Winning project unveiled for presidential library venue in western capital Zugdidi

Zugdidi, a regional capital in Georgia’s west, will have a brand-new Youth Centre and Presidential Library named after the country’s first president Zviad Gamsakhurdia after the winner of an architectural competition for the venue was revealed on Monday.

A collaborative project between a T-Architects team and architects David Tsanava and Nikoloz Maisuradze was unveiled as the winning entry of the 5m lari ($1.7m/€1.4m) project.

The contest, run by the state Municipal Development Fund, called for a venue placed adjacent to a park surrounding the historical Dadiani Palace of local nobility in the city.

A look at the first floor interior of the building. Image: T-Architects.

Designated to serve locals and visitors of the city and act as a modern public space, the library is also seen as a contribution to bringing new life to the historical part of Zugdidi, after a recent renovation of the palace.

In response, the authors of the winning design created a four-sided venue offering a view over the park as well as towards a local school, a skate park and downtown Zugdidi.

The architects said the shape and location of their design served to create public spaces of varying designation in its yard, placing a “cafe, a reading space, an amphitheatre and a green corner” as “inseparable” parts of the outdoor space.

The team of the winning project designed the building with views to four sides overlooking looking points of interest. Image: T-Architects.

A number of indoor spaces are featured in the 1200 square metre design across two floors of the building, with a hall, a cafe and a multimedia library on the first storey. The second floor features an exhibition space, a terrace and administrative rooms.

The T-Architects team involved creatives Giorgi Inasaridze, Levan Mirianashvili, Mikheil Maghlakelidze and Gigi Tavidashvili. Two Georgian companies were featured in the competition for the project.