Hotel Iveria

The project’s goal is to transform an urban landmark building of the so-called international style by anchoring it in the local environment of the city center and reconnecting it to the world of today. In many former communist countries, architectural icons from “socialist” times are being transformed and countries are seeking to express their own identity with a renewed sense of confidence.

The design respects the basic form and placement of the typical modernist high-rise while introducing strong interventions that heighten its qualities: the ground and first floors have been gutted and given a new base that relates the lobby and restaurant to its surroundings, while the top two floors have been transformed into spa and wellness facilities with a spectacular view over the city and to the Caucasus Mountains beyond.

The exterior has been re-clad with a sleek skin of rhythmic curtain-wall glazing, while the interiors refer to local traditions such as the wooden balconies of Tbilisi (hotel rooms), the local sulphur bathing culture (spa) or the wood relief-work, carpeting and niches in the restaurants and bars. Transformed, abstracted images of grapes are used as a decorative device throughout the project.