Photo ©Joel Rookwood, courtesy of Studio Fuksas
Less than fifteen years after its completion, the Rike Park | Musical Theatre and the Exhibition Hall in Tbilisi is facing demolition.
Designed by the Italian Studio Fuksas, the distinctive tubular complex has stood unused in the Georgian capital’s central Rike Park for more than a decade, never welcoming the public it was built to serve.
Tbilisi’s Municipal Architecture Department has granted the building’s owner permission to proceed with demolition. According to Georgian media reports, dismantling is expected to be completed by 25 December.
A Cultural Building Without a Public
Largely completed in 2012, the project was conceived as a new cultural landmark for Tbilisi. Its two elongated, metallic volumes gave the building a highly recognisable presence within the park, establishing a sharp contemporary contrast with the historic cityscape beyond.
Yet the building never entered public life.
Following a change of government in Georgia in 2012, the project was abandoned before it could begin operating. Since then, the concert hall and exhibition space have remained closed, their intended cultural programme suspended indefinitely.
What was designed as a place for performance, gathering and civic exchange gradually became an inaccessible object within the city: completed in physical terms, but never activated through use.
More Than a Decade of Uncertainty
The building’s future remained unresolved for years.
Explaining the decision to authorise demolition to the Georgian daily newspaper Inter Press News, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze described the privately owned structure as being in extremely poor condition and no longer functional. He stated that the building had effectively become unusable, leading its owner to seek permission for its removal.
The authorisation was issued in agreement with the city’s Council of Culture.
No Replacement Yet Announced
No confirmed project has been presented for the site. Although a hotel had previously been suggested as a possible future use, the municipality has stated that no formal proposal or design has yet been submitted.
According to the mayor, any future development will need to respond carefully to the importance of the location and to the surrounding urban context. The city will evaluate the site’s next chapter only after a new proposal is formally presented.
For now, the impending demolition leaves a significant question unanswered: what should replace a cultural landmark that never had the opportunity to become part of the city’s collective life?
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