Ia Kupatadze is an Associate Professor and researcher at Ilia State University (ISU). Her personal interest is  sustainable architecture and urban development. Her dissertation theme dealt with topics such as: what  changes has sustainable architecture development brought in construction field; is “Green” architecture less  aesthetically pleasing but more environmentally friendly? Is sustainable building “ugly’? Are we going back to  fundamentals – to vernacular architecture?  

Ia has been researching two cities in Georgia – Tskaltubo and Chiatura, which were developed during Soviet  regime. Her research topics also include study of soviet city/region structures, mass housing units, industrial  abandoned buildings.  

Together with Ilia State University professors and students, she working on interdisciplinary research project  “Tbilisi as Formal and Informal Places”. The goal of the project was to research what had happened to the city  using Existing Master Plans (1934.1954.1972.2019). Today she is working on Rustaveli Foundation Grant with  topic - Tbilisi as Urban Assemblage, where together with anthropologist, she is studying, analyzing the city  structure, its indicators – density, diversity, openness and sustainability of the city.  

Ia holds a Ph.D. from Georgia Technical University (Tbilisi, Georgia), a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from  Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia (Athens, GA, USA), 5-year program (equivalent to MA) at Georgia Technical University (Tbilisi, Georgia). Ia was a Fulbright Scholar at Cornell University (USA) from  2013 to 2014.