The problem of reducing the traffic load in the capital city Yerevan municipality considers a priority. In parallel with the rhythm of life, the number of cars increases, which negatively affects the traffic. In order to relieve automobile traffic in the capital, new roads will be built to bypass the capital, and in this sphere the municipality is considering a number of programs and projects. On January 25, Mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan, together with RA Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies Hakob Arshakyan visited several districts of the city, where the construction of bypass roads is planned. It should be mentioned, that this road construction project was planned back to Soviet times. М15 program will connect Ararat and Kotayk provinces, giving drivers the opportunity not to enter Yerevan, bypassing the administrative districts Erebuni and Nor Nork. The next project of unloading the city traffic plans to directly link Davtashen and Kanaker-Zeytun administrative districts. In the nearest future specific assessments will be made for the above-mentioned road construction projects, which will provide an opportunity to implement programs in accordance with priorities. Besides the construction of bypass roads, a subject for discussion is also the problem of unloading the extremely congested transport hubs in the capital. Mayor of the capital Hayk Marutyan stated that the municipality is actively negotiating with the Asian Development Bank on the construction of new road junctions near Hayrenik Cinema and Yerevan Circus. It is noteworthy, that the road construction is rapidly developing in Armenia, and this is the sphere that country really needs.

After long discussions, the problem of the building-monument at 23 Arami Street is finally resolved. ''Today a triple agreement will be signed between the company AMC, the chorus “Armenian Little Singers” directed by Tigran Hekekyan and the Ministry of Culture of Armenia,''– said the Chief architect of Yerevan Artur Meschyan on January 24. And despite the fact that for a long time the relevant authorities were busy only with blaming each other, the problem was solved in favor of the monument. The architectural restoration design of the monument will be developed by the Italian architect Lucio Pezzi. The developer will allocate 14 million AMD to Italian architect for the restoration plan of the monument. Let’s recall, that on the night of January 11 collapse occurred in the building of children’s concert hall ''Armenian Little Singers'' located at 23 Arami street. The cause of the collapse were the construction works in the adjacent area within the frame of the project ''Old Yerevan''. Armen Abroyan, the Head of the Agency for the Protection of Monuments of History and Culture within the Ministry of Culture, repeatedly stressed the fact that the permission given by previous municipal authorities, in general, was not agreed with the Ministry of Culture. '"Subsequently, it was found that the permit was issued in violation of urban planning norms. Designer, developer, Town Planning Committee of Armenia and finally, the Municipality, do nothing. I personally negotiated with the developer and the author of the project ''Old Yerevan''. It turned out that the author even does not have the photogrammetry for the building on 23 Arami street''. Hopefully, the agreement will satisfy all parties, will help resolve the problem and will not deprive the residents of Yerevan and tourists of the monument, which is the spirit of Armenian architecture and a small part of Armenian history.

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 construction of Davtashen-Ashtarak highway is almost finished. The construction works of this section of the highway is carried out by B.S Group from Georgia and Armenian Vahagn and Samvel LLC. Entire project completion will provide Yerevan with new 23 km bypass highway connecting the Northern and Southern gates of Yerevan and its four administrative districts Shengavit, Malatia-Sebastia, Ajapnyak and Davtashen. The Davtashen-Ashtarak highway construction project is funded by the Asian Development Bank in the framework of the investment program for sustainable development of cities Tranche-2. The new section of the highway will consist of six lanes, on average, 28 meters wide and about 5.4 km in length․ According to the project, the administrative district Davtashen will be connected with the western gates of Yerevan in Ajapnyak administrative district at Ashtarak highway. To ensure uninterrupted traffic at the intersections “Chaush street-Ashtarak highway” and “Halabyan street-Yeghvard highway”, two-level traffic intersections are built. There is another construction work underway in the framework of the project of sustainable urban development "Tranche 2" and financed by the Asian Development Bank, that is the new section of the highway Babajanyan-Ashtarak along the bypass road with a length of 9.4 km, 6 lanes, average width - 24 m.