flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Ultra-modern McDonald's restaurant voted one of world's best new buildings

Ultra-modern McDonald's restaurant voted one of world's best new buildings

In a newly urbanized area of Batumi, Georgia, a new take on the fast-food restaurant is turning heads 


By BD+C Staff | January 31, 2014

Batumi, Georgia is located on the Black Sea coast and has many newly urbanized areas. It also has an award-winning McDonald's, courtesy of architect Giorgi Khmaladze. 

The McDonald's, which is combined with a fuel station and recreation areas, was awarded the Best Commercial Building of the Year by architecture website ArchDaily.

Readers voted for winners in 14 categories after helping narrow down the hundreds of entries for this year's competition. 

 


In order to keep from disrupting city traffic, Khmaladze designed the building to have a small footprint.  

 

 


A reflective pool of water surrounds the restaurant, playing off of the building's reflective surface. 

 


The structure is located in a newly urbanized area of Batumi, Georgia.

 


To keep fumes from the city out of the dining area, this "vegetation shield" was built inside the McDonald's.

 


The gas station in the complex is underneath a canopy containing a dining area.

 


Its entrance is at the opposite end of the building from the McDonald's. 

 


This rendering gives an idea of how the building is laid out. 

 

Pictures and descriptions courtesy of Business Insider (via Giorgi Khmaladze)

Related Stories

Sponsored | Fire and Life Safety | Jul 12, 2023

Fire safety considerations for cantilevered buildings [AIA course]

Bold cantilevered designs are prevalent today, as developers and architects strive to maximize space, views, and natural light in buildings. Cantilevered structures, however, present a host of challenges for building teams, according to José R. Rivera, PE, Associate Principal and Director of Plumbing and Fire Protection with Lilker.

Building Owners | Jul 12, 2023

Building movement: When is it a problem?

As buildings age, their structural conditions can deteriorate, causing damage and safety concerns. In order to mitigate this, it’s important to engage in the regular inspection and condition assessment of buildings for diagnosis.

Mass Timber | Jul 11, 2023

5 solutions to acoustic issues in mass timber buildings

For all its advantages, mass timber also has a less-heralded quality: its acoustic challenges. Exposed wood ceilings and floors have led to issues with excessive noise. Mass timber experts offer practical solutions to the top five acoustic issues in mass timber buildings.

Multifamily Housing | Jul 11, 2023

Converting downtown office into multifamily residential: Let’s stop and think about this

Is the office-to-residential conversion really what’s best for our downtowns from a cultural, urban, economic perspective? Or is this silver bullet really a poison pill?

Adaptive Reuse | Jul 10, 2023

California updates building code for adaptive reuse of office, retail structures for housing

The California Building Standards Commission recently voted to make it easier to convert commercial properties to residential use. The commission adopted provisions of the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) that allow developers more flexibility for adaptive reuse of retail and office structures.

Laboratories | Jul 10, 2023

U.S. Department of Agriculture opens nation’s first biosafety level 4 containment facility for animal disease research

Replacing a seven-decade-old animal disease center, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility includes the nation’s first facility with biosafety containment capable of housing large livestock.

Adaptive Reuse | Jul 6, 2023

The responsibility of adapting historic university buildings

Shepley Bulfinch's David Whitehill, AIA, believes the adaptive reuse of historic university buildings is not a matter of sentimentality but of practicality, progress, and preservation.

Market Data | Jul 5, 2023

Nonresidential construction spending decreased in May, its first drop in nearly a year

National nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.2% in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.06 trillion.

Architects | Jul 5, 2023

Niles Bolton Associates promotes Jeffrey Smith, AIA, to President and C. Cannon Reynolds, AIA, to Managing Director

Niles Bolton Associates (NBA), a leading architecture, planning and design firm, announces leadership changes as a part of its ongoing commitment to future growth. Current Executive Vice President, Jeffrey Smith, AIA, has been named President and C. Cannon Reynolds, AIA, has been named Managing Director effective June 30, 2023. 

Mixed-Use | Jun 29, 2023

Massive work-live-play development opens in LA's new Cumulus District

VOX at Cumulus, a 14-acre work-live-play development in Los Angeles, offers 910 housing units and 100,000 sf of retail space anchored by a Whole Foods outlet. VOX, one of the largest mixed-use communities to open in the Los Angeles area, features apartments and townhomes with more than one dozen floorplans.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

The magic of L.A.’s Melrose Mile

Great streets are generally not initially curated or willed into being. Rather, they emerge organically from unintentional synergies of commercial, business, cultural and economic drivers. L.A.’s Melrose Avenue is a prime example. 


Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus. 


halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021