Cenotaph
Cenotaph – is a project by kera, a Tbilisi-based architectural practice, executed in 2 phases – 1st as a temporary installation presented at the Tbilisi Architectural Biennial 2024 and 2nd as a permanent structure serving as a belltower for a 10th century church in the village of Soli, Lenjeri community, Svaneti, Georgia.
Cenotaph—derived from the Greek kenotaphion, meaning “empty tomb”—refers to a monument that honors someone buried elsewhere. As the main theme of the biennial was abandoned rivers of Tbilisi, the installation was situated on a creek, just before the point of its burial into an underwater tunnel. The project was an attempt to guide observers to notice the creek and take a moment to reflect on its fate, just before it disappears, abandoned and unnoticed.
The structure’s main protagonist – the bell, rung every 20-30 minutes by the trigger attached to the water mill wheel, was chosen for its symbolic association with warning and its ability to create a meditative atmosphere, encouraging observers to slow down and reflect.
In essence, Cenotaph was a poetic reflection on the forgotten rivers of Tbilisi, urging the public to reconnect with these hidden waterways and consider their importance, even as they lie buried and neglected beneath the city.
After the biennial was finished, the big question was what would happen with the structure after dissembling it. The main intention was to maintain the original typology of a belltower and gift it to a community that would use it as per its function. Svaneti, Georgia was the main focus of the search, because of several layers – typology of a tower being the core of the local Svanetian architecture, as well as the tradition of churches with cemeteries being the central figures of Svanetian villages. Situating the belltower in one of such church yards would ensure that the structure would serve not only the sole purpose of liturgical rituals, but as a character participating in the daily life of the local community as well.
The project is entirely self-built, executed by the architectural studio, with the involvement of local residents, assisting not only by labor, but often with food, water, etc.
