The mission of the Division of Foundations of Architectural Design is to introduce students to the essence of architecture — one of the most complex fields of human creative endeavor — together with its characteristics, its social and civic significance, its purpose, and its challenges; to equip students with foundational knowledge and a corresponding sense of responsibility; to demonstrate the grandeur and humanism of architectural creativity; to develop students' sense of volume and space, color and material, scale and proportion; to cultivate independent creative thinking; and, ultimately, to instill a love for the profession.
The Division is the successor to the Department of Introduction to Architecture and Architectural Graphics, established at the Faculty in the 1970–1971 academic year. Until 1989 it was headed by Professor Mikheil Lortkipanidze, and subsequently by Doctor of Architectural Sciences, Professor Nanuli Tevzadze.
From 1989, the department was renamed the Department of Foundations of Architectural Design, encompassing the academic disciplines of both architectural design foundations and fine arts.
In 1990, a new academic discipline, “The Poetics of Architecture,” emerged within the architectural composition course; it was created and founded by Shota Bostanashvili, full professor of the Division of Architectural Design and academic doctor of architecture.
From 1991, the Division of Foundations of Architectural Design was further developed and its importance grew. In 2008, the department was renamed a Division.
Over the years, the following architects have worked in the department: Goga Beridze, Shota Bostanashvili, Marina Gujabidze, Tamaz Tevzadze, Rusudan Lortkipanidze, Maia Kacharava, Hamlet Mosulishvili, Giorgi Sekhniashvili, Liana Kesanashvili, and others. Laboratory assistants have included Tamta Alkhazishvili, Natela Germesashvili, Maia Gogoladze, Medea Kobakhidze, Tinatin Murvanidze, Gocha Kilasonia, Manana Chumburidze, Giorgi Jabadari, and others. In the 2011–2012 academic year, the following instructors worked in the Division: Guram Abuladze, Ketevan Berekashvili, Shalva Gogoladze, Merab Gujabidze, Badri Gorgiladze, Nanuli Tevzadze, Zurab Kiknadze, Tamar Lortkipanidze, Marina Maisuradze, Giorgi Makharashvili, Vanda Mujiri, Zurab Titvinidze, Zakaria Shavadze, Nino Chachava, Tamar Chanturia, Lali Khvedelidze, and Gia Javelidze. Visiting instructors included Mzia Dinuashvili, Eka Zambakhidze, Givi Marsagishvili, Leila Megrelishvili, Maka Malaghuradze, Eka Nanitashvili, Anzor Nadiradze, Natia Kochladze, Tinatin Chigogidze, Gela Kobiashvili, Manana Zhghenti-Khvedeliani, Davit Megrelidze, and others.
The purpose of the Division is to prepare young students for mastering the specialized subjects taught in later years. To this end, the Division teaches courses characterized by expressive and creative content:
“Foundations of Architecture” aims to introduce students to the structure of the institution and the sequence of the academic process, the main directions of architectural creativity, the problems that arise when addressing the tasks set before an architect, and the fundamental factors that must be taken into account when designing any architectural object.
“Foundations of Architectural Graphics” aims to introduce students to drafting instruments and materials, drafting techniques, orthogonal projections and axonometry; to develop skills in representing the distinctive features of architectural objects using various means and methods of representation; and to build skills in design methodology and the design of small architectural objects.
“Foundations of Architectural Composition” aims to develop students' capacity for visual-spatial representation, which in turn forms the basis for creating an architectural object.
“Foundations of Architectural Planning: Surveying Practice” aims to teach students technical means and methods of measurement, and, through assessment and graphic representation of measurements, to develop skills in understanding the spatial-structural characteristics of architecture.
“Architectural Graphics (Traditional and Digital)” aims to introduce students to computer technologies alongside traditional methods, to develop versatile computer skills — including using the computer as an information source, mastering software tools, and becoming familiar with electronic and distance-learning technologies. In upper years, and at the master's and doctoral levels, the course covers the theoretical and practical aspects of two- and three-dimensional geometric modeling, mastery of modern technological foundations of design, computer-based production of design documentation and photorealistic illustration and presentation, and an understanding of principles for visualizing and adequately responding to the energy impact of the environment, along with contemporary paradigms of form-generation and composition.
The course “Three-Dimensional Spatial Composition” aims to provide students with practical knowledge for mastering space, perceiving the plasticity of form in space, and the art of accurate observation; to develop complex thinking; to reveal creative potential and help students find new creative paths; and to develop the capacity for visual-spatial imagination, which enables future specialists, in practice, to achieve comfort and aesthetic completeness in their projects through contemporary, unconventional approaches.
Instruction in the Division is based on principles such as:
Members of the Division have, over the years, published textbooks (N. Tevzadze, M. Kochakidze, E. Kalandadze), supplementary manuals (E. Pipia, N. Tevzadze, G. Chigogidze, I. Tsitsishvili, Sh. Gogoladze), methodological guidelines (E. Pipia, N. Tevzadze, V. Davitaia, K. Amirejibi, Z. Sujashvili, M. Gujabidze, M. Maisuradze, T. Chanturia), and monographs (R. Lortkipanidze, M. Gujabidze, E. Pipia).
The Division's members conduct research primarily in the foundations of architectural design, the conceptual and methodological foundations of form-generation and composition, and the compositional aspects of buildings, structures, and urban development. In this research, the human being is regarded not merely as a physical entity but as a spiritual being with distinctive individuality, and architectural space is treated as a determining factor in the purposeful formation of the human personality.
Members of the Division have successfully supervised master's and doctoral students (N. Tevzadze, Z. Kiknadze, M. Maisuradze), and regularly participate in international scientific conferences, symposia, and exhibitions.
A distinctive feature of the Division's research is the incorporation of analysis of sequences of electronic geometric transformations into the interpretation of form-generation and architectural composition.
The Division provides the initial stage of architectural education — a propaedeutic course in the teaching of architecture, comprising subjects characterized by expressive and creative content.
It should be noted that the Division's scholarly and pedagogical work are closely interconnected, contributing to the success of each. For example, Zurab Kiknadze uses computer systems in solving architectural problems and introduces students to relevant software; Nanuli Tevzadze's research is concerned with housing, a subject also central to her teaching; and Marina Maisuradze's research concerns the organizing role of sculpture in the city, and she works with students on small architectural forms, among other examples.
Members of the Division are also engaged in real-world design practice and are authors of a range of projects and constructed buildings (Guram Abuladze, Merab Gujabidze, Zurab Kiknadze, Nanuli Tevzadze, Marina Maisuradze, Vanda Mujiri, Zaur Shavadze, Nino Chachava, Manana Tavkhelidze, and others).
In 2009, at the initiative of the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design of the Georgian Technical University, Doctor of Architecture Professor Gocha Mikiashvili, and the head of the Division, Doctor of Architecture Professor Zurab Titvinidze, the Educational-Experimental Division of Architectural Modeling was established.
The creation of the Division of Architectural Modeling aims to review, refine, and improve the methodology for teaching “the language of architecture” in the introductory years of higher architectural education, taking into account current requirements and trends in the field of architecture.
The aim of the course is to develop students' capacity for volumetric-spatial thinking; the ability to express their own concept in three-dimensional space and to depict, beyond the framework of planar projections, any three-dimensional architectural form of the visible world; to master the theoretical foundations and execution techniques of architectural modeling (maquette-making); and to acquire practical skills in producing three-dimensional models, whether of the exterior of an architectural object, an urban development object, an interior, or an element of architectural design.
The introduction of volumetric, conceptual, and plastic modeling methods, the refinement of progressive methodology, and the integration of traditional and digital approaches to teaching plastic-volumetric architectural graphics alongside planar architectural graphics, within the foundational academic program for years I–II of the bachelor's degree at the Faculty of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design, proved to be a significant development, as it increased student engagement and interest generally in the study of “the language of architecture.” This is borne out by the quality of the work produced by students over the past two and a half academic years.