About the client
The Venclauskiai house-museum is a multifunctional centre of history, culture, communication, and leisure in Šiauliai. The building is an exceptional luxury residential house of inter-war Lithuanian historicist architecture, built in 1926. In 1991, Gražbylė and Danutė Venclauskaitės donated the Venclauskiai House to Šiauliai “Aušra” Museum on the condition that it would always be open to the public and would house a museum.
INFES work
During the reconstruction, the facade was repaired, the wall decorations were restored based on the fragments found on the walls, the Cyrillic poems written on the basement walls were also preserved, the roof was repaired, and the whole house was completely reconstructed, including the engineering systems. Other works and environmental management were also carried out.
Results
In the Venclauskiai house, impressive interwar wall decors – different in each room – were restored. It is a rich art nouveau, folk-style stencil painting style, rarely found in Lithuania. The preservation of these decors is of particular importance for the history of Lithuanian architecture and art. Between the wars, the building of exceptional architecture in the centre of Šiauliai was known as the White Palace.
The restored cultural heritage object presents historical exhibitions, organizes events and educations, and has a public reading room. Visitors can also enjoy the outdoor space of the Orphan Garden, where children can play in the playground, while the grown-ups can relax, chat, or engage in various educational and entertainment activities. This fulfills the Venclauskiai sisters’ wish to invite everyone to visit their home.