Tbilisi Cityscape Research Center

Ubani—Tbilisi Cityscape Research Center, a new independent non-profit organization based in Tbilisi, has officially opened. Ubani is committed to preserving and generating knowledge about Tbilisi, its architecture, and its urban form. 

Standing at the crossroads of Eastern and Western cultures, Tbilisi is one of Europe’s oldest capitals. It is distinguished by its fusion of topographies, with its city fabric woven from diverse grids and typologies. The word ubani means “district” in Georgian. We’re looking at how the city’s distinct relief and regional position have significantly influenced the historical events that have, in turn, defined its unique appearance.

The Ubani team seeks to foster an engaged community to support the global recognition of Tbilisi’s architecture and unique urban landscape. This mission is critical, as the particular buildings and form of the city in general remain in constant danger of disappearance, despite the efforts by various private initiatives.

Ubani’s program operates in physical and online spaces, including research projects, workshops, exhibitions, public talks, publications, and digital cartography.

Research
The first-year program (2024) in Ubani has delved into Tbilisi’s geological foundation, examining how its rugged terrain has shaped architectural choices. Ubani explores the city’s adaptive architectural strategies amid its unique landscape, ranging from ancient brick masonry to Soviet modernist designs and contemporary realities. More.

Publishing
Ubani’s publishing program has launched with the release of  Hollow: The Map of Tbilisi, a detailed map of Tbilisi’s relief and urban fabric, supplemented with essays on the city’s topography.
Furthermore, Ubani is translating into English the seminal monograph by architect and restorer Vakhtang Tsintsadze —Tbilisi: Architecture of the Old City and Residential Buildings of the First Half of the 19th Century, 1958, into English. The book discusses the history of Tbilisi’s development and the architecture of residential houses in the 19th century.  The survey has a vital role in understanding the urban fabric of Old Tbilisi as a whole and perceiving it as a monument, as well as in developing the architectural analysis and typologies of individual houses in Tbilisi. The translation will be accompanied by a supplement to the new edition, incorporating contemporary studies of the historical city’s conditions alongside the original text. The publication will provide a comprehensive understanding of the book and its author. More.

Digital Cartography  
RUKA, a digital cartography project, enhances Tbilisi’s online global presence by creating custom data maps that highlight the city’s unique features and history through data visualization of its geography, architecture, and hidden urban layers. More.

Public Program
Ubani opened its doors on March 13, 2024, launching its public program with a lecture “Realism after Real Socialism” by Pier Paolo Tamburelli, the Italian architect, theorist, and co-founder of the magazine San Rocco. More.

In May Ubani also hosted a lecture by Sarah Cowles — “Tbilisi, unfolding”, moderator — Peter Culley, exhibition of Barrie Hullegie’s photographic works in collaboration with IERI store. More.

Our upcoming events include:
Kristin Wentzel: Re-Collecting Architecture
June, 2024

“(RE)Collecting architecture—memory, transformation, and identity” is conceived as a research workshop that investigates sustainable approaches toward cultural and architectural heritage. 

Martin Bricelj Baraga: Nonumnet
September, 2024

Research workshop in Tbilisi to collect archive data, oral histories, and images of selected Nonuments, followed by public talk and presentation. “Nonuments” are twentieth-century architecture, monuments, public spaces, and infrastructural projects that have lost or undergone a shift in symbolic meaning as a consequence of political and social changes.

Ubani, O’BVdS, Chair for Architecture and Design Christ & Gantenbein, ETH Zurich, Architectural Affairs: The Rocks, A history of Tbilisi through its inhabitation of landscape
October, 2024

The workshop unfolds through four key epochs of the city which capture the history of Tbilisi: 17th century; 19th century (Russian empire); 20th century (USSR); 21st century (post-Soviet period) and proposes to look at this in a cross-section of four eras, contemplating the habitat through geography, typologies, material science, popular culture.