Post-Soviet Georgia has shown nothing but disdain for the modernist buildings constructed during the USSR era. Yet these structures demonstrated genuine architectural innovation, often acute aesthetic concerns, attention to the common good, and social utility. Today, a few passionate individuals are working to save this neglected heritage from ruin and oblivion.
In Georgia, most of the emblematic buildings from the late "modernist" period in architecture, all constructed between 1960 and 1990, have been demolished. The collapse of the Soviet bloc was accompanied by a surge in corruption and a privatization frenzy. Under these conditions, the preservation of national cultural heritage was relegated to the bottom of authorities' concerns. A large portion of archives related to construction projects from the Soviet era subsequently disappeared.
Three local architects are now trying to remedy this situation. In 2020, they founded the Tbilisi Architecture Archive (TAA), a structure that builds on the capital's Architecture Biennial, created three years earlier. On their online platform, Natia Abasachvili, Mariam Gegidze, and Nino Tchatchkhiani collect all sorts of documents related to Soviet late modernism, which experienced particularly rich forms of expression in Georgia during the last three decades of the USSR's existence.
"These include photographs, sketches, original drawings, handwritten notes, and construction plans," explains Gegidze, a doctoral student at the Technical University of Berlin. "The Tbilisi Architecture Archive is both an online collection and an information platform, in Georgian and English. We present projects, biographies, and works of architects who primarily worked in the capital. We want to increase visibility and improve understanding of local architectural heritage, particularly that from the late Soviet era, which is extremely threatened."
The generation of architects who shaped this period is gradually disappearing, Gegidze continues, along with the legacy they left behind. Unfortunately, no institution exists to systematically document and preserve this architectural heritage. The popular Laguna Vere aquatic center, completed in 1978 and designed by Chota Kavlachvili, Ramaz Kiknadze, and Gouram Abouladze, represents one of the most striking examples of this endangered modernist architecture.
The Ministry of Road Construction building, designed by the architectural duo Giorgi Chakhava and Zourab Jalaghania and completed in 1975, stands as another testament to the creative period of late Soviet modernism in Georgia. These structures embodied a unique blend of modernist principles with local cultural elements, creating a distinctive Georgian architectural identity within the broader Soviet context.
The challenge facing preservationists today extends beyond simple documentation. Many of these buildings are in various states of decay, victims of neglect, lack of maintenance funding, and changing urban development priorities. The rapid transformation of Tbilisi's urban landscape in the post-Soviet period has often prioritized new construction over heritage preservation, leading to the loss of significant architectural landmarks.
The work of the Tbilisi Architecture Archive represents a critical effort to salvage what remains of this architectural legacy. By digitizing documents, conducting interviews with surviving architects and their families, and raising public awareness about the value of this heritage, the three founders hope to inspire a new appreciation for Georgia's modernist architectural past. Their efforts also aim to influence contemporary urban planning decisions and encourage more thoughtful approaches to heritage conservation in the rapidly changing cityscape of modern Tbilisi.
