INFLUENCE OF BUILDINGS EXTERIOR ON THE LANDSCAPE OF THE NEMUNAS DELTA REGIONAL PARK

Abstract

Protected areas were established in Lithuania in order to preserve not only the natural and cultural heritage, landscape and biodiversity, but the landscape and ecological balance, the genetic fund, to restore the natural resources and to provide educational recreation, research and environmental monitoring as well as the promotion of natural and cultural heritage protection. The Nemunas Delta Regional Park was established to preserve the lower Nemunas landscape, the natural ecosystem and cultural heritage values, and manage them rationally. Protected areas residents seek to reconstruct, modernize the existing buildings, in such a way the landscape is being changing. The evaluation of the structures belonging to one hundred park’s homesteads showed that the existing older buildings roof covering is from grey asbestos slates (56 %). In recent years, ceramic tiles and non-asbestos slates are being increasingly used as roofing material, wood (characteristic for grey colour) is usually used for building wall decoration (48 %). These colours correspond to the regulated by the park management regulations. The Regional Park landscape is blemished by the ruins of abandoned buildings, individual illegal structures, unsuitable colours selected for building exteriors decoration, the recommended window division into four or six sections is not being kept to.

Keywords: protected areas, the Nemunas Delta Regional Park, buildings, landscape.

Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2015.051