In February 2016 the construction of new educational and sports complex began in administrative district Avan on Tsarav Aghbyur street in Yerevan. This project is developed by Gazprom Armenia within the framework of the large-scale project “Gazprom to Children”. The complex is located next to the area built as part of the social project “Affordable Housing for Young Specialists”, and is designed to provide educational and sports occupation for children of this area. The complex will have a kindergarten, a school, an indoor ice-skating rink and a fitness center with its buildings and infrastructures. The project, designed by Yerevanproject CJSC, won the first two prizes in the nominations "The Best Project for a Multifunctional Complex" and "The Best Project for an Educational Building" in the tender, which was announced in 2016 by National Association of Surveyors and Designers of Russia (NOPRIZ). The common entrance to the educational and sports complex starts from the street opposite the Botanical Garden, in the upper part of which there is a boulevard. The first from the left is the building of the indoor ice rink. The total area of the three-story building is 6241 square meters. The core of the building is the hall with artificial ice, designed for 350 seats. Its size is 42x66 m, for the ice arena it is 30x60 m. The fitness center consists of universal stadium with 440 seats and separate sport halls. The building has also an underground parking for 74 cars (2594 square meters). The education center of the complex is intended for 700 students. The school is three-four story building with total area 12,457 square meters. The project envisages two different buildings to divide the student flows of different age groups. The secondary school building is for 150 students, the primary school building is for 550 pupils. The school will have an indoor pool (12,5x25 m) and an open area for summer activities, which can serve as a field for futsal. 2-3 story kindergarten with floor area 3622 square meters intended to serve 190 children divided into 8 groups. The flat roof of the kindergarten will be used as a playground. The kindergarten will also have a small 0,6-0,8m deep swimming pool (6x3 m), locker rooms, a coach room and a first-aid post. The interior design was done by Storaket architectural studio. The buildings of the complex are equipped with wheelchair ramps, elevators, bathrooms and wardrobes for people with disabilities. Currently, the works on interior decoration and improvement of the boulevard are going on and will be completed this spring.

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.

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.