SVAN
Client: Tbilisi
Biennial
Year: 2022
Location: Tbilisi, GE
Program: Installation
Size: —
Type: Competition
Team:
Jorik Bais, Alexandra Heijink
Georgia’s history has been shaped by uncertainty. From its origins, the nation has grappled with a sense of belonging—are we Ottoman, Persian, Russian, or European? This volatility is mirrored in Georgia’s architecture, a fragmented mix of styles ranging from Neo-Classical to Art Nouveau, from Modernism to Constructivism. Temporality is a constant theme; nothing seems to last.
The Svan defense tower may be the only non-eclectic architectural typology of Georgian origin. Traditionally built alongside medieval village houses, these towers in the Svanetia region served as refuges during hostile intrusions. Internally, the towers feature a series of vertically stacked rooms, increasing in size as the walls thin towards the top—an architectural response to both form and function.
The tower offered physical protection, but more importantly, it provided a profound sense of security. No matter what, when, or for how long, the villagers knew they could endure within its walls. The Svan tower is a masterpiece of Georgian perseverance, an icon of permanence in the nation’s history.
Reimagining the Svan tower as a symbolic object rather than a functional one offers a positive outlook: its porous and fragile appearance now expresses confidence—nowhere to hide, nothing to hide from. The internal structure becomes visible: four boxes of increasing size hover above one another, resembling an inverted Maslow pyramid. These boxes symbolize the hierarchy of needs for the Georgian population—resources, living spaces, job opportunities, self-actualization. Encased in four thin, elongated pieces of fabric, wrapped in a single continuous motion, the structure delicately balances, representing the political stability needed as the foundation for progress toward a better future.