Georgian NOA Studio Project Nominated for Mies Van der Rohe Prize
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century and is also considered to be the founder of modernist architecture. The foundation named after him was founded in Barcelona in 1983 and in recent years has been awarding a special prize in the field of modern architecture. The award is given once every two years to the best modern European architecture projects, recently we often see Georgian projects in the nominations.
Among the nominations this year was a project of a private house of the architectural office, NOA Studio. Because jury members cannot meet in a pandemic, the 2021 awards will be held in May 2022.
The main challenge of this project was to create a private house on a sloping terrain, in a fairly densely populated area. The house is located in Tskneti and its area is 550 square meters. According to the architects, their goal was to isolate the house from its neighbors, but at the same time to open the view to the Caucasus Mountains. The slope of the terrain slopes to the north, making it difficult for sunlight to enter the house.
The sloping terrain is leveled in the middle and the back-cut land is tilted forward as it forms a yard above street level, on the second floor level. The high retaining wall acts as a fence and separates it from the lower street, while the side of the house forms a kind of garden at street level, which extends to the roof of the house. There are three inner courtyards at the back to give the building plenty of lighting and natural ventilation.
The main material in the project is concrete, which is left without cladding on the facade. This material is related to the brutalist constructions of Soviet Georgia and also represents modern architecture, creating additional comfort and a sense of security at home.
''Receiving the EU award is of great importance for Georgia. After all, architecture serves cities and, consequently, the country. It will be a great recognition for our office, but getting on the shortlist will be a great success,''-said Ketuna Kruashvili, the founder of Noa Studios at AT.ge.