workersunit 2
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workersunit 2 *
Soviet-era architecture has become increasingly popular on social media, where brutalist aesthetics and their decaying relics are currently trending. This picturesque skybridge had already gained a degree of fame before I saw it in real life.
The skybridge became the second striking encounter I had with workers' housing units during our Caucasus road trip. Stumbling upon this building in a district north of Tbilisi was mesmerizing—not just because of the sheer coincidence, but because no trend can truly capture the essence of places like these beyond their superficial façades and architectural elements.
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Constructed in 1976, these buildings are situated on challenging terrain of the Nutsubidze Plateau in the north of Tbilisi, Georgia. The skybridge serves as vital infrastructure for the surrounding neighbourhood, connecting the upper road on the hillside with the down town university area via an elevator in one of the buildings. This elevator operates exclusively between the ground floor and the skybridge and costs 20 Tetri per ride.
The residents have separat elevators, which cost them 10 Tetri per ride. The buildings accommodate one, two, and three-room apartments, but each building was in varying states of repair. The first tower exhibits severe dilapidation, with non-functional elevators, missing doors, crumbling staircases, and conspicuous signs of decay such as holes in the walls. It appears to have been scavenged for valuable materials, almost resembling a spare parts repository for the other remaining units.
