'housing block bagebi' is inspired by the abandoned buildings of the soviet era

living in an abandoned-like building

‘housing block bagebi’ is a residential project inspired by the abandoned, unfinished buildings of the soviet era, where IDP (internally displaced person) from the abkhazian war are settled. with the metaphor of an unfinished building, wunderwerk in collaboration with DM studio sought to combine new, improved housing and the common aesthetics of the above-mentioned buildings putting different social forms into one grid.

the building is located on the tbilisi-tskneti highway in georgia, next to the former student campus. the project brief was to create a building consisting of 35 residential units, though the client’s desire was not solely focused on the commercialization and selling of the apartments. due to its location, which is a forested area, there was a need to create a building that reflected a spacious, healthy living environment, unlike the tight constructions surrounding it.all images courtesy of wunderwerk 

a bare frame devoid of unnecessary formation

‘housing block bagebi’ is nominated for the european union prize for contemporary architecture mies van der rohe award. during the location analysis, the architects (find more here) researched important soviet-era buildings nearby, including the student campus complex of maghlivi university, where refugees from abkhazia have been housed for decades. the intuitive connection and predominant reference while developing the forms of the building was the notion of a completely bare frame, which contained various ways of fulfilling itself. in general, the form goes through many stages of criticism and often returns to the original intuitive image or archetype, yet with a more sophisticated composition.

the horizontal and vertical elements of the facade are as functional as possible and have a basic structural and engineering-sanitary role. at their expense, the living spaces offer more freedom and are easier to customize. this allowed the architects to avoid excessive costs and omit materials, which tend to be expensive when creating the expressiveness of a building. in each apartment, remains only a simple dividing line between the inner and outer realms.

due to the difficult terrain, the building has entrances to three different levels. the structure includes sports and recreational spaces for children on the ground floor; a two-story underground car park, swimming pools on the green roof verandas, and a garden planted with various plants — initiation by the client due to the necessity of filling the existing ravine. critical building content is important in addition to providing functionality to the client and residents.

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axonometric plan

axonometric plan

project info:

name: housing block bagebi
designer: wunderwerk in collaboration with DM studio

design team: george beriashvili, david makharoblishvili, gigi shukakidze

location: tbilisi-tskneti highway, georgia 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina petridou | designboom