in the Baltics

In addition to residential houses, the Rinktinės URBAN complex features commercial facilities at the ibis Hotel, which has a preliminary ‘New Construction’ Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certificate, level: good. The same level of final BREEAM certificate for the standard deployed in the process of construction is due to be issued shortly. This is the first hotel in the Baltic countries to be designed and built according to BREEAM, the world’s top sustainable building standard.

In the process of building the hotel, UAB Merko Statyba used a building information management (BIM) simulation for both the design and construction work. Using this technology, the work was done smoothly and according to schedule.