A Border Station Built Into the Coast
At Sarpi, the boundary between Georgia and Turkey meets the Black Sea, leaving little room for a conventional border complex set back from the shore. The checkpoint’s sculptural form makes the crossing part of the coastal landscape: white concrete rises in sweeping curves, while terraces project outward above the water.
Those projecting terraces are cantilevers—structures supported from one end, so they can extend without columns beneath their outer edges. Here, they give the building its hovering, almost spacecraft-like profile and open views toward the sea. The architecture is striking, but it also has to accommodate the practical work of a border crossing, where travelers and vehicles are checked as they move between countries.
Infrastructure With a Public Face
Border facilities are usually encountered as lines, barriers, and inspection booths. Sarpi’s design gives that necessary machinery a more visible architectural identity. The contrast is especially vivid at this narrow coastal edge: a building handling the routine passage of people and goods appears to float over the landscape rather than resemble a fortified wall.
Designed by J. Mayer H., the checkpoint shows how a piece of transport infrastructure can become a landmark through its shape and setting. Its terraces make the Black Sea more than a backdrop; they put the view directly into the experience of crossing the border.
