The Sarpi Border Checkpoint building is one of those structures that stops you mid-sentence. Designed by German-Georgian architect Jürgen Mayer H. and completed in 2011, it is a sinuous, cantilevered white form that sweeps out over the road like a frozen wave. The building grows from a narrow base into a broad overhanging observation deck, all smooth concrete curves, the whole thing looking less like border infrastructure and more like a proposal for a museum of contemporary art in an ambitious European capital. Set against the Black Sea on one side and the steep forested mountains on the other, the visual contrast with its surroundings is almost comedic — and completely compelling.
In practice it is also a functioning border crossing, one of the busiest between Georgia and Turkey, handling a constant flow of trucks, minibuses, traders and travellers. The process on both sides is usually efficient: queues for pedestrians move quickly, though trucks can back up on busy days. You can view the building most effectively from the beach to the north, where you get the full elevation and the sea behind it. If you are not crossing the border, that beach-side view is the thing to come for — there is no formal entrance charge to admire the architecture, and the beach gives you plenty of space to stand back and take it in properly.