Batumi, 6 Konstantine Gamsakhurdia Street / 5 Shota Rustaveli Street
Brief Description of the Building:
Constructed in the mid-20th century, this large three-story multi-apartment residential building is designed in a U-shaped layout, enclosing three street frontages and serving as a defining architectural element of the neighborhood’s microdistrict. A mansard level was added later, running along the entire perimeter of the building. It encloses a spacious inner courtyard.
The building reflects the architectural aesthetics of the mid-20th century, with façade elements drawn from the classical repertoire. At the corner of K. Gamsakhurdia and Sh. Rustaveli streets, the façade recesses to form a rectangular tower-like projection. In contrast, the corner facing N. Baratashvili Street is softened with an oval form.
The high rusticated basement level beneath the tower includes 11 entranceways, anchored by a terrace with balustrades resting on arches. The second and third floors feature rows of rectangular windows. Short, cantilevered balconies alternate across these levels, some with wrought-iron railings and others with cast concrete decorative elements, supported by ornate brackets. The balcony doors are crowned with varied pediment-like ornamental headers.
Originally, the building was topped by a richly profiled cornice adorned with a sculpted frieze. However, the later addition of a mansard level with fish-scale roofing and a low pitch did not harmonize with the original aesthetic. Entrance doors are framed by arch-topped tympanums enclosed within pilaster-lined rectangular frames. The stairwells and entrances are of a simple design.
On the courtyard side, continuous loggias once extended along the perimeter of each floor, but these have since been altered or enclosed through various additions, significantly changing their original appearance.
The building includes a basement level, commercial spaces (including two cafés) on the ground floor, and a hotel on the mansard level. With its restrained scale and expressive Soviet classical style, the building plays a significant role in shaping the spatial character and organization of the surrounding neighborhood.
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