The school's main focus is to explore water as a shared resource in the northwestern Caucasus region of Svaneti, Samegrelo, and Abkhazia, which are connected and separated by the Enguri River. The program will examine the water bodies along the Enguri River, including its delta and the city of Anaklia, as well as their complex political and social history and present.
Program Design
The School will be organised in the frames of the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial 2024. Participants will work for one week in groups of up to five, conducting field research on three topics: River Enguri, Anaklia City, and the Enguri River Delta area. Several mentors will guide the participants. As a preparation for this fieldwork, the participants will also be offered online seminars and workshops, providing insights into various methodologies and the local regional context.
Location
Anaklia is a resort village on the Black Sea's southeastern coast to the Enguri River's left side. The Enguri River is a significant waterway connecting Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia. The river originates from the high Caucasus near Georgia's highest mountain, Shkhara. It flows through the mountain valleys to the northwest before turning southwest and emptying into the Black Sea near Anaklia. Abkhazia is a de facto state located just a few kilometres away from Anaklia and has been the site of numerous conflicts since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2011, the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced a large-scale project on the Black Sea. The project aimed to construct a new city and port named Lazika near the fishing village of Anaklia. The project aimed to improve mobility and logistics in the area and create a bridge between Europe and Asia. The project still needs to be completed and was later transferred to the Anaklia Development Consortium, a joint venture between Georgia and the United States. The consortium, which does not exist anymore, had new plans to transform the village into a private smart city named Anaklia City. However, the city's future and its natural resources remain uncertain. The project left several buildings on the ground, including remnants of a futuristic city never built. These include the completed but never opened city hall by the architectural firm Architects of Invention, a large-scale sculpture by German architect Jürgen Mayer H., and a deep-sea harbour.
Contacts:
Tinatin Gurgenidze lives and works between Tbilisi and Berlin. She is the main organiser of the summer school. Tinatin is also a co-founder of the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial.
Lado Shonia lives and works in Tbilisi. He is also the main organiser of the school. Lado is an architect and a co-founder of the W2KSHOP Collective.
