Two striking modernist structures that have defined Tbilisi's Rike Park skyline for over a decade without ever opening their doors are to be demolished, after city authorities approved a permit for their removal, OC Media reported.

The decision draws a line under one of post-Soviet Georgia's most expensive architectural failures. The Rike Tubes, designed by Italian firm Fuksas Studio and built in 2011-2012 under the United National Movement government as a music theatre and exhibition space, were mothballed immediately after Georgian Dream swept to power in 2012 and have stood empty ever since. By then the state had spent GEL75mn ($29mn) on them.

Unable to find a buyer even at a nominal price — Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze noted in 2020 that no investor would touch them even for free given the GEL20mn needed to complete them — the government eventually sold the structures in 2022 for GEL10mn, roughly a seventh of their original cost.

The current owner, Rike Dome, a company fully owned by Makro Constructions, purchased the property in June 2025 and submitted the demolition project to the Architecture Service, which approved it in late June following a positive assessment from the Cultural Heritage Protection Council. The company has until December 25 to complete the work. A prior government decree outlined that future development of the site could include, among other possibilities, a hotel.

Georgian Dream had long signalled this outcome. Kobakhidze said in May 2025 that "this ugliness does not befit our beautiful capital," while Kaladze described the structures as "a dumping ground." Fuksas Studio, which also designed Tbilisi's main Public Service Hall, has not commented publicly on the planned demolition.