Tbilisi as a Palimpsest
Patterns, History, and Perceptions, in the Formation of a Reactive City
T. ziaiemehr (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
AS Alkan – Mentor (TU Delft - Theory, Territories & Transitions)
S. Tanović – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Teachers of Practice / A)
P. Medici – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Theory, Territories & Transitions)
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Abstract
There are places you have never been, yet you learn about them once you are there. There are also places you have never even dreamed possible, yet even after visiting them, your imagination never limits. One of these is Tbilisi.
Persians, Byzantines, Ottomans, Russians, and Soviets all contributed to the construction of the image of Tbilisi and had an impact on its birth, death, and continual resurrection. As a result, the city is what Boris Pasternak referred to as a chimera—a fantastical creature with an Eastern body and a Western head. Pasternak describes Tbilisi as the place that transformed his life and made him feel as though everything was in motion. I had the same impression; everything was taking place as a result of everyone's efforts.
The purpose of this study is to highlight the significance of Tbilisian intangible heritage as well as social dynamics and their direct impact on how the courtyard house's space is configured.
In its most complete form, Tbilisi's urban layout could be referred to as a palimpsest. Every empire's ideology has left its mark on the city's layout, allowing the urban grid to be read as a timeline, from the old town's winding streets with Persian influences to the Haussmannian grid of the 19th century with Russian influences to the wide alleyways with large housing complexes from the Soviet Period. Nevertheless, the newest urban layer is being built upon the old town, by altering and destroying centuries of memories and formal alterations made by the inhabitants.