In my early years around 1970 sometimes with my friends we hired a rowing boat in the Old Town near the candy factory and sailed to Tauralaukis. It was a journey of unforgettable experiences: camp fire, potato baking, landscape of the river valley and whirling streams. Maybe in 1985-87, while walking around Tauralaukis, I made photos – huge river scarps covered with large old trees and bushes, marshes, fragments of the old linden avenue, some remains of cemetery, ponds and so on. I showed them to a friend with a question – guess what these places are? The friend failed to identify but did not hide the admiration. So it was the Soviet Farm of Tauralaukis and the remnants of the former Minor Tauralaukis Manor. We imagined that it could be a fantastic residential area here, but such thoughts at that time were unbelievable. Later this territory was connected to the city.
Around 2000 a young and modest owner of a small construction firm contacted me with a request: “I was offered to buy 10 hectares of land. Please advise what should I do? Will you help me?
That’s how it all started.
We have prepared first ideas and a concept of the territory’s assimilation. We introduced the ideas to the owner of the land Gert Balcer. He liked our thoughts, believed in us and agreed to sell the parcels. Then we worked further – prepared a whole series of special plans, detailed plans, infrastructure projects, residential houses, cottages, apartment projects. About 2004 construction started. The former modest construction firm has turned into a large construction / investment company with more than one hundred people.
It was one of the first residential neighborhoods in the city and in Lithuania, where the whole chain of design and building processes have been approached in a complex way for the territory of 10 ha. Everyone took lessons – the investor, the builder and the architect. It was decided to use rain water and create a system of channels, therefore plots near the water. As challenging it was, to rationalize the use of a 15 meter valley slopes, and protect the area from the floods of the River DangÄ—. Also the idea of “Circle of Life” was introduced, which gave birth to the concept of family housing career followed by the search for a lost term – “my Motherland” – for the future residents. All intended for regaining the sense of community and ownership.
The economic crisis of 2008 has changed plans dramatically – the development has stopped for five years. This has greatly influenced the quality of construction and architecture. I think that we managed to realize around 30% of the intentions. There are also totally unacceptable mistakes.
Most of the thoughts, ideas are set aside for the next, nearby project of 30 hectares. The foundation of this neighborhood should be the historical memory – the culture of the Baltics and paganism. However, the processes that have already begun shows that, besides the intended street names of Baltic goddesses (AustÄ—jos, Žemynos, Gabijos ir t.t.) nothing else will come true.
However, today the “Dvaras Valley” is almost completed and here the price of real estate is one of the highest in Klaipeda.
