architects of invention: lazika municipality office building

‘lazika municipality’ by architects of invention, tbilisi, georgiaimage © architects of inventionall images courtesy of architects of invention

along the black sea coast in the developing city of lazika lies the newly built municipality building designed by UK and georgia-based practice architects of invention, who have shared with us previously unpublished images. as the newly elected government decides the future of lazika, the integrated steel frame structure provides an iconic start for the potential growth of its surroundings. rather than the traditional organization of spaces into stacked floors, the architects returned to the historical structure of the region where buildings were built on stilts, and realized the public service hall, wedding hall and municipal offices as three separate sculptural masses existing within the tall angular steel pillars. each supported volume contains a unique space and characteristic and share a special relationship to each other through the voids between them. a central core of reflective red glass reveals the elevator and stairwell that connects each component.

the lowest transparent glass box contains the public service hall, easily accessible to the public as it will have a more frequent use, followed by the semi-transparent wedding hall with a rounded back wall and access to an exterior terrace, and finally topped by a translucent square with a central void that allows light and views to the offices and from the lower levels. this top volume is clad in perforated steel panels that filter out 50% of the direct light.

entrance roadimage © architects of invention

approachimage © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

entrance to public service hallimage © architects of invention

thin stairs lead up to the wedding hallimage © architects of invention

three unique masses are supported by angular steel beamsimage © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

a central core of circulation with a red-glass encased elevator services all volumesimage © architects of invention

(left) long thin columns support the volumes(right) entrance to the wedding hallimage © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

wedding hallimage © architects of invention

view through the void in the top volume (offices)image © architects of invention

circulation coreimage © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

stair wellimage © architects of invention

public service hallimage © architects of invention

colorful glass boxes delineate different gathering spacesimages © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

overlapping views mix different tones of colors and create new huesimage © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

officesimage © architects of invention

view to the void in the office volumeimage © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

transparent public service hall, semi-transparent wedding hall, and translucent officesimage © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

image © architects of invention

bird’s eye viewimage © architects of invention

site plan

site plan

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 2

section

section

structural diagram

program massing

volume development