Creative Indust.& Crafts Develop.
PRESERVATION OF GEORGIAN MONUMENTS
Preparation of design documentation for Restoration and Adaptation
of Borjomi Cavalry Building as a Museum
Sponsors and Intro:
In 2017, GACC startedto provide consultant services for the development of a detailed reconstruction design of the Cavalry Building in Borjomi, the city’s architectural pearl. The project is implemented by the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia under the Third Regional Development Project (RDP III) and co-financed by the World Bank Group and the Government of Georgia.
History:
Cavalry Building, which is recognised as the cultural heritage site, as well as of the surroundings. Constructed in 1880, in a pseudo-Gothic style, the Cavalry Building, together with the adjacent park, first functioned as a summer residence of the Russian emperor Nicolas II (What is missing here is how it became a Cavalry Building). The building, originally constructed with natural stone, brick, and wood, exhibits façades that are made solely from squared hewn stone and are framed with masonry apertures, cornices and balconies decorated with wood. The building also includes a later annex with an original façade imitation. Integrated into the surrounding landscape, the Cavalry Building, with its monumental look, represents an outstanding sample of the late 19th century architecture. A site of cultural heritage, it requijomires proper protection in order to be converted for any future use.
What prevents us from that being done (state of the problem):
At its current state, the building is severely damaged: its retaining walls are eroded and weakened, its back part has partially collapsed, and the inter-floor roofing, the roof and the interior are entirely destroyed.
What will be done:
Upon the building’s restoration and conversion into a museum, it is anticipated that it will house a part of the artefacts that are currently stored at the Borjomi Regional Museum (the former Romanov’s Chancellery). In order to ensure this transformation, GACC is working on the development project of producing a detailed design of the building that will be used as the basis for the future work. We aim to prepare a design that will help to preserve the building’s authenticity and cultural significance and will require a minimum of alterations in its texture and significant elements. At the same time, we pay special attention to building’s future use as the museum. This requires us to consider the possible solutions for disability access, engineering utilities, fire protection and security, and health and safety standards — all in order to reach the best compromise between the need to limit the impact on the building’s cultural significance and the demand for innovative approaches.
How it will be done:
GACC will carry the work out in three stages. In the first phase, the documentation work with cadastral documents, as well as topographic and geological examination of the site, will be performed. During the second stage, the Sketch Design for the Cavalry Building’s restoration and adaptation for a museum will be prepared. This Design will consider the remarks issued by the Municipal Development Fund and the National Agency for Cultural Preservation of Georgia. The third step of the process will include the preparation of a detailed working design documentation that will consist of, among others, a through location plan, a plan of communications, pedestrian and vehicle routes, an engineering plan, drawings of the museum’s shops and of small architectural forms, as well as detailed specifications of an economic analysis. The whole duration of the project is estimated to last for 10 months.
