Bridge of Peace: the new architecture of Georgia

Across the River Mt'k'vari (Kura) that runs through the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, is the new architecture of the Bridge of Peace.

The pedestrian Peace Bridge, built by Italian architect Michele De Lucchi and French lighting director Philippe Martinaud is composed of glass and iron connecting Old Tbilisi with the new district. It has a 150m canopy roof of steel and glass. Officially opened on 6th May 2010, the bridge was ordered by the city hall of Tbilisi in an effort to create a contemporary design feature to put the capital on the global architectural map.

The bridge provides a unique view of the Metekhi Church and Narikala Fortress to one side, and Baratashvili Bridge and the President's Residence to the other. More than a simple river crossing, the Bridge of Peace possesses an interactive light display system. There were 30,000 LEDs and 240 sensors installed within the structure and they convey specific messages, scrolled across the two parapets of the bridge every hour. The universal messages are relayed in Morse code. The result is such that the shimmering structure takes on an almost biological form – a marine creature undulating across the river.

The river extends for more than 30 km (19 miles) from the Avchala District to River Lochini. The part of the city which lies on the right side of the Mt'k'vari River is built along the foothills of the Trialeti Range. The slopes descend all the way to the edges of the river, causing a barrier to urban development on the right bank. This type of a geographic environment creates pockets of very densely developed areas while other parts of the city are left undeveloped due to the complex topographic relief.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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