Contemporary georgian architectural theory and practice: the legacy of Shota Bostanashvili

摘要

Shota Bostanashvili (1948-2013), a practising architect and a pioneer in developing thepoetics of architecture, was a cultural theorist. His philosophy centred around anarchitectural discourse specifically addressing architecture and linguistic play, andthe semiotics of architecture. The objective of this paper is to identify the themesunderpinning his philosophy of architecture and his legacy relative to hiscontemporaries. This paper is based on primary sources including Bostanashvili’sbuildings, monuments and publications together with unpublished material from theShota Bostanashvili Archive (Tbilisi). Reference is also made to video footage from theGeorgian Public Broadcast, conferences and other sources. This paper concludes byidentifying outstanding milestones in Bostanashvili’s legacy, both on a pragmatic anda theoretical level. The former relates to the poetics and metapoetics of architecturewhilst the latter correlates to architecture as a unique individual spiritual experienceand to the poetics of space as part of cultural history rather than phenomenology.He opted for paper architecture as a mode of abstract and poetic expression toapproach architecture design education. This paper delves into the margins ofnormative European architectural historiography. It is a first in documenting in detailthe legacy of Shota Bostanashvili, an outstanding Georgian architect, academic,sculptor and poet who is barely known in Western countries, thereby highlighting hisimpact on the theory of architecture.