The Lithuanian Pavilion in Chile in 1972: Architect Vladas Vizgirda’s Account Fifty Years Later

Abstract

This Archival publication presents a manuscript of the Lithuanian architect Vladas Vizgirda (b. 1935), in which the author describes the project of an export pavilion of fifty years ago. The Lithuanian SSR received an award for its exhibition in the pavilion of the Soviet Union at the international agriculture and industry fair FISA-72 held in Santiago de Chile. As the leading architect of the Chile-72 pavilion, Vizgirda reminisces on the conception of the 500 m2 display, its architectural and design solutions, the preparation process, the installation works, and the impressions experienced during his almost three-month-long work trip to Chile in October–December 1972. An important part of the published source is a visual narrative consisting of unpublished photographs, which allows us to newly assess the pavilion’s modern constructions, minimalist design, and colour solutions, as well as Gintautėlė Baginskienė’s design projects created specifically for this pavilion. In the publication of the source, the manuscript is presented unedited, while the introductory text describes the context of the pavilion and outlines the first directions of possible assessments and interpretations.