Anka Loladze
she/her
Georgian, 2000
@ankaloladze
Thesis: From the Mountain to the City: Landscape, Memory, and the Politics of Space in Georgia
ამაღლება (Elevation) sits at the intersection of vernacular material memory and the architecture of an imagined Soviet landscape. By decoding and re-appropriating the methods of Soviet industrial-scale architectural production and the traditional typology of the Darbazi (corbelled house), the work explores how the post-Soviet built environment materialized, decayed, and ultimately adapted.
The installation deliberately perverts the original intent and ideological value of these two opposing architectures. Here, the tension of the materials acts as a counter-force, creating a structure always on the verge of undoing itself.
The work manifests as a self-supporting system within the Rietveld space. It is comprised of 30 concrete blocks, hand-cast using wooden molds designed around a custom interlocking system. These blocks interface with 3.6-meter timber beams that have been blackened by fire - a material treatment referencing the internal fire-charring techniques characteristic of Darbazi dwellings.
By matching the dimensions of the timber to the notches of the concrete, the elements lock together using only their inherent weight. Without permanent fixtures, the structure exists in a state of precarious reliance.
