Set against the backdrop of the Caucasus Mountains, Queen Tamar Mestia Airport serves as a key gateway to one of Georgia’s most beautiful and isolated regions. Because of a steady increase in recent years in the number of visitors to the area, the airport was determined to modernize and upgrade, especially its terminal building.

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The Georgian Government held a competition to redesign and modernize the airport’s terminal, and a Georgian team from LSG Solutions emerged as the winner among 18 contenders. The work is being led by Nino Grigolashvili and Teona Gogoladze. The new terminal at Queen Tamar Mestia Airport will be a modern, single-story building and will functionally consist of an upgraded departure and arrival area, as well as other new terminal amenities.

The design proposal features a patterned structure in honor of Georgia’s historical figure Queen Tamar, who reigned during the country’s Golden Age in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

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“It is very symbolic that an airport named after Queen Tamar, a female monarch, is being designed by women,” said design team leader Nino Grigolashvili. “I drew inspiration from Tamar’s clothing when designing the building. The entire concept is directly connected to Queen Tamar’s royal garments.”

The 21,500-square-foot, single-story building is being constructed from timber. The layout inside will be open plan and merge the departure and arrival areas for convenience and efficiency. The terminal’s center will be filled with skylights, which the company said will have in-built heated glass, allowing natural light to pour into the space.

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The new terminal’s design is expected to enhance both the look and functionality of the airport, improving service and convenience for locals and visitors heading to the region’s ski resorts, summer hiking trails, cultural landmarks and stunning terrain.

Domestic flights to Queen Tamar Airport are available from Kutasi (KUT) or Natakhtari airports (UGSA), with land transfers from Tbilisi to these two Georgian airports. Air transportation to Mestia offers spectacular views of the Caucasus Mountains, and are usually more convenient than the nine-hour drive from Tbilisi, Georgia’s vibrant capital city. A privately owned airline and hospitality company called Vanilla Sky Georgia flies between Mestia and the larger Kutasi and Natakhtari airports, using connecting ground transportation from Tbilisi.

Mestia Airport is located 4,777 feet above sea level in the valley of the Mestiachala River, nestled between the Caucasus mountains in Georgia’s Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region in the northwestern part of the country. The airport is just 1.6 miles from the small town of Mestia, where guest houses, boutique hotels and restaurants are located near Mestiachala River. Ski resorts Hatsvali and Tetnuldi sit about 35-45 minutes from Mestia.

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“The new Queen Tamar Mestia Airport terminal transcends the boundaries of utility,” LSG Solutions said. “It embodies a dialogue between legacy and innovation, acting as a contemporary retelling of Georgia’s historical identity through architectural language. Designed with Queen Tamar’s enduring symbolism in mind, the structure functions as a vessel of cultural continuity – one that does not merely serve passengers, but welcomes them into a story centuries in the making.”