The Architect’s Office explores the studio as both laboratory and mirror of architectural thought. The series examines how space, ritual, tools, and collaboration shape design culture. From intimate ateliers to larger practices, these workplaces reveal values and ambitions—where ideas are tested and identities take form, moving from paper and digital drawing toward the built world.

NWDS architects, co-founders of the Ubani Cityscape Research Center, have transformed a former garage on Petriashvili Street, adjacent to their Tbilisi headquarters, into Ubani Garage—a temporary office and library for the research center. Composed of reused furniture, locally crafted pine elements, and subtle references to vernacular craftsmanship, the compact interior operates as a small laboratory where research, design, and cultural dialogue intersect, articulating Ubani’s broader vision of the city.

The Ubani Cityscape Research Center is a non-profit organization based in Tbilisi that studies the architecture and urban environment of the city. Its primary objective is to explore, document, and interpret Tbilisi’s unique cityscape through research, education, and public initiatives. By examining the historical layers, spatial transformations, and everyday practices that shape the urban fabric, the organization aims to deepen the understanding and appreciation of the city’s architectural heritage and urban development.

Ubani’s mission is to build a comprehensive body of knowledge about Tbilisi’s architecture and its evolving urban landscape. 

Its work combines research, curatorial practice, and artistic approaches, creating a multidimensional perspective on the city. Equally important is the organization’s commitment to sharing this knowledge with a wider audience—bringing together researchers, architects, artists, students, and local communities through publications, exhibitions, workshops, and public discussions.

Within this broader framework, Ubani Garage emerges as a spatial extension of the organization’s philosophy. Located on Petriashvili Street, next to the Georgian headquarters of NWDS, the project transforms a small former garage into a temporary office and library for Ubani. The modest scale of the space required the development of built-in furniture—shelves, book displays, and drawers for papers and drawings—allowing the compact interior to function simultaneously as a workspace and an archive.

The design process reflects the research-oriented and context-sensitive ethos of the organization. 

Old Ikea tables reused for the library informed the overall material and colour palette, while new furniture was crafted from pine provided by Temur Gugeshashvili, a local carpenter who runs a carpentry school in Oni. 

This combination of reused elements and locally sourced materials demonstrates a pragmatic approach to design that echoes Ubani’s interest in the everyday urban environment.

A key element of the interior is a specially designed bench co-created with Norwegian architect Tord Johann Larsen Breivik. The piece incorporates traditional wood carvings from the Racha region into a contemporary form, establishing a dialogue between vernacular craftsmanship and modern urban design. 

As a temporary office, library, and meeting point, Ubani Garage is a space where knowledge about the urban landscape can be produced, shared, and discussed. 

Through its material choices, collaborative process, and hybrid program, the project communicates Ubani’s approach to architecture and research—one that bridges scholarship, design, and the lived realities of the city.

Facts & Credits
Title Ubani Garage
Typology Interior Design, Office
Location Tbilisi, Georgia
Status Completed, 2024
Architecture NWDS architects
Photography Сourtesy of Ubani, © Grigory Sokolinsky
Text by the authors


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