JAN GEHL EXHIBITION IN KAUNAS

The exhibition “Changing Mindsets – Jan Gehl’s Life of Work” travelled to Kaunas and was on view at Kauno Menininkų Namai from 2nd till 16th of April. The exhibition was a part of The Scandinavian Days in Kaunas.

Jan Gehl is a Danish architect who has been working for decades to improve the quality of city spaces both in Copenhagen and around the world. The exhibition ‘Changing Mindsets’ presents Jan Gehl’s main theoretical and research works on peoples’ behaviour in urban contexts.

Gehl’s methods are humanistic: he emphasizes that cities need to be designed for people and not for logistical purposes. Good architecture distinguishes not only in form, but also in the interaction between shape and life.

Jan Gehl says: “I have always been more concerned about changing the mindset of people – and then someone else will be able to change cities.”

Jan Gehl’s ideas and texts are included in the interdisciplinary courses of urban studies that have been taught in Lithuanian universities since 2007. Although urban planning, orientated towards humanism, is not yet widely used in Lithuania, its principles are well-known to urban activists. Recent hot debates on the public spaces in Lithuanian cities revealed the need to involve sensitive analysis of public spaces in the planning processes. It is expected that acquaintance with Gehl’s works and methods will make a productive turn in the discussions about urban planning principles.

The exhibition was organised by The Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Embassy of Denmark in Latvia and The Danish Ministry of Culture.

Here you can watch an inspiring lecture by Jan Gehl.