Wulf Architekten, German Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia. Model.

Prestigious Understatement
Clarity and intelligibility along with the sensory experience of spaces are, for us, the important attributes of construction. Our projects reveal their internal logic in their built structure and address direct sensory perception by using space and character as well as the tactile nature of the material and the chosen chromatic moods. Creating an atmosphere is, for us, as substantive as the sustainability of the materials.
Clay, like no other building material, represents the sustainable, the existential, and the timeless. Simple human dwellings were already being made of clay around 10,000 years ago, for example, in Mesopotamia. Since the material is available nearly everywhere in the world, a building culture that is in some cases highly developed has evolved on all continents. With clay we associate understanding among nations, as well as affiliation, protection, shelter, and a connection to the earth. It is primarily simple and honest buildings that are made with this resource-saving, recyclable material, which regulates the humidity in a room by natural means.
The new building for the German Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, draws upon thousands of years of old tradition of building with clay. This might be unsettling at first, as one tends to associate clay with rather archaic buildings that make no demands for prestige, technologization or security.
This apparent contradiction, however, is precisely what constitutes the special allure of this project. Ultimately, it was also for this reason that the project was awarded first prize in the 2014 international architectural competition.
Like a relief the embassy building emerges from the ground and, in so doing, emphasizes its connection to the earth: Ground and house are of the same material. The layering encountered in the gently sloping place is echoed in the horizontal bands of rammed earth blocks.
In the design process we have already been working closely with the manufacturer of the rammed earth blocks, allowing for a more original and existential process of moving from idea to planning to execution. The homogeneous material language of the clay is employed for all exterior walls, prestigious interior walls and the organizing structure of the outdoor areas. For the embassy building type, the interlocking of the individual functional areas, each with its own outdoor area associated exclusively with it, plays an important role.
This favors the use of the same material inside and outside. The Visa Court, Chancery Court, Residence Garden, and the Ambassador’s private garden – each constitutes its own security area in combination with the associated rooms of the embassy. These are subject to a complex functional matrix that initially remains unsuspected behind the outward appearance – prestigiousness arises through understatement.
wulf architekten emerged from the architectural office established in 1987 in Stuttgart by Tobias Wulf. The major part of our project orders is resulting from competition successes. Since the founding of our office we have worked on more than 400 competitions, 54 of which have been awarded first prize. Our key works include the Stuttgart Trade Fair (2007) and the Bavarian State Finance Office in Landshut (2011) as well as the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn (2016), currently in planning.