At the very beginning of the 20th c., in the scarcely built-up southern part of Klaipėda, a company emerged in the coming decades to become one of the largest factories in the city – Klaipėda Pulp and Paper Mill. As any factory, Zellulosefabrik Memel A.-G. needed an administrative building as well. In order to meet this as well as any other needs, two buildings seemingly contrasting, but ensemble-perfectly reflecting the prevailing trends in residential and private administrative architecture of that time appeared by the street approximately in 1900, where some of the board members’ apartments were believed to be established.
The architecture of the first building is typical of the material style; however, it’s the superstructure on the right side that makes it unique: the “inclusion” of fachwerk architecture reflected the tendencies of the so-called “homeland style” by slightly stylizing the wooden structure itself. It is also a result of another phenomenon: the construction of fachwerk structures within the city limits has already been prohibited, and exceptions were applied only to small fragments of it in the shelters or pediments, mainly as a decorative element. As it’s typical of the mentioned style, the mezzanine and skylight turrets are highlighted by slightly Jugendstil pyramidal spires. The influence of Jugendstil is also felt in probably the most playful accent of the building: uneven window layout in the niche surrounding the main entrance. There are remaining authentic floor tiles with patterns typical of that period inside.
The second building is a refined, though relatively conservative example of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) style, typical of the residential houses built in the land. Geometric patterns splitting the façade, rounded pediments with protrusions extending this splitting, and embossed décor on them: all these are great reflections of the new fashion trends in construction of those days. The main highlight of the building – octagonal turret with complex two-section spire with a wooden interval diversified by a variegated décor – as if organically emerges from the bevelled corner out of the intersection of the façades. Both buildings form a wonderful representative façade for one of the most impressive industrial heritage buildings in Lithuania hiding behind them – the factory itself, the architectural solution of which, as it’s typical, is an example of a much more utilitarian use of the “style of materials”.
Pulp Mill, Klaipėda - Nemuno g. 2, Klaipėda 93277, Lietuva
