Bridge of Peace in Tiblisi. Symbolic architecture to connect Territory and Society

A bridge that connects two districts, the historic center to the west and the park to the east, separated by the river: this is Michele De Lucchi's project for the city of Tbilis, capital of Georgia, where combining also has a social value

The bridge connects in territorial terms, but symbolizes the social union between two districts, the river in fact divides the urban center creating a rift between the historic center to the west and the park to the east, giving rise to a cohesion between two different social surroundings, hence the name Bridge of Peace, as if to assert a break with the controversial recent past in which there were multiple cultural and ethnic distances

With this Architectural Monument, the capital of Georgia seeks to establish its identity, relying on urban and architectural development, through visual emergencies. The bridge consists of a pedestrian walkway and a roof with a sinusoidal profile that seems to be suspended: in fact, it has only four pillars on the banks of the river. Crossing the two roads that run along the sides of the Mtkvari, the footbridge has a double accessibility: from the two banks at a certain altitude of the ridges and from the river banks through four staircases

The roof looks like a single membrane composed of a steel tube structure and triangular glass elements. The elevation shows two signs: the soft/parabolic part at the top and the rigid/linear part at the bottom. At the top, the roof is the meeting point between architecture and engineering. The glass is laid on the sinuous metal structure made of reticular metal pipes. At the bottom, the linear staircase and parapet give the project a sense of stability

At the center of the bridge a " square " is created, a meeting point, where citizens and tourists can enjoy a view of Tbilisi, entertainment and cultural exchange. Among the state-of-the-art technological choices there is the parapet that withstands a thrust of 300 kg/m and an impact of 600 J from a rigid body, a safety condition necessary in this project, where the Ninfa 4 glass and aluminium balustrades by Faraone were mounted with LEDs embedded in the tempered laminated glass slabs, which in addition to their high performance, guarantee an unprecedented installation speed

Not only its stated function prompts the spatial connection but even its soft and organic form: The Architecture develops like a movement, something that tries to get to the other side and succeeds