Aragvi 2 Power House
Aragvi 2-Hidro electrical power house, is second building and second step of Aragvi Energo joint Georgian-Austrian company.
Isolated from busy touristic rout, surrounded by mountains, river gorge formations and some stone ruins, horizontally developed shape of Power house is coming out of northern slope as it has been pooled out by some force. Building consists of two levels: lower – turbine (water in fall and out fall) and machinery level. Upper level – storage-workshop and cran space, operation office and accommodation room for one worker.
Building site with existed water reservoir is lost in the Aragvi river gorge, but partly visible from soviet era viewing platform.
Main request of local authorities as well as clients was that power plant Aragvi 2, has to be blended with surrounding landscape as much as possible and becoming not visible from the North-west, were viewing platform at famous ”Cross Pass” is located. Sow decision was to criate “Pulled Out of the hill slope", structure which will have just one eastern facade, facing water reservoir. The rest , roof and pitched wall (northern facade) is just a grass meadow and river stone.
Main frame, walls and slabs of building is monolith, reinforced concrete. Eastern facade is aluminum framed glass system. Roof is “green roof “system which consists of drain membrane, geonet, geotextile, local river sand end pumice substrate with planted grass. Although soil from three sides and “Green roof” work as thermal envelope as well as slab works as thermal mass for sun entering building thought glass wall. Most of interior finish is concrete, just accommodation is finished with plywood.