Stamba hotel is designed within a former publishing house. The five-storey building was erected in the 20th Century with a Brutalist archaeological style. The Adjara Group has restored and converted the building into a hotel and combines hospitality services with local development and innovative agriculture. The hotel is also a meeting place for local artists and entrepreneurial minds. Next to 150 hotel rooms and a restaurant, there is an amphitheatre where events, shows and concerts are hosted, an exhibitions space for visual artworks and an indoor urban farm called Space Farms. There is also a residency program for those working in the arts, fashion or design industries.
Between 1921 and 1991 Georgia was ruled by the Soviet Union. Currently, the city and country are going through a post-soviet renaissance and are reacquainting itself with its cross-cultural heritage. The city of Tbilisi has been a cultural mixing point for centuries because of its strategic location on the Silk Road and became a place where Western and Caucasian cultures merged. Stamba Hotel, located in a former Soviet publishing house, is one example of the modern reuse of a heritage location. The hotel is located in Vera, a historic quarter of the city. This quarter has a long history as a meeting point for intellectuals and Bohemians alike, with a strong food and drink culture. The former Soviet publishing house, built in a Brutalist architectural style, is the location where the first communist newspaper of Georgia was printed. Nowadays, it functions as a modern hotel and a meeting point for local artists and entrepreneurial minds. Many original features of the building, like the concrete structure of the lobby and the metal conveyor belt that used to transport the newspapers through the factory, are maintained as a reminder of the industrial past of the building. The hotel is internationally recognized in the design community because of the creative manner in which heritage is respected and integrated with modern elements. [1;2]
At Stamba Hotel, activities don’t stop at providing tourist accommodation. There is an amphitheatre where events, shows and concerts for the general public are hosted. Moreover, the Tbilisi Photography and Multimedia Museum are housed in the hotel, which arranges exhibitions of visual artworks and archival collections from the annual Tbilisi Photography Festival. The hotel plays an important part in supporting and developing the local and national art scene by providing grants and free workspace, as well as a residency program for individuals and teams in arts, fashion and design. Stamba Hotel is also the headquarters of the Propaganda Network, a network aimed at promoting and developing the contemporary art sector. [1;3;4]
Next to promoting the creative sector, the hotel also supports innovative and sustainable agricultural projects. Space Farms, the first urban vertical farm in the Caucasus region, founded and owned by the urban agricultural expert Tusya Gharibashvili, is based in the hotel. The indoor urban farm provides fresh vegetables to the hotel’s restaurant as well as to supermarkets and eateries in the surrounding area. The hotel offers an internship and part-time employment program for students and agriculturists interested in the area. [1;3;4]
Stamba Hotel is run by The Adjara Group, a hospitality provider that combines their work with community development and agricultural projects with an aim to create sustainable tourism in both rural and urban settings throughout Georgia. The Adjara Group is part of the Adjara Group Holding, which next to Adjara Group also has a community development branch (‘Collective’) and an agricultural branch (Udabno). Overall, Adjara Group Holding manages 6 hotels, 7 ongoing development and sustainability projects and 8.000 hectares of agricultural land throughout Georgia. Through the unique blend of hospitality, local driven development and sustainable agriculture, the Adjara Group Holding aims to accelerate the national economy of Georgia. It is committed to providing local employment, with a special focus on youth. It offers not only employment opportunities but also invests in vocational education, career advancement to various sections of the company, and professional development training. The Adjara Group is owned by the Georgian entrepreneur Temur Ugulava and governed by a board of directors comprised of 4 women and 3 men. [3;4]
The Adjara Group has been able to realise Stamba Hotel with financial support from the Bank of Georgia. [4]
Income is generated through hospitality services, such as the hotel rooms and the restaurant and café on site. [4;5]
This case is also featured in the HUB-IN Business and Financing Model Guide.
This guide provides you with a state of the art overview of business, financing and governance models, relevant to the heritage-led regeneration of Historic Urban Areas.
WANDERLUST / Urban Escape, Stamba Hotel – Remaking History, by Harry McKinley, pp 76-81, available at stambahotel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/DA21-Remaking-History.pdf, accessed on 17-09-2021
Stamba Hotel at Archilovers (international social network for architects and designers), www.archilovers.com/projects/244653/stamba-hotel.html, accessed on 20-12-2021
Adjara Group, organisational website, available on adjaragroup.com/company/, accessed on 20-12-2021
Adjara Group, UN Nation Global Impact – Communication on progress report 2021, available on adjaragroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021.pdf, accessed on 20-12-2021
Report Prime Minister visiting opening Stamba Hotel, Prime Minister’s Press Office (2018), gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=497&info_id=65675, accessed on 20-12-2021