Georgian Architecture

Titled "January, February, March", the Georgian Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale is curated by the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial. Exploring the relationship between the flow of time and energy, the Georgian intervention "will represent dead and living nature through the story of an artificially altered settlement in the Dusheti region of Georgia". Running from May 20th to November 26th, 2023 in the Giardini, at the Arsenale, and at various sites around Venice, the 18th International Architecture Exhibition tackles "the Laboratory of the Future".

This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights residential projects submitted by the ArchDaily community. From a small community-dwelling in Ghana to a villa tucked under a hillside in Portugal, this roundup of unbuilt projects explores how architects react to various site topographies, cultures, and material availability when designing spaces that provide more than shelter to their users. The article also includes projects from India, Iran, Ireland, Latvia, Georgia, and Saudi Arabia.

Time magazine has released the World’s Greatest Places Of 2021, selecting 100 destinations from around the globe. With revitalized riverfronts, affordable artistic incubators, and superlative city-states, the list is a tribute to the built and natural environment that found a way “to adapt, build and innovate”, amidst the challenges of the past year.

Focusing on the different typologies of houses, this week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights conceptual projects submitted by the ArchDaily Community. From urban developments to tiny homes, this article explores the topic of residential architecture and presents approaches from all over the world.

Marc Thorpe Design has unveiled a new home concept along a tributary of the Savannah River in the United States. Sited in the deep south, the "House of Four Gardens" was designed between live oaks and perennial ferns. Access to nature was a central concept throughout the entire home, and each space is defined by the geometry of the structure in plan.

The Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) has launched the new virtual series Architecture & Urbanism for Justice to foster more equitable approaches to architecture and urbanism. These free courses are presented by the museum and intended for teen and adult designers, non-designers, activists and organizers. Participants will get the chance to learn about the Design Justice movement, discussing case studies and exploring resources to help respond to injustices within their own communities.

Highlighting proposals presented in international competitions, this week’s selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture combines various functions, diverse conceptual approaches, and innovative ideas. Submitted by our readers, these projects include an awarded pavilion in Vietnam, a cantilevered-bridge proposal in New York, and a sustainable botanical center in Poland, amongst others from all over the globe.

Founded in 2006, by three partners – Dimitri Shapakidze, Irakli Abashidze, and Otar Nemsadze in Tbilisi, Georgia, Laboratory of Architecture #3 is known for such enigmatic projects as the Grove Design Hotel (2017), Mediatheque (2017), both in Tbilisi, and Visitor Center for Architectural Miniatures Park (2016) in Shekvetili, Georgia. Nemsadze left the partnership in 2011, to pursue his studies in the Netherlands to advance his independent career. In 2018, he co-founded Tbilisi Architecture Biannual and is currently undertaking his PhD at Tbilisi State University. The practice attracted attention from the very beginning. The partners’ first project was a private villa for a local entrepreneur and their hotel on Leselidze Street in Tbilisi was a result of a competition that they won in their inaugural year. After just six years since its inception, Laboratory of Architecture #3 was named the 2012 Best Architect of the year in Georgia. The current two partners, Shapakidze (b. 1983, Tbilisi) and Abashidze (b. 1984, Tbilisi) know each other since their childhood. They were neighbors and then studied at the Georgian Technical University in Tbilisi one year apart. They both worked for local architects while studying at the university and started their office right after graduation. The following interview with Dimitri Shapakidze took place over lunch at the Grove Design Hotel.

ArchDaily and Strelka Mag have launched a jointly curated section that will host projects of emerging architects and offices that promote new design ideas and bring about positive transformations in their cities.

Architects and developers have always been on opposite ends of the construction world. While the first wanted to create dreamy spaces, the latter just wanted to cater to the basic needs. In these past few years, the world has witnessed significant changes, with the aggravation of climate-related issues, the evolution of technological solutions, and the newly acquired awareness and growth of the population.