Vintage Automobiles' Museum - Conversion of Klaipeda Gas Storage Facility

This adaptive reuse project transforms a red-brick octagonal gas holder in Klaipėda into a permanent exhibition venue. The intervention enhances the building’s architectural heritage through minimal yet powerful structural insertions—a radial steel framework and circular car lift—creating a spatially striking, compact, and functional interior while respecting its industrial character.

Once an essential part of the city’s infrastructure, the gas plant had stood abandoned for decades. The architectural strategy responds to this layered history by preserving the building’s original fabric and introducing a contemporary structural system that amplifies its spatial qualities. A radial framework organizes the exhibition flow, maintaining visual openness and drawing attention to both the vehicles and the historic shell. The central lift enables curatorial flexibility, ensuring the exhibition can evolve over time. The design articulates a careful balance between heritage conservation, new programmatic needs, and spatial clarity.

The project employs a self-supporting prefabricated steel structure, inspired by the gas plant’s original mechanical systems. Its radial geometry enhances circulation, daylight, and legibility while avoiding physical intervention into the historic envelope. The 5.4 m diameter car lift enables vertical movement of exhibits across multiple levels, ensuring operational efficiency. All structural components were factory-fabricated and assembled on site with minimal disruption. A 3D scan of the existing building and BIM modeling informed precise coordination, optimizing resources and reducing construction risks. The durable steel system ensures long-term resilience and low maintenance, supporting future reconfiguration with minimal environmental impact.