4. Administrative building at Respublikos str. 62/ Annexe of the former Data Processing Centre

About

During the last years of the Soviet regime, on the corner of Respublikos and Anykščių str. a new five-storey building of the Data Processing Centre was erected. It was built near the administrative building on Anykščių st., which emerged at the end of the 60s, where, among other institutions, the main headquarters of the Centre operated, therefore the building built later was considered an annexe of the previous one.

Although the permission to build an annexe was already acquired in 1980, the construction began only in 1984. Arūnas Blūšius, the architect of the Institute of the Planning of Industrial Construction designed the project while Pranas Barkauskas took on the duties of the chief engineer of the project. The construction faced so many challenges that for a brief period, they were considering halting the building process altogether. Despite that, the annexe was finally built in 1989; its construction cost almost 1 million rubles. Most of the space inside was dedicated to the computing machines and their support centres. A staff health complex, sports and recreational facilities were to be situated in the basement.

From the exterior, the annexe of the Data Processing Centre is an example of the late modernism architecture. The sophisticated composition of the facades features monumental volumes and the synthesis of rigid and plastic forms. The visual variety of the exterior was achieved through minute separation of expressive vertical lines and windows. This unusual look is the reason why the building is regarded as unique and extraordinary, it is a reflection of the architectural achievements of the time.