On 30 April 2025, the National Stage of the Saint-Gobain Architecture Student Contest was held and the team of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) won. VILNIUS TECH students will represent Lithuania in the International Stage in June. 

The Saint-Gobain competition is now in its 20th year and attracts more than 1,000 participants from 30 countries every year. The competition is based on the vision of sustainability - the aim is to give students a unique experience by proposing a sustainability-based project idea in different cities. 

14 teams from three higher education institutions took part in the Lithuanian national stage. The jury consisted of 5 architects and 2 engineers. The 3 prize-winning teams were selected in the final of the national stage: 

1st place - Andrius Pucėta and Konradas Jurna (supervisor prof. dr. Dalia Dijokienė), VILNIUS TECH; 

2nd place - Orinta Aleknaitė and Goda Narkutė (supervisor lect. L. Jankauskaitė-Jurevičienė), Kaunas University of Technology; 

3rd place - O. I. Končiūtė and A. Bernardoux (supervisor lect. M. Butvila), Vilnius Academy of Arts, Kaunas Faculty. 

VILNIUS TECH will represent Lithuania in the Saint-Gobain competition not for the first time, in the 2024 international stage in Helsinki Lithuania was represented by Laura Norkūnaitė, Lukrecija Simutytė, Valdas Razma (supervisor prof. dr Dalia Dijokienė, VILNIUS TECH). 

This year, the students have been working on proposals for the towns of Villefontaine and Chimilin in the Isère region of France. The task was to complement the existing Les Grands Ateliers complex and to propose the possible conversion of an old school into a multifunctional facility. Although the ideas were generated in different locations, the students were challenged to create synergies between the sites and to reflect the regional identity.

Andrius Pucėta and Konradas Jurna used analytical research to identify the main architectural features of the region, the urban characteristics of the sites and to propose a contextual urban architectural idea. The authors presented a very subtle solution for the conversion of an old school - to let the building age naturally. Les Grands Ateliers added a development to the complex, extending the urban fabric of the oldest historic part of the town.

The international stage of the competition will take place in Lyon (France) from 16 to 18 June, where VILNIUS TECH students will present their ideas to the international community.

More about the competition here. 
News photos by Dalia Dijokienė