Thanks to people who can generate ideas, are hard-working, resolute, and with critical thinking we can progress in different areas. Simonas Čaikauskas, a Master-degree in Architecture graduate of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) is one of them. When he was a student he was honoured with VGTU Emeritus Club scholarship. We are talking to him about the profession that is not for everyone, his ambition to make Lithuanian architectural tradition well-known and the upcoming transition from the youth league.
How did you come up with the choice to study architecture? Was your choice influenced by the desire to follow in the footsteps of your father Gintaras Čaikauskas who is an architect and a teacher?
My last name is constantly recognizable. There exists a common attitude that if you choose your father's profession, you will succeed not because of your talents and efforts, but because of the alleged help that your parent can provide. Anyway, the last name also puts responsibility on you, it has a certain prehistory.
Going back to the question how I came up with the choice to study architecture, I say I was just lucky. While still at school, parents kept asking me about my plans and future profession. I once said I would be an architect. Then, I was just eighth form school student and of course I didn’t really care much about any future profession, so I just blurted out the only better known profession. I guess it was a very natural answer, since I grew up among the building layouts and drawings, I played with the soldiers, which my dad used to cut out of cardboard, I built the cities from the Lego blocks. Dad tried to discourage me, but I was adamant. So, in the twelfth grade, I had no doubts what my studies were going to be. Besides, I had been attending preparatory courses for five years then. Thus, there was no retreat. From primary school onwards, I had an enhanced art profile at school. Perhaps, because of that I was attracted more to artistic professions.
Did the studies live up to your expectations? Were they beneficial?
I think I took everything I could from my studies: I participated in exchange programmes, I visited foreign universities, I joined the Erasmus programme and went to study to Germany. If we compare the intellectual and teaching base in Lithuania and abroad the one in Lithuania is probably better. For example, when I studied at Technical University of Munich, which then ranked among top thirty world universities, I noticed that the university manipulated with the names of famous architects. Although they were on the University teachers list, I saw them at most three times a semester. At VGTU, students are usually consulted by three experts in the field, who hold classes twice a week. People sometimes get fascinated by the fact that a university is among ten highest ranked universities of the world, however, my experience illustrates that the knowledge received in Lithuania is of the same high level and sometimes even surpasses the knowledge acquired abroad.
You have just started your professional career and already have had quite a few appraisals. Which ones are the most pleasing?
I hope the greatest achievements still lie ahead. After all, the first steps are usually very big: at first, I didn’t even know how to draw on a computer, and then both graphic requirements and professionalism came out. First-year works look just ridiculous, but then you realise that some progress has been made since you can see the mistakes you made then. During my studies, I was particularly successful in competitions: wherever I participated, I won. However, it is as in a basketball game: young players are leaders in their age group, but they may not achieve any good results when they move to an adult group where they have to play with older professionals. The same rule applies to architects. Therefore, after graduating from university, you need to draw a line and look ahead, compete both in the Lithuanian and global market. You need to realize that there are quite a few people like you both in Lithuania and all over the world, and the number is growing every year. After all, we have many examples of how successful students dissolve in the job market, while former poor students successfully pave the way for success. So, you can’t relax and feel like you’ve already achieved a lot.
While being a student, you worked in an architecture studio. Wasn’t it hard to combine the two activities?
I can definitely say that master 's studies make you think. I am happy with my decision to continue studies in the second cycle after a one-year break. It is not always easy to combine studies and work, but it is really possible to do that and there is no need to be afraid. Also, the truth is that those who are always trying to reach the maximum, should not forget to care about their health, because there are many examples when people simply burn out. Balance is essential – everywhere.
What are your career ambitions?
My dream is to receive the most prestigious award in architecture – the Pritzker Prize. This is the so-called Nobel Prize in Architecture. But then you realise that only forty architects from all over the world have won this award so far. So, what happens if you do not get it? Does it mean the end of everything? Does it mean that you have failed? I would really like to contribute to the shaping the face of Lithuanian architecture and present it to the world.
