IMELI

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IMELI is the old Institute of Marx, Engels, and Lenin building (მარქს-ენგელს-ლენინის ინსტიტუტის შენობა in Georgian), also referred to by the abbreviation IMELI (იმელი in Georgian). It is located at the western end of the central Rustaveli Boulevard in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Completed in 1938, it housed researchers working along the ideological guidelines of communism.

Constructed between 1934 and 1938 based on plans by Alexey Shchusev, it is an example of Stalin's Empire style. Building material, in particular marble, was used from the Armenian Pantheon of Tbilisi, also known as Khojivank, a large cemetery with church that were destroyed on Lavrentiy Beria's order in 1934.

1938 Institute of Marx Engels Lenin Building on Rustaveli Boulevard

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the building was used for government purposes. It was then supposed to house the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Georgia). However, in 2006 the UAE-based Dhabi Group and Vostok Capital pledged to turn the building into a five star Kempinski luxury hotel. ^[1] The suggested architectural development was designed by Berlin-based architects Christoph Kohl and Rob Krier.^[2] As of 2013, no refurbishment of the old premises has been achieved.

References

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