During these one hundred days, 4,200 town planning works were studied, 300 projects were approved, 170 building permits were issued, and 22 demolishing decisions were made. These are the figures published by the chief architect of Yerevan. That was a hard work, and in this period Artur Meschyan managed to “taste hostility and revenge”' (cites the words of his own song), because not everyone encourages honest and legitimate working style for the benefit of the city. Nevertheless, Artur Meschyan continues to adhere to his principles. He presents several strategic projects for the city, the implementation of which will improve our urban environment. Construction of New Underground Stations in Ajapnyak District. Construction of new metro stations is strategically important for our capial city. These stations are half-built, the engineering estimations and conclusions are ready, and 250 mln. AMD are already spent for this project. A New Cable Car System will be Built Connecting Nor Nork District to the Center. The passenger cabins of the cable transport are planned for 12-14 people. That will solve the problem of transportation from Nor Nork to the Center, unloading some streets from heavy traffic. The cable transport will work with high frequency. It will be multi-modular and will have two stations. The Problems of the Residents in a State of Severe Disrepair Buildings will be Solved. The municipality cooperates with developers. The problem of the residents in the most unsafe buildings will be solved in the nearest future. The Second Zone of Yerevan Opera Theatre Building Area Returns to Yerevan. This is not the city's Chief architect’s or Mayor's desire; it is the wish of Yerevan citizens. There were many complaints saying, that the Opera area is becoming ugly. At the end of this project the Independence square and the Opera Theatre building designed by Alexander Tamanyan will have a new and interesting view. According to the Chief Architect, the Issue of the Monument-Building on 23 Arami Street is also Considered to be Solved. A contract was signed between the developer AMC LLC and the Ministry of Culture, according to which the developer will give 14 mln AMD for inviting the Italian architect Lucio Pezzi and designing the reconstruction project. The Garages and Kiosks will not be Privatized. The garages and kiosks are one of the vulnerable sides of Yerevan, occupying our yards and green areas. From now on, assures Meschyan, we will not privatize any garage or kiosk. We are simply going to sign a contract extension, provided that they can be dismantled at any time, based on the requirements of the city. The Mansard Roofs will be Brought to Common Appearance. The municipality of Yerevan will give permission for mansard roof construction only if all the neighbors apply together, have common design and the same engineer. Separate applications will not be considered. Asphalt will be Replaced by Pavement Tiles. The municipality of Yerevan plans to start a street improvement program, within the frame of which several streets will be covered by pavement tiles. As a result, there will be no need to repair asphalt once in two years, which is a rather costly work.

Architect: PAUL KALOUSTIAN ARCHITECT Client: COAF (Children of Armenia Fund) Location: Armenia – Lori Province Built-up Area: 5000 m2 Date of completion: 2018 Team Leader: Shoghag Ohannessian Structure: Tigran Khachiyan Electro-Mechanical:Roupen & Seta Mangassarian Local Team:Urban Unit Glass:Schuco Lighting:Trilux The SMART campus is a vessel for empowerment to anchor our youth in their ancestral lands where they can live prosperous lives. At the same time, it is a portal that connects them out so they keep pace with the advancements around the globe. The building as a whole had to embody these various aspects. This contemporary structure is a step towards proving that we can improve living conditions and uplift our communities. The architecture is a hymn to the landscape, the land of Armenia. The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) plans to expand their community works with the SMART initiative. The aim is to deliver superior and regionally-relevant educational, social, economical and community programs in rural areas with an emphasis on technology, sustainability, arts, music, modern healthcare and lifestyle, linguistics and languages, business and civic engagement. SMART is to operate on enhanced programs developed by COAF based on models which have charted success in 22 different villages in Armavir and Aragatsotn regions of Armenia over the past decade. Targeting the rural regions, these campuses will respect the integrity of rural aesthetics in sync with contemporary architectural design, maintaining the authenticity of the region, while encouraging progressive ideology. Each campus will utilize sustainable and green design, off the grid components and renewable energy. They will have classrooms, health posts, studios, computer lounges, meeting points, an auditorium for performances and presentations, libraries, restaurants and various spaces for diverse indoor and outdoor activities varying from sports to entertainments and arts to agriculture and diverse other workshops to train and enable developing children, youths and adults alike. The campuses would also accommodate program participants and visiting collaborators in its guest quarters. The first Smart Center campus is located in the northern Armenian province of Lori. Lori province, Armenia. The landscape dominates the senses of all who pass through the corridors of the highlands. Stands of trees punctuate the hillsides and somehow turn into the landmarks of the countryside. It was inevitable to follow the language that already existed: mark the valley with a smooth organic presence adapted to the landscape mimicking the act of the tree groups. At the same time, this presence had to have its own identity to differentiate it from the rest and to make it a legitimate landmark in its own right within the stands of trees. However, instead of choosing to emphasize the architecture as the landmark, the landscape was to be the landmark. To achieve this, the structure of the architecture embraces the landscape by creating a sinuous ribbon-like walkway around an immense courtyard. The single storey building spreads horizontally following the shape of the land. In so doing, the architecture of the campus establishes a new reading of nature and structure creating an ambiguity between itself and its surroundings. It generates an environment, as opposed to generating a building, where the embraced landscape becomes a celebration of the rural environment. The visitor arrives to the main building, an inviting sheltered concave space. They enter into an enclosure that opens out to a new space bathing in light. The immense courtyard beyond the clear glass seems an extension of the interior. The volume slowly thins out and disintegrates into an open-air walkway around the courtyard. While from the enclosure the landscape seems to be part of the interior, from the courtyard, the immense size of the landscape dwarfs the structure. Beyond the main structure of the campus a sheer wall nestled in the descending landscape marks the entrance to a guests' house. The sheer wall takes volume when the visitor enters through the gate. In turn, the volume shatters itself into an extension towards the landscape that unravels beyond its long-glazed facade. In this same way, amenities punctuate the landscape of the campus as small, seamless cylindrical enclosures that hide within them extensions to immense outdoor spaces. This contradictive play of scale between landscape and building, blurs all the visual boundaries. The blend becomes an essential architectural language meant to erase the traces of architecture from the landscape and in return the landscape adopts the architecture as an extension of itself. About COAF: Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c) (3) organization. COAF uses community-led approaches to reduce rural poverty, with a particular focus on youth. Since the inception of its programs in 2004, COAF has funded and implemented educational, healthcare, community and economic development programs serving more than 28.000 people in rural villages of Armenia. In 2015, COAF debuted SMART, an unprecedented model for delivering superior and regionally relevant holistic educational programs in rural areas with an emphasis on technology, sustainability, the arts, health, linguistics, business and civic engagement. Learn more at www.coafkids.org About PAUL KALOUSTIAN: Paul Kaloustian Studio is a Beirut based Architecture practice working on different scaled projects ranging from buildings to interiors. He received his Masters at Harvard Graduate School of Design (1999) and worked at Herzog and de Meuron in Basel (2000). Paul has taught at the Boston Architecture Center (2000) and at the American University of Beirut (2009-10). He received the Moukbel Award and the Order of Engineers and Architects Award. His project “House in a Forest” was exhibited at the13th Venice Biennale and at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris and in London in the exhibition “Atlas of the Unbuilt World”. His project, “Smart Center”, currently under construction has been exhibited in the 15th Venice Biennale. Recently, he has been awarded the 3rd Prize for the international competition, the New Cyprus Museum in Nicosia. His work has been extensively published in the international press.

What was changed in memorable “velvet revolution 2018” year in the construction life of Armenia? What was created or built? What urban problems were solved? Armenian Chamber of Architects Established Mkrtich Minasyan, the Chairman of the Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Armenia: It was a long-awaited event that finally became a reality. Our Chamber is a self-governing body, we have our own laws, which will henceforth protect the activities of architects, determine the norms of architectural ethics. Unpleasant situations, that used to prevail in the relationship between the architects and the developers, will be excluded, like situations, when the developers dictate their tastes and wishes to architects, and in the course of the construction works the entire idea of the architect is being violated. Often the architects used to disclaim their own projects, because they did not want their names to be associated with the ugly buildings, distorting their initial idea. From now on, the license on architectural activity will be issued by qualified commissions, consisting of specialists. About 50 licenses are already prepared and soon will be solemnly provided. Grigor Azizyan, the Director of Armproject company: From now on, the Armenian Chamber of Architects will unite architects and civil-engineers. We will hand activity licenses taking into account their experience and completed projects. We have to be consistent and not repeat the same mistakes as was done by Licensing Committee. The Tasks on Protection of Cultural and Historical Monuments Are Revised Sirekan Ohanyan, the Director of Yerevanproject company: The year 2018 was special, because our country started to discuss the issue of inclusion of the Historical and Cultural Monuments Protection Agency (within the Ministry of Culture) into the structure of Urban Planning Committee. Immovable monuments are urban units, and the tasks of their protection, operation, restoration and reconstruction are elements of urban planning activities. It is the architects and urban planners represented by the Urban Planning Committee who are called upon to work on the restoration and preservation of the cultural and historical environment. Mkrtich Minasyan: In 2018, seven buildings were included in the list of immovable historical and cultural monuments (the old building of Zvartnots airport, Russia cinema, the summer hall of Moscow cinema, Hrazdan stadium, underground stations Republic Square and Yeritasardakan, Cafesjian Center for The Arts). We have long fought for it and finally the decision was made. So far, we have not begun the work on strengthening and restoration of these monuments, but an important step was taken, and, I hope, it will be continued. Micro-regional Urban Planning Documents Were Prepared for Syunik and Ararat Provinces Grigor Azizyan: I would highlight the development of micro-regional urban planning documents as major work carried out in 2018. In 2017 we completed the work for Tavush province, most of Syunik and Ararat provinces. The rest was done by other companies. This work will be continued. Master plans of rural settlements are created with emphasis on their economic relations, further development opportunities and the places where you can implement these or other investment projects. Sirekan Ohanyan: One of the major projects in 2018 was a micro-regional design of 30 settlements in Masis region of Ararat province ordered by the Urban Planning Committee. With the help of these documents we identify the opportunities for our villages, the prospects for their development, outline and evaluate new areas and chances in terms of investment. What Was Built ? Sirekan Ohanyan: In the beginning of 2018 we have completed the work begun in the previous year on the project for improvement and landscaping of Jermuk town. The project covers the improvement of neighborhoods, streets, sidewalks, roof repair of 24 houses, modernization of the frontal part of the houses on Shahumyan street, reconstruction of the city park, etc. The construction work continues in accordance with the project. The construction of an educational and sports complex in Avan is almost completed, only landscaping left to be done. The complex will include figure skating sports school, fitness center, school and kindergarden. In 2018 two parks have been landscaped: 1) the park in the area between Mashtots Avenue and Saryan Street, 2) the park in Komitas pantheon In the park adjacent to Mashtots Avenue, a “dry” or pedestrian fountain with color-sound design was built. Mkrtich Minasyan: In 2018 two large projects were put into operation: 1) the medical center in Vanadzor and 2) the Business Center Kamar on Shahumyan Square in Yerevan. We have a great architectural potential, which will be more productive with the help of the Chamber. Grigor Azizyan: In 2018 Armproject carried out the project for the construction of the Yerevan branch of Kempinski Hotels chain. The hotel is being built on Charles Aznavour square next to Stanislavsky Russian Drama Theater. Another major project is also associated with a well-known hotel brand: on the area adjacent to Republic street, next to Erebuni Business Center, a Park Inn hotel is being built. Thereby Revolutionary 2018 was a turning point in the political life of Armenia. Hopefully 2019 will bring many opportunities for construction industry new investments and projects.

The year 2018 was full of events not only in the political and legislative sphere, but also in the field of urban planning. The city of Yerevan celebrated its 2800th anniversary, as well as the appointment of Arthur Meschian to the post of the chief architect. Arthur Meschian is well-known not only for his songs, but also for his rich architectural activities. We all know, that our capital has many construction and architectural problems. Then which one is priority? This question was addressed to the chief architect of Yerevan, ''Construction technology with the help of which today we build residential complexes, is the technology of 50-60-s. Monolithic frames, rebars, all these are vestiges of the past. The only opportunity to start large-scale housing construction in Yerevan is the use of house-building factories, i.e. prefabricated modules of sandwich residential buildings, with the help of which you can quickly assemble a whole residential complex within a year. And the cost of using this technology is cheaper compared to the monolithic structure''. This approach will help to solve in a short time the problems of housing fund and employment, which in its turn will lead to economical growth and will reduce the immigration. It's no secret that the city center needs to be unloaded. How does the chief architect see the solution to this problem? ''It is a very good question! We must start construction projects outside the city center ․․․ And such a tendency seems to be already there, people are already beginning to understand that the city center is overloaded, there is no more room'',- explained Arthur Meschian. Hopefully the newly appointed chief architect, approving new projects, will take into account that the number of floors must be appropriate for the area and for the general panorama of the city. The fact that the capital is losing its image due to the demolition and painting of historical buildings was also noted by Arthur Meschian. '' While I am the chief architect of the capital, no any monument could be demolished here ․․․ Developers who purchase a certain piece of land on which a monument is located will be required to finance the restoration works of that building '', - assured Artur Meschyan.

Dubai is famous for its decadent hotels and record-breaking buildings. Now, the city is continuing to push the boundaries when it comes to architecture, with a 26-story skyscraper that has been designed to look like an iPod. Suitably called The Pad, the residential building is located in Business Bay in central Dubai. Inspired by Apple’s iPods and iPads, the building was designed by Hong Kong-based architecture firm James Law Cybertecture, which beat out stiff competition with its intriguing and unique proposal. Due to open at the end of the year, the building also includes a number of futuristic technological features that will allow the inhabitants to program their own software, such as mood lighting, voice control, biometric locks, and mirrors that can monitor health. Construction began in 2007, but was suspended in 2009, only to be restarted in 2013 again. Upon completion, The Pad will house 256 apartments, ranging from studios, to one- and three-bedroom duplexes overlooking the Dubai canal. The structure of the building is inclined at 6.5 degrees, as the leaning tower references the original iPod device on a charging dock. “Traditionally, architecture is a piece of concrete structure that contains conventional spaces to live or work. The Pad was conceived as the start of a new generation of architecture that is more akin to smart phones, where the buildings are programmable with software to match the needs of individual inhabitants. The concept came from designing the building to mimic a giant iPod,” architect James Law said.