PALACE OF JUSTICE

Maria Antonietta Santangelo

The design by AMDL CIRCLE studio was the first urban redesign project for the expansion of Batumi, Georgia, leading the way to developing the area south of the waterfront. This tower is simultaneously a lighthouse on the Black Sea, an icon on the urban landscape, and a symbolic representation of the institution’s value. The cylindrical volume of the tower rises from its ellipsoidal base, which holds the first two floors, its quality as a base is accentuated by the projecting cantilever roof along its entire perimeter. The vertical element of the tower is off-axis to the planimetric center point of the first structure and is divided into 17 floors, the last of which holds the Minister’s offices and a large scenic terrace.
The structural continuum of reinforced concrete extends 66 meters upwards and tapers downwards, allowing the flexibility needed for the offices’ interior spaces, which were designed by minimizing internal divisions. The design’s emblematic quality is in the composition designs of its elevations, which give the architecture a light, sinuous quality, its technical pace punctuated by solids perfectly aligned with the centerline of their corresponding voids. It uses a fully- glazed envelope for the base structure and dynamic alternation of glazing for the tower. The glass modules are set back from the monochromatic curtain elements, ensuring proper lighting for the interiors all times of day.

The building can be seen from the hills and the sea, integrating well in the existing fabric, becoming an urban landmark that both takes its cue from the landscape and enhances it.