The Airport Mestia is part of the ambitious plans of Georgia to stimulate tourism in the area. The building, designed by the architect Jürgen Mayer, was designed between October and November 2010 and opened on December 24 of the same year. Built by Georgian companies, with the participation of 300 people, the airport and its almost 1,200 meters of runway were completed in record time, 3 months.
Summary
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- 1 Situation
- 2 Description
- 3 Concept
- 4 Materials
- 5 Sources
Situation
Mestia is a beautiful medieval city with defensive stone towers that has been included in the UNESCO list as a World Heritage Site . Another reason why the city belonging to Georgia, one of the former republics of the Soviet Union , is known for its ski resort , between the Caucasus mountains , 1,400 meters above sea level.
Description
The small airport, of only 250 m2, enjoyed during its construction the same vitality with which it wants to infect the city. Consisting of three different wings, the design has a dynamic appearance and is covered in satin white and dark crystals that give it a solid appearance. Two ends of the building curve upward to form a unique design, the highest arm housing the control tower. In the other two wings are the cafeteria and the waiting room. The structural ribs of the building define these interior spaces, which are decorated with great contrasts of black and white. The small airport has modern technical equipment installed by European professionals and meets contemporary standards.
Concept
Its structure suggests a Russian space station set in a snowy environment. According to Mayer and his team, it is a happy and alternative ending to the 2001 movie , Space Odyssey , in which Kubrik recounts a failed space mission. The architect wanted the building to give the appearance that it “just landed on site.” The ends rise up, as if from impact. On the other hand, Mayer wanted the design and subsequent construction of the tower to echo the historical stone walls of Mestia. Mayer’s preferred airport is Tegel, in his Berlinnatal, which has a hexagonal plan arranged around a central square. Mestia’s new airport is seen as a segment of the main Tegel building whose tower has been bent and twisted in a less brutalistic way.
materials
Its structure, made up of three different wings with two ends facing the sky, was made of reinforced concrete and painted in satin white, closing its sides with dark-tinted glass and mounted on structural steel frames. The dark color of the crystals gives the building three-dimensionality despite its minimalist structure that, according to the architects, maintains its poetry in the middle of the glacial landscape. Inside there are numerous benches and stands that combine white with black finishes, the same color of the floor, absorbing together with the dark crystals, the excess light caused by the reflection of the snow .
