Batumi, 8–10 Konstantine Gamsakhurdia Street
Brief Description of the Building:
Built in 1910, this institutional-type building originally housed the Batumi branch of the State Bank and exhibits architectural features typical of government classicist structures. Today, it serves as the seat of the Constitutional Court of Georgia.
The two-story building, constructed in exposed brickwork, stands on a stone plinth along the street perimeter with a longitudinal façade facing Gamsakhurdia Street. Its layout and façade ornamentation are carefully articulated. The façade is punctuated on the first floor by rectangular (flat-headed) windows and on the second floor by arched windows topped with decorative pediments. The brick surfaces are structured with ornamental elements, including a complex, profiled cornice featuring triglyphs, rosettes, and friezes running between and above the stories.
The arches and pilasters of the second floor are finished with plastered bases and Corinthian-style capitals. The building s main entrance faces Gamsakhurdia Street and is marked by a classicist, arched doorway with decorative pilasters and a molded pediment. The double wooden doors are adorned with Art Nouveau wrought-iron grilles and carvings.
The parapet is also fitted with Art Nouveau-style ironwork, placed between cube-shaped piers featuring oval and button motifs. This combination of classical and Art Nouveau decorative vocabulary makes the building an interesting and rare architectural example of stylistic fusion.
Inside the building, the entrance leads to a spacious hall featuring a stone staircase and arched-vaulted ceilings. The rear side of the building has been adapted, with a terrace built between two protruding wings, now enclosed by a metal frame and glass canopy supported by iron columns. Most of the original wooden window frames have been replaced with modern aluminum fittings.
Overall, the structure stands out for its compositional clarity, ornamentation, and the harmonious blending of classicism with early 20th-century modernist elements.
