Lithuanian Architects Assess the Soviet Era: The 1992 Oral History Tapes (E-Book)

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The legends of Lithuanian architecture who shaped modern Vilnius – Algimantas Nasvytis, Vytautas Edmundas Čekanauskas, Vytautas Brėdikis, and Gediminas Baravykas – speak in this book in their authentic voices about how they planned, designed, and built in Lithuania during the Soviet period. They were interviewed in 1992 by a Lithuanian American, then a student at Berkeley and today a professor at Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center in New York, Jonas V. Mačiuika.

The four interviews are accompanied by introductory essays by architectural historians Prof. John V. Mačiuika and Prof. Marija Drėmaitė, which offer different ways of reading and reflecting on the controversial legacy of the Soviet era and of searching for a personal relationship with one’s living environment.

The book is richly illustrated with carefully selected archival photographs and images of the interviewees, as well as photographs from the personal collections of the book’s editor.

ACCESSIBILITY

The publication complies with EPUB accessibility requirements – EPUB Accessibility 1.1 and WCAG 2.2 AA level – ensuring a high-quality reading experience for all readers, including people with reading difficulties or visual impairments. The publication has been certified by LAB (Lithuanian Audio-Sensory Library). Certificate.

LEARN MORE

interview: Jonas Mačiuika, “An architect’s job is to prove that he is necessary.” Elena Paleckytė, Nemunas. Read here.

review: Behind the Scenes of Soviet-Era Lithuanian Architecture – Between Cultural Resistance and Rebellious Opportunism?, 15min. Read here.

COLOPHON 

edited by Jonas V. Mačiuika, Marija Drėmaitė
language editor Jeremy Hill
introductory essay translated into English by John V. Maciuika
designer Aurelija Slapšytė
layout by Kontis Šatūnas

ISBN 978-609-496-034-5

Published by LAPAS, January 2026

PUBLISHED IN COLLABORATION WITH