In Vilnius, Lithuania, the newly renovated D9 Artsy Office, designed by IMPLMNT architects, offers a captivating blend of history and modernity. This architectural gem now houses nearly 200 pieces of contemporary art from the esteemed Lewben Art Foundation collection. Beyond its artistic significance, D9 Artsy Office marks a distinctive milestone as Vilnius' first publicly accessible business office, open for guided tours.

D9 Artsy Office, a building that exudes history, saw its genesis at the end of the 19th century in 1890. It was an era defined by Lithuania's modern secessionist period, and the original design bore the signature of architect V. Polozov. A single-story residential house with its brick walls, plastered facade, and a tiled roof, the building started its journey—a journey that would embrace and reflect Lithuania's rich cultural tapestry.

Back in 1996, the building was included in the Register of Cultural Valuables of the Republic of Lithuania for its historical and architectural value, including valuable authentic elements that had been restored and preserved. The façade has remained almost unchanged since the beginning of the 20th century, and is one of the most striking legacies of modern architecture in today’s Vilnius. The interior of the building displays preserved polychrome paintings on ceilings and walls, mouldings, the carpenter-made doors and window frames. Fragments of oak parquet have also been expertly retained. The building’s new annex is interesting in terms of its spatial impact, in particular, the creation of a central glazed roof in the atrium.

Once the current owner of the building had decided to exhibit art from a private collection here, an interesting fusion of art and office space was born, inspiring the Artsy Office name. Even though the collection consists exclusively of contemporary works of art, immeasurable attention has been given to preserving the authentic historical and architectural value of the building. In common with the building itself, the interior concept consists of two parts. In the old part of the building, where authentic historical layers of polychrome painting and plaster work have been uncovered, the soul of the building being created, resides in that of a museum. The glazed atrium in the new part of the building generates an impression of space, and serves as a dramatic gallery. Although the concept of a museum is usually associated with an extremely well-groomed, clean space, in this case, it was decided not to paint over the history, but rather to showcase the original, authentic fragments. In the gallery section, the space is created using canonical principles – a clean, bright, regular space that is dedicated to works of art, and so, the surrounding environment does not distract from its valuable contents.

Image Credit: Darius Petrulaitis
Video Credit: Tomas Vilys