The winner of an open international ideas contest seeking concepts to rethink the historic Eliava Bazaar in Tbilisi has been named The Eliava Bazaar competition – organised by TerraViva Competitions and supported by the University of Georgia and sponsor SCAB Design – invited architects, designers and students to re-imagine the famous market for second-hand goods which currently faces a range of ecological and safety challenges. The call for concepts set out to identify a range of solutions to rationalise and upgrade the sprawling open air market which first opened in the mid-1990s as a place for trading salvaged materials and industrial equipment during the country’s post-Soviet era and is now threatened with relocation. First prize was awarded to the ‘Eliava’s Eco-Hub’ concept submitted by João Paulo Souto and Lucas Gabriel of Brazil. Their winning concept focused on providing a range of human-scale interventions to promote accessibility, inclusion and community activity within the market. The judges praised the scheme for its ‘comprehensive and well-articulated architectural approach, developed with attention to every scale, from macro to micro.’ The modular concept featured a new public space in its centre – dubbed Eliava Square – intended for events and temporary activations, and was praised for bringing together a ‘vibrant and interconnected urban ecosystem.’ Second place meanwhile went to ‘Invisible Wheels of the Artefacts of Need’ by Elena Cercel, Ana Mirela Ilie and Iulia Maria Coman of Romania, and third place was awarded to ‘In Bloom’ by Jingzi Cui, Yue Pan and Yizhou Zhao of China. Located on the banks of the Kura River, Tbilisi is the capital and largest city in Georgia with more than 1.5 million inhabitants. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the settlement has witnessed a surge in landmark projects with many backed by the country’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili. The latest competition comes five years after an open international contest was launched for a new 700m² visitor and education centre in Rike Park, Tbilisi. In 2023, TerraViva held an earlier contest for new housing at the abandoned Cascina Lossano complex in rural Italy. Taiwan and Italy-based Corrado Kay Hwa Severino, Luca Quadro, Jacopo Leccia and Giorgio Martellono won the €5,000 top prize with a vernacular architecture concept featuring a new greenhouse. The Eliava Bazaar competition invited students, architects, designers, urbanists, engineers, artists, makers and activists to draw up a new community focused masterplan and layout for the market which helps to improve navigation and introduce new cultural activities and social interaction. Concepts were expected to respect the existing site and users while also ‘optimising functionality, improving traffic flows and elevating the overall shopping experience through the exploration of flexible spaces accommodating various activities.’ Competition site: Eliava Bazaar, Tbilisi