Many Soviet-era factories and plants remained abandoned after the collapse of the State. Recently, there is a tendency to modernize, reinterpret and "revive" these buildings with a new format and a new meaning. With this approach, the former bakery of Dilijan will be reconstructed into the residential complex ALLUR. The project will be realized by Storaket architectural studio. The former large-scale bakery of Tavush region which supplied bread to the entire province is located on Shamakhyan Street and occupies a 13,000 m² area. It is a little bit isolated from the traffic and town noise, and due to its elevated location, the site has a wonderful view of the town and Dilijan’s dense forests. At the same time, it is pretty close to Dilijan's main infrastructure. Storaket studio, as noted by the studio's senior architect Narek Nersisyan, tried to preserve the valuable aspects of the old structure and add new, contrasting features which give a new breath to the whole concept. The new residential complex will combine three structures: the reconstructed two adjoin old buildings, a separate one-story structure, and a new residential building. The large openings featuring the architecture of the old factory building are preserved in the façade solutions. Additionally, one wall is replaced by a window, which creates a direct and transparent connection with the exterior, placing living areas closer to nature. All the apartments in ALLUR will have panoramic windows. The old factory building consists of two adjoining buildings: industrial (3-story) and administrative (5-story). The ceiling height of the industrial section is 5.5-6 m, which, according to Narek Nersisyan, was used for the benefit of the project. “We designed mezzanine floors in all apartments as full bedrooms or open mezzanine small bedrooms”. There will be 4 penthouses on the roof which resemble traditional Dilijan houses with high, double-winged roofs. A new residential building is designed in front of the reconstructed buildings. It also resembles the building of the former bakery, forming one common, coherent environment. The other one-story old building will be reconstructed into a sports complex with a swimming pool, large gym, yoga and massage rooms, and a sauna. Outdoor playgrounds for basketball, football, and general workout will also be built. The name "ALLUR" (meaning flour in Armenian) will remind you that this used to be a building of a former, well-known by locals bakery. Keeping the old in mind, the design includes constructing a new bakery that will spread a mild delicious aroma throughout the complex. A semi-basement car park will be built in front of the newly constructed five-story building, on which there will be a playground and recreation area. 9,700 m² of the total 13,000 m² area will be landscaped. '' In general, the area of the complex will be equipped with zones and pavilions intended for residents' recreation and entertainment. A warm, hospitable, and positive environment will be created in the complex, where living will be comfortable and pleasant'', tells Narek Nersisyan.

An Engineering and Applied Science Facility will be built in Tumanyan Park, home to the Yerevan Tumo Center for Creative Technologies. The complex, co-financed by the European Union and worth 25 million euros, was first announced in 2019. The new Tumo Complex will become the STEM ecosystem in Yerevan (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Among 67 architectural companies from 24 countries participating in the design competition, the Netherlands-based MVRDV architectural studio was selected as the winner. According to the jury, TUMO chose MVRDV's design "because, as a firm, it created a hub for collaboration and also demonstrated a deep understanding of the center's programs and vision, in addition to the urban context in which the site is located". MVRDV presented it as a horizontal skyscraper (MVRDV's project name is EU TUMO Convergence Center). It will be a 6-story and 200 meters long building on the edge of Hrazdan river gorge. The designers describe their project as "A monolithic rectilinear bar cantilevers over steep slopes on each end. Large windows at each end direct views toward the Hrazdan river gorge to the north and Mount Ararat (the biblical resting place of Noah's Ark) to the south. Inside, the structure forms a large, hangar-like space with its landscape of lightweight modular boxes housing most of the building's program. A translucent polycarbonate façade helps to light the large space, and gives the building a gentle glow at night." The center will have three complementary components: educational and research programs, conference and exhibition halls, and work and commercial spaces. It will also have conference halls, event platforms, coworking, and study spaces for both individuals and organizations. Cafes, restaurants, gyms, shops, and other commercial areas will operate on the first floor. The construction of the complex is expected to start this year.

Earthquake in Turkey and Syria On February 6, at 05:17 Yerevan time, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 (M 7.8) hit the Gaziantep province of Turkey. About 9 hours later, 100 km north of it, another powerful M 7.5 earthquake hit the Kahramanmarash province, and it was caused by the impact of the first one, but occurred on a different geological fault. These 2 main shocks are accompanied by hundreds of quite powerful aftershocks, which experts say can last for weeks, months, or even years. Given the area's population density and the poor seismic stability of the structures, the final death toll could be closer to 100,000, and with millions left homeless. This is one of the most powerful earthquakes in this region in the last century, if not the most powerful. Earthquake in Armenia “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others”. Here we need to somehow correct Bismarck: those who learn from their own mistakes are quite smart, and those who repeat mistakes are completely foolish. We have recently passed through the nightmare of the Spitak earthquake, but the deep pain of the aftermath has not gone away, nor have the efforts to deal with the consequences that continue up today. However, we never learned a lesson from these continuous warnings from nature. After the Spitak earthquake, the Soviet government developed a comprehensive plan to avoid further threats as much as possible. The plan even included the "cutting" of high-rise buildings at the level of 5-6 floors... Back in 2010, our website wrote about the highest level of vulnerability to earthquakes in Armenia and especially in Yerevan. In this assessment, 2 circumstances were taken into account, the first is the possibility of a powerful earthquake and the second is the density of the capital's buildings and their low earthquake resistance. Perhaps the most dangerous for Yerevan is the Garni Fault, which quietly gathers energy, and no one can predict when that energy will be unleashed, but it will happen sooner or later. According to scientific research related to this fault, earthquakes hit in 1679 and 1827 reached M 7.0, the same strength as the Spitak earthquake. Let's not forget also the M 7.5 Ararat earthquake in 1840, which literally changed the shape of the mountain, and from the top of Great Ararat, 30–35-meter boulders were thrown to the foot of it... Many people have spoken and written about this issue many times, but there is no serious approach so far, and the steps taken are miserable. So, once again, we would like to call the attention of our government, the national assembly and all other interested and compassionate parties, to seriously and responsibly take actions to withstand the possible upcoming earthquake. What should be done? Of course, we need to improve the technical condition of all buildings and structures. The solution of this issue is a matter of years, decades, but a clear plan must be developed urgently and strictly followed every year, every day and every hour, step by step. The top priority is building hospitals with higher earthquake norms than the existing ones. Today, the dominant part of hospitals operating in the republic were built in Soviet times with old seismic norms.. Ensuring the seismic safety of kindergartens, schools, and all other educational institutions is also a main priority. Some schools and kindergartens have been renovated by state programs, and some have been reconstructed in order to comply with modern seismic norms, but the real "product" cannot be considered reliable. We need completely new and very strong structures. But it is necessary to start with the institutions whose buildings are in a poor and dilapidated condition, and there are still a good many of them. All ministries, committees, local governments, police - all the state governing bodies must operate in a safe, earthquake-resistant buildings in order to carry out their work without interruption. Housing stock is perhaps the most vulnerable and the most difficult part of the problem. Most of the buildings were built in Soviet times. In addition to the fact that the structures of that period were built according to lower seismic norms and were built of poor quality, the "construction" interventions of the residents at the discretion of the authorities of the time made the situation even more complicated. There are multi-storied buildings where residents remove the supporting concrete reinforced columns, or buildings with 1,2 and 3 story roof superstructures. But there are also positive developments in terms of earthquake-resistant housing construction and the boom in new developments, especially in Yerevan. This new housing stock is much more seismically resistant and can be said to be a major step forward in dealing with seismic hazards. But old buildings are still left populated and the government has to think about how to deal with this issue. There are many historic buildings in Armenia and perhaps the only solution would be to implement the maximum possible strengthening works, which is only possible in uninhabited, disused structures. No more waiting, it’s time to act! Today's passive concern of not acting and relying on God is a crime. Tectonic plates have been moving for millions of years and will continue to move furthermore, shaking Earth periodically. The only way to overcome a catastrophe is to be prepared for the disaster, waiting out shocks in our homes and workplaces and be sure of their seismic stability. The terrible disaster in Turkey and Syria just warns us again and again that we must act - there is no time to wait.

"Forestbridge"- residential and mixed-use development is planned to be built in a forested area adjacent to the Best Western Hotel in Dilijan. The author of the project is Archangel architectural studio. The construction of the building is planned to take place in a small glade in a densely forested area with a funnel-shaped depth. The whole complex will be located in a forest: the development integrated with the natural environment will unite people and nature. The nature here invades the architecture, making it one whole ensemble. According to Artak Knyazyan, the founder and head of Archangel architectural studio, several architectural solutions contributed to this, and one of them is the creation of green sections on the facades, "as if apologizing to nature". Actually, the former glade has been filled with greenery. There are trees in pots and on rectangular logs on all the balconies. <br><br> The funnel shape of the site inspired the idea of connecting the building to the forest with help of bridges. In addition to the two glazed staircases and bridges designed between the three buildings, another feature of the complex is the masking of open balconies with netting. Thanks to this, the balconies will not be polluted by leaves and twigs falling from the trees. The chief architect of the project, Tigran Sahakyan, presented some details of the project. The building will be located in a funnel-shaped space covering about 2000 m². The first floor will be a public zone with a restaurant, café, gaming and other service areas, in front of which there will be a shared swimming pool. The pool waters are visually connected with the nearby river through the filtration system, once again emphasizing the connection to nature. Above the public zone come 6, 7 and 9-storey residential buildings. "The structures connecting the apartment buildings are glazed. It leaves an impression that the nature is passing through the building. And the green of the balconies creates an impression of a vertical forest, as if it were the natural extension of the forest,” said Tigran Sahakyan. The building will be faced with white stone. The green zones on the façade will contrast the white façade and emphasize more connection with nature. The development will have a 2.5-story underground parking lot. No felling of trees will be done in the area. Moreover, the forest will be filled with trees placed on the terraces, creating one ensemble with nature. This project is an interesting example of a vertical forest-structure, which has a trend towards the future and the architecture of the future.

“Myler” multifunctional mountain complex, that is being built in Yeghipatrush community of Aparan province, claims to become the leader in the region. Tigran Harutyunyan, the founder of the project “Myler Mountain Resort” is a big fan of mountain skiing, and it was his longtime dream to establish a mountain skiing sports complex in Armenia that meets the international standards. Yeghipatrush was chosen for the implementation of “Myler Mountain Resort” project, because it is an ideal place due to its geographical location and climatic conditions. An area of more than 600 hectares is planned for the complex. “Myler Mountain Resort” project is being implemented jointly with a well known Canadian company "Ecosign", which has about 40 years of work experience in the field of design of mountain recreation areas. The cable car, both seat and gondola types, will be designed and built by the Austrian company Doppelmayr. The advantages of this ski complex will also be small "conveyor" zones for beginner skiers: the magic carpets, the artificial snowmaking system, which will solve the problem of insufficient snow, and ensure quality snow cover all winter for visitors. The activities of the ski complex will not be limited only to the winter months. It is planned to make it an attractive summer vacation destination as well. "Myler" will be a big ski town with recreation and entertainment zones, hotels, cottages, restaurants and other infrastructure. The first phase of the project, with an investment volume of more than 60 million euros, will be completed in the winter of 2023, and the overall project is expected to be completed between 2032 and 2035. An investment of 250-300 million euros is planned for the whole decade. "In the final stage, after 11-12 years, we are sure that we will compete with Ski resorts in Krasnaya Polyana . What we plan now, with the first phase of the project, is enough to have the most developed and equipped unique center in Armenia. Already at the final stage "Myler" complex claims to become the best in the region. Now our regional center is in Georgia, Gudauri," says Tigran Harutyunyan.