East-East

East-East is a multiplex architectural event jointly held by the Lithuanian and Japanese architects and students of architecture.

The concept of the Lithuania-Japan architectural event was conceived and its implementation coordinated by Dainius Kamaitis, a Lithuanian diplomat and former ambassador to Japan. He paved the way for the bilateral exchange in the field of architecture by approaching both sides with a proposal to establish links which had not existed before. The idea was successfully implemented in Kaunas in cooperation with the Kaunas City Municipality and the Kaunas Section of the Architects Association of Lithuania in 2002. As the event enjoyed a considerable acclaim on both sides, following new initiatives by D.Kamaitis, subsequent architectural forums were implemented in Vilnius, Tokyo and Kaunas, in 2009, 2011 and 2013, accordingly. All the events received full support from the Architects Association of Lithuania and Japan Institute of Architects.

The name East-East is derived from the concept that Lithuania is located in the east of Europe, while Japan lies in the east of Asia. It implies mutual understanding, close cooperation and harmony.

The initial target of establishing the links between the Lithuanian and Japanese architects has been achieved already. The long-term objectives are to strengthen the ties and make the joint events into a tradition, in order to foster continuous interaction not only between architects, but between students of architecture as well. The students' exchange is recognized by both sides as bearing particular importance to developing the future relations.

East-East spans almost a week and is built on three pillars:

The first event was held between July 30 and August 1, 2002, in Kaunas, at Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery. The Japanese delegation was led by the 1993 Pritzker Prize (often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture) winner Fumihiko Maki and included seven leading Japanese architects Taro Ashihara, Chiaki Arai, Tetsuo Furuichi, George Kunihiro, Koh Kitayama, Hidetoshi Ohno and Kengo Kuma.

The keynote presentation by Fumihiko Maki who was awarded with the honorary membership of the Architects Association of Lithuania, aroused considerable public interest. On behalf of the host side, Linas Tuleikis, Chairman of the Kaunas Section of the Architects Association of Lithuania, gave a lecture on the contemporary Lithuanian architecture.

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