STATEMENT

Tbilisi Architecture Biennial, 2024

The title of fourth edition of the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial is "Correct Mistakes". The theme was introduced following our presentation of the Georgian Pavilion at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale: the seizure of natural resources, landscapes exploited for profit, their ecosystems, neglected biographies tied to these environments, and the disregard for climate change demanded deeper analysis and reflection. Dramatic political events unfolding in this country added an additional, unique layer to the issues of environmental protection and the management of natural resources: our aim was to navigate these dynamics through a program that would engage architects, urban planners, policymakers, and environmental activists. Instead of creative reflection, authored architecture, or conceptual play around built structures, this years biennial will dedicate its platform entirely to documentary, research-based, and historical approaches—replacing the exhibit and artwork with scientific data and activist labor.

The building we are in is the Tbilisi Magnetic-Meteorological (Geophysical) Observatory built in 1862, part of the Tbilisi Hydrometeorological Institute, and recognized as a cultural heritage site. Scientists still work here, but following the transfer of the institute’s main building to the Ministry of Defense of Georgia and its subsequent vacating in the 2000s, the observatory partially functions as a temporary storage space. This building will serve as the main gathering area for this biennial. Located in a country rich in water resources and plagued by climate disasters, it holds thematic significance, whereas the structure of the entire exhibition encourages the exploration and study of the building and its surroundings. It emphasizes the importance of state scientific institutions, their histories, historiography, potential, and relevance.

The exhibition showcases pieces selected through an international open competition and beyond. Each work, including the curatorial project of the biennial itself, tells a story about climate change, Georgia’s rivers, glaciers, forests, soil, and its riches—a story of the collective mistakes made – whether they were correct and/or hopefully, their possible correction.