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.

“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.

The hill of Nork-Marash used to be a forested area and “the lungs” of Yerevan city. Because of deforestation during the dark and cold years, as well as due to lack of irrigation, the forest has almost disappeared. "Khakhamyan Heritage" development company aims to reforest the area with the help of its "Amanoo" project. "Amanoo" district will occupy an area of 5 hectares. Now 1 ha is under construction. Large, mature trees are already being transported here from different regions of Armenia; 1100 trees are already planted. At the end of the project it is planned to have 4500 trees. It is a unique project, 75% of which will be landscaped, built according to the principles of biophilic and biometric architecture. Biometric, when an element of nature becomes the result of inspiration; in this project it is the ivy leaf. The buildings are designed to resemble an ivy leaf. And biophilic, when there is plenty of nature inside the buildings. All apartments have a beautiful panoramic view of the city or the neighborhood garden. The garden will have stone paths, streams, bridges, a pond and an 11-meter waterfall. The green landscapes will have indoor and outdoor recreation areas. About 50 apartments are fully glazed with panoramic view windows. Leaf-shaped buildings do not have walls with sharp corners. The height of the ceilings is 3.2 m, for the upper floors - 4.2 m. The apartments will be offered for sell without any partitions which will give more space for future interior design decisions of residents. With this project, "Amanoo" also changes the ideas about the ground floor. The ground floors in this district leave an impression that you are in your private villa outside the city, not in a city apartment. All upper floors have a 140 sqm terrace with their own private pool and garden. For cars there are separate roads, underground and open parking places. The district will be fenced and will have 3 entrances with guard posts. The roads leading to the district from Saralanj (which is 2.5 km from the city center) and Garegin Hovsepyan Street are being built, the third, already operational entrance is from Armenak Armenakyan Street. The parking lot is ready, the basic works of 4 buildings have been completed. The sale of apartments has already begun.

The famous park, which has been neglected for more than 30 years after the devastating Spitak earthquake in 1988, is being reconstructed on the initiative of the Tourism and Urban Development Charitable Foundation (TUF). When developing the design concept of the park, the valuable memories and suggestions of Gyumri residents were taken into account, in order to “preserve the old attractive spirit of the park” and to find new original solutions. 84 applications have been submitted to the International Competition for Architectural Solutions of Garden Recreation Infrastructure Elements from 16 countries and 37 cities. The winner in the nominations the "Standard Architectural Elements" and "Unique Architectural Element", was recognized IND Architects. Also, special benches will be placed in the park by the design of SULIMAN, RAKOVSKAYA & SOFOYAN studio, which won the nomination for "Small Architectural Forms". And so, let us start our tour in the revitalizing park from the entrance of the park. The official entrance to the park was in front of the former Shirak Hotel, where the entrance arches are still standing. The park will have a sports ground with its own infrastructure, a playground and amusement rides, a reservoir or an artificial pond and a skating rink for winter fun. The novelty and the key part of the park will be the Vernissage with its 25 unique exhibition pavilions and the School of horticulture. The Friendship Park reconstruction program also envisages the construction of a new open-air stage, which will be located in the central square of the park, together with the café. The spacious stage will be surrounded by a green area, and the continuation of the hill behind the stage will be seen then. It is planned to build a make-up room near the stage, as well as a separate area for storing equipment and tools. The construction of some objects of the park is planned to be completed in the middle of September of this year, after which the park will be open to the residents of Gyumri and the guests of the city. And at the end of 2023 it is planned to put the whole park into operation. Within the framework of the Friendship Park program, a participatory design was developed for the first time in Armenia. The park is being reconstructed with active involvement of local residents’ memories and ideas. The restored Friendship Park will promote the development of the city's infrastructure, acting as a bridge between Gyumri's historic center, Kumayri, and its "industrial and residential districts."