Senatorių pasažas (Vainiai Palace) by DO ARCHITECTS is a multi-purpose heritage rehabilitation project of 2021 in Lithuania, Vilnius. While use before did serve as a noble residence for the Vainiai and Pociej families and later a closed Soviet-era administrative complex with bricked-up facades, the transformation of 2021 provided a vibrant old town quarter featuring 20 restored authentic entrances, boutiques, and restaurants, increasing the usable surface area from a fragmented historical ruin to 3,400 m² of public-facing commercial and social space.
This project contributes to the social-ecological transformation by shifting the urban paradigm of Vilnius from "closed estates" to an "open-city" model, creating a new pedestrian passage through a 400-year-old heritage site. By exposing 15th-century Gothic cellars alongside Art Deco layers and modern "levitating" concrete terraces, the design avoids the carbon-intensive "demolish and rebuild" cycle, instead prioritizing the meticulous conservation of materials (polychromy research, authentic brickwork) to foster a deeper public understanding of architectural longevity and cultural continuity.
Vilnius
Lithuania
Palace
Mixed-Use
2021