Recently, the reconstruction works of Hayk square restarted in Vanadzor city, Armenia. The Committee of Territorial Administration approved the reconstruction project of the square at the first stage. Now the project is at the second stage of approval, after which the design works will begin. The author of the project is the chief architect of Vanadzor Suren Abovyan. The square needs a fundamental renovation, since the last time large-scale repairs were carried out here in the late 80s of last century. Besides, with the course of time it became necessary to meet modern standards. Therefore, the aim of the project is to build a square that fits modern standards and to organize the leisure of the people. The area of the square is 1 ha, where it is planned to start the works on placement of small architectural forms and structures, lightening, landscaping and laying the concrete slabs. Since the main square of the third largest city in Armenia is a historical and cultural place, no major architectural changes are foreseen here. The system of the fountains will be completely rebuilt and will meet international standards, in its new style and with more powerful lighting and sound effects. The central part of the square, which is for circular traffic, will be decorated with a stone carpet. It is planned also to replace all the concrete slabs and the stage of the square, plant decorative trees and flowers on Hayk square and Khorenatsi avenue. In the place of the monument to Kirov it is planned to build a clock tower 17m high, which will also be an observation tower. It is important that the construction work in Vanadzor will not be limited to the reconstruction of the Hayk square. A real construction boom is expected here, since in addition to the reconstruction of the square, a series of projects were presented on the improvement and modernization of Artsakh Square, the youth park, the museum of pictorial art and its adjacent park. And that is not the full list of the scheduled works. It is also planned to build and reconstruct sports schools, carry out road recovery works.

The building of Leninakan railroaders’ Palace of Culture, which was later renamed to Sevyan Cultural Center, was built in 1926 and started to function in 1929. After the earthquake in 1988 this unique building with its exclusive style, original and interior design, covered with frescoes, functioned for two more years, and then there was a big fire, after which the building gradually became dilapidated and filled with garbage. There were many reconstruction projects for this building which, unfortunately, are still pending. This year the issue of this unique cultural center was finally resolved. A memorandum was signed between the Ballet 20-21 Foundation and the Municipality of Gyumri, according to which the Sevyan Center will be reconstructed and will function in a more innovative and multi-profile format, a vivid proof of which is the Kharatyan Experimental Art Center, that will function in this building. The design project has started as a sub-grant within the framework of Armenian General Benevolent Union and the Eurasia Partnership Foundation's CS Bridge Programme, financed by European Union. The former building with its adjacent area (about 1668 m2) was provided to the fund gratuitously for 99 years. The municipality is responsible for exempting the territory from illicit buildings and kiosks before the start of the construction works, which will begin in September 2020 and will last 2 years. Until then, the future design project will be elaborated by Canadian architect of Armenian origin Azat Shishmanyan from architectural studio NEUF, Canada, together with Storaket architectural studio. Azat Shishmanyan plans to keep the facade, walls and arches and Ferdinand Manukyan's "Sasun Dance" mosaic in his design project, while the innovative solutions will be inside the building. According to the preliminary concept, two floors will be restored with about 3200m2 area, and according to architectural solution the third floor will be added in one part of the building. The center will be multifunctional, it will have a two-stages hall for 500 people, three studios, dressing rooms, a conference room, a library, an exhibition room, café and a souvenire store. The adjacent garden will also be improved. The structure of the center will enable the passersby to see what's going on inside and feel the creative mood of the architectural solution. A. Shishmanyan in his design considers the dialogue between the old and the new. Kharatyan Experimental Arts Center, which will function in this building, will welcome about 120 students. There are already arrangements with Armenian and foreign representatives of dance art, who will teach in the center. According to Shishmanyan each building must be a source of inspiration, regardless of its targeted function, even if it is a hospital.

Yerevan Municipality plans to start the program of reconstruction and modernization of the Victory Park, turning it into a park of the 21st century, with profuse thematic and stylistic solutions. The idea is undoubtedly very interesting, especially considering the fact, that it is based on the history, traditions and legends of Armenia. The park will be designed for all age groups, combining elements of leisure, entertainment and recreation. One of the distinguishing features of Victory Park will be the use of interactive learning components of the 21st century. As a result, all visitors of the park will have access to information systems. The project will be implemented with private investments. Yerevan Municipality will assist the investor in providing information on the legal status of land plots, in obtaining the necessary documentation for the project, will consider the possibility and conditions of preferential payment for land use. The construction works will last 3 years; the project cost will be about 60 mln US Dollars. The main task of the project is to make the park modern, while maintaining the main elements of the former Victory Park. And though the park needs reconstruction, it has nevertheless formed its own architectural image. Ultimately, in large cities the spirit of different times should be felt, the collective image of which reflects the mood of the city, especially if this place is dedicated to some significant event. Let us recall, that famous architects Rafael Israyelyan, Hovhannes Hakobyan, Ashot Alexanyan, Anahit Navasardyan and the sculptor Ara Harutyunyan contributed to the creation of Victory Park by building the unique symbols: Alley of Heroes, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Aragil Restaurant, Lake Arevik and Mother Armenia. It is noteworthy, that Victory Park already has its own ideology, therefore the park does not need ideas, it needs reconstruction, reconstitution of felled trees, overhaul of Aragil restaurant and renovation of the existing amusement rides. We are not against the project implementation, on the contrary, it has plenty of interesting ideas and solutions, and since the program is at the initial stage, it may be worthwhile to consider building a park in one of the suburbs or micro-districts of the capital. This approach will not only contribute to the uniform development of the city, but will also give an opportunity to further expand the park areas, equipping them with new amusement rides. Let us recall, that the construction works of the Victory Park began back in the 1930s, and the park was then called ''Arabkir City Park '', after it was renamed to Victory, and for many years since then the trees were planted on its desolate lands. The Memorial of Victory Park was opened on 29th of November, 1950. The total area of the park is 34 ha. Let’s hope, that the city officials will follow this example, and another desert land clot will be planted with trees.

Reconstruction of the football stadium in Goris (Syunik province, Armenia) will begin in April this year. Reconstruction works are fully scheduled for completion in 8 months. The restoration works were planned to begin in April, but the weather conditions are still not very favorable for the start of construction, at least in the first week of April. Hopefully, the nature will be favorable to us, and the reconstruction works will start at least in mid-April. It is noteworthy, that the complete overhaul of the stadium and the programs for developing football in the region are being implemented since December 2018 with financial support from a Swiss philanthropist of Armenian origin and together with FFA (Football Federation of Armenia) and Goris municipality. Goris stadium was built in the 80s, and so far no repair work has been performed. New stadium is designed for 3500 spectators. 1 million USD will be invested in the project. There will be 2 open football pitches, changing rooms and indoor gym. In addition to the reconstruction of the stadium, it is also planned to build a football academy for 300 children. At the end of 2018, 90 Armenian children received sport shoes, football accessories and balls with the support of the Swiss-Armenian sponsor. The Mayor of Goris, in his turn, stressed that initiatives for the development of sports in Goris should have tangible results, and the community will make every effort to do greatest progress in this direction.

The long-awaited “train” of unloading traffic flows in the capital and the development of the metro has finally budged! The future metro station project “Ajapnyak”, which was in draft papers back from Soviet times, finally will be brought to life, and in this respect the city authorities already launched a complex program. “A large shopping center is planned to be built on the territory adjacent to Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, which will have a very high level of sales in terms of trade, because it will be located over the metro station, which will interest the entrepreneurs for development of the station”, recently noted the chief architect of Yerevan Artur Meschyan. In his speech he assured, “This will be a 100% business project, and with the investments of this project we have to build the bridge and the new station”. It is planned to start the project implementation with construction of the new station, said deputy mayor Hayk Sargsyan, - “In all our projects our main goal is to create new values and new infrastructures in Yerevan, without increasing the government debt and without budget overload. The project implementation should begin with the construction of underground and completed with a business model. The principle is stated and clearly presented to all potential investors.” The business project which is considered by the municipality, includes two components: construction of the new shopping mall next to the new metro station and updating the housing fund in this area of Yerevan. “When we reached the assessment stage, we understood, that we have an old housing fund next to the underground. That is former Cheryomushki district of Yerevan. Here we have many dilapidated residential buildings, each of which is considered as a separate business program. Three-four-storey buildings will be replaced with high-rise buildings, and creating business interest, we will have new housing funds and relocation of people without budget overload”, noted deputy Mayor Hayk Sargsyan.