Competition 2024
A New Chapter in German-Georgian Relations
If you wanted to create an ideal and ambitious project for recreation, art, and public gathering, what location would you choose?
You would probably think of a place with excellent transport and pedestrian accessibility, an intensively landscaped and attractive environment, or perhaps a site adjacent to historically developed areas, where the connection between old and new, artificial and natural environments can be expressed with particular strength.
However, we must surprise you: the competition site does not resemble your ideal at all—in fact, it can be said to be quite the opposite. And this is precisely the main challenge of the competition.
The area we have selected is only awaiting its economic and cultural revival and development. Today, it is undeveloped, uninhabited, and, one might say, almost barren. The region faces numerous challenges: major tourist routes—including wine and agrotourism routes—pass at a distance, leaving it outside the focus of visitors, despite its rich cultural heritage monuments. Local youth lack opportunities for employment, professional growth, and personal development, which is one of the main reasons for the depopulation of villages.
We believe that the winning project of this competition has great potential to create a new center of attraction and to stimulate regional development. We sincerely hope that the project will generate significant interest among the local community.
We also believe that architects will respond to this challenge. We look forward to design proposals that are sensitive to the natural environment, international architectural trends, local architectural traditions, as well as the broader national and international cultural context.
We, the competition organizers, Knauf Gypsum, hope that this competition will become another page in the centuries-old history of Georgian-German cultural relations.
Giorgi Japaridze
Sales and Marketing Director Knauf Gypsum Tbilisi
Main Objectives Of The Project:
- To reveal the significance and potential of the site;
- To create a place that becomes an important element of local public life and one of the key centers of everyday activity through the active involvement of the local community;
- To strengthen both the civic and cultural importance of the site;
- To integrate the site’s civic, cultural, touristic, and agricultural character in a harmonious way;
- To take into account social and cultural contexts;
- To create a flexible, year-round complex operating 365 days a year, capable of hosting events of various scales;
- To establish a sustainable attraction that enhances the perception of the site as a cultural hub, adding to its identity as a refuge for art and culture enthusiasts through exhibitions, gatherings, seminars and workshops, folk festivals, food and local cuisine festivals, and other events;
The competition organizers are looking for an architectural team that can demonstrate exceptional talent and creativity;
- To create a distinctive, contemporary, and environmentally sensitive project;
- To correctly perceive and understand the national and international historical-cultural significance of the site, as well as its civic and social context;
- To consider all potential uses and users of the center and bring life to the place.