massimiliano + doriana fuksas: tbilisi public service hall

after two years of planning and construction, the ‘tbilisi public service hall’ designed by italian architects massimiliano and doriana fuksas of fuksas architects has been recently inaugurated in tbilisi, georgia. eleven diversely-shaped petals rise 35 meters above neighboring buildings of the urban and centrally located site to overlook the kura river. beneath the overlapping canopy, seven stacked volumes contain four levels of office space. their positioning envelopes a centralized public square, offering employees upward views to the underside of the roof and tree-columns. the branching pillars are positioned inside and outside the building to majestically support the roof entity, lifting it to be entirely separate from the building beneath. internal footbridges connect each of the levels for ease of circulation.

eleven petals form the roof
image © studio fuksas | all images courtesy of fuksas

view from the kura river
image © studio fuksas

image © studio fuksas

tree columns lift the roof from the building below
image © studio fuksas

image © studio fuksas

image © studio fuksas

image © studio fuksas

image © studio fuksas

image © studio fuksas

image © studio fuksas

image © studio fuksas

image © moreno maggi

image © moreno maggi

images © studio fuksas

image © moreno maggi

image © moreno maggi

within site context
image © moreno maggi

view of petals rising above its neighbors from a distance
image © studio fuksas

at dusk
image © moreno maggi

view from pedestrian bridge
image © moreno maggi

rendering
image © studio fuksas

model
image © studio fuksas

model
image © studio fuksas

aerial view of model
image © studio fuksas

project info:

project: tbilisi public service hall
site: tbilisi, georgia
address: sanapiro street 2
period: 2010-2012
client: LEPL civil registry agency – giorgi vashadze / LEPL national public registry agency
architectural project: massimiliano and doriana fuksas
project leader: emiliano scotti
project team: riccardo ferrari, matteo malatesta
model makers: nicola cabiati
total constructed surface: 42,000 m2
total constructed volume: 265,000 cubic meter
main hall surface: 4,385 m2
‘leaves’ surface: 24,800 m2
structural glass (enclosure): 2,390 m2
facade: 11,800 m2
parking plots: 838 (426 covered)
engineering: studio sarti, ai engineering
general contractor: huachuan georgia company ltd
program: national bank of georgia, LEPL civil registry agency, LEPL national public registry agency, ministry of energy
civil and national registry agency: 280 public desk
press room: 290 mq (150 seats) + foyer 100 m2
retails and facilities: 400 m2
terraces: 1860 m2
structure: reinforced concrete and steel
‘leaves’ structure: tri-dimensional steel reticular
‘leaves’ coating: glass fiber and epodossic resin
facades: structural glass and cellular glass
concept design: august 2010
preliminary project: 17 december 2010
tender phase: 6 may 2011