Tbilisi, Georgia
An exemplary scheme to breathe new life into a crumbling city
Nick Shavishvili
vernacular architecture built over 1,500 years, an eclectic mix of Middle Eastern and European influences. It is a jumble of ancient potholed crooked streets, crumbling walled courtyards, wonky overhanging balconies, amazing wrought-iron gates and doors, higgledy-piggledy spiral stairs and fine (if peeling and battered) examples of art nouveau and neo-classicism. The architecture tells
the story of Old Tbilisi’s long cosmopolitan tradition – from Arabs in medieval times, Persians, Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Azeris, Jews, and later Russians have all settled here alongside indigenous Georgians. The town was first built in 500AD, with Dachi, the heir of one of Georgia’s greatest kings, constructing the capital according to his father’s plans and incorporating churches that remain standing to this day. And despite significant
A uniquely historic city, the Georgian capital Tbilisi epitomises the quandary for so many governments in the developing world. Like others in these financially straitened times – Old Cairo, Riga, Odessa, Lima, Mexico City, the magnificent ancient Yemeni cities and others – lack of funds precludes Tbilisi from seizing an architectural solution to the urgent need for economic regeneration. Old Tbilisi is on the tentative
list of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites of significant architectural and urban value, and is a
candidate for inclusion on the 100 most endangered urban historic sites. The ambition, according to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), is its continuation ‘as a homogeneous urban organism (which) is still alive and preserved not in scattered individual buildings, but in its whole entity’. Georgia must find the money
to rescue its banks and supply badly-needed city jobs by reviving its highly labour- intensive construction industry. The dilemma is how to do this at the same time as preserving the
Old Town, one of the world’s oldest Christian cities. Successful restoration of Old Tbilisi – described by ICOMOS as a ‘city chronicler’ whose buildings ‘offer a fascinating narrative of its historic life from the 5th century AD to the present’ – should, on the precedent of other historic sites, generate plentiful tourist revenues and jobs. Old Tbilisi and its inhabitants have an indomitable spirit (it has survived 29 invasions) that has kept it alive. This is reflected in the vitality and charm contained in its
intervention over the centuries, the original connection between the ancient Silk Road trading city and its environs is still preserved. The Old City is sited along the River Mtkvari, with its ancient narrow streets winding up a picturesque mountain ridge to a 4th century fortress. But charming as Old Tbilisi
may look, the fact remains that it is in a terrible state. After decades of neglect and an earthquake or two, some historic churches and houses have already collapsed and been lost. Residents are leaving, adding to the sense of abandonment. Houses leak and lack proper water, gas or electricity supplies. Part of Old Tbilisi’s challenge is its scale. The entire size of the region is 18.7km2 of which 4.3km2
, comprises the
oldest buildings and 9.1km2 the whole area where
The Architectural Review / October 2010 / View 027
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