After the earthquake in 1988 in the disaster zone some disorderly housing was formed. Over these 30 years, thousands of families left without shelter have received housing thanks to public and private investments. And yet the number of wagons for temporary shelter did not become less. Tatiana Arzumanyan, the Head of the Department of Housing and Utility Infrastructure of the Urban Planning Committee of Armenia, clarified the issue, "In 2008 the final deadline was set for the registration of families left without shelter because of the earthquake. During this period, 7,000 families were enrolled, of which 5,381 are currently recognized as beneficiaries of the housing program with state support. The issues of 4839 families are already solved, and until 2020 the housing problem of the remaining 542 families will be solved, too''. Nevertheless, even after providing housing for so many families, there are still people living in temporary wagons. The number of such wagons is approximately 2000 in Gyumri. '' Some families living in temporary wagons received housing in due time, but for social reasons, sold them and moved again to their old wagons. Another case is large families, when only part of the family moves to the new house, the others continue to live in the so-called ''domiks'' (houses). A lot of such temporary houses were bought or rented by internal migrants, residents who arrived in Gyumri from neighboring cities and villages. In some cases these temporary houses are stone buildings, and families living in such “domiks” are able to use the social guarantees provided by the state. There are also families, who received a living space under the state support program, but did not manage to register their rights within the prescribed period, mostly due to the non-fulfillment of the main condition, the dismantling of temporary housing. Some domiks are used for shoemakers, hairdressers or catering facilities, but not for living'', told Tatiana Arzumanyan about the Odyssey of temporary houses. In order to identify and solve the problems of homeless families, this year, the government made a decision to start documenting the temporary houses. As a result in 2019 proposals will be submitted to Urban planning committee to improve the conditions of families living in these houses. The area of the houses will be cleaned of unnecessary buildings, which will enable them to be included in various investment projects (including construction). '' Solving disaster-zone problem is not only the housing program as planned. As experience shows, the solution of the housing problem does not make citizens socially independent. The family can sold the house or apartment because of the money shortage and again face the old housing problem. Here we need to use a complex approach, implementation of investment initiatives within the framework of human settlement development programs, opening new jobs, urging the economic growth in the regions, creation of opportunities for development'', said Tatiana Arzumanyan.

This year, the city of Yerevan celebrated its 2800th anniversary, a holiday, which brings pride to every citizen of our capital. But what holiday without a nice gift? The park dedicated to 2800th anniversary of Yerevan became such a gift for our city. Another gift was the restoration of the park between Saryan Str. and Mashtots Ave. and construction of Smart Park by Vardanyan family, which is a new venture for Yerevan. Yet, the opening of the park dedicated to 2800th anniversary in November has been postponed until spring, for a number of objective reasons. The main work in the park is completed, but operation of fountains is impossible due to technical standards. “Fountains, which are complex hydraulic structures, have clear technical requirements for weather conditions’’, said Valentin Bukovsky, the Chief Engineer of VODALUX, the famous manufacturer of fountains, “Weather conditions, from abscission to frost, can harm the entire system of the fountains”. The famous Malibu park, already renovated, opened its doors this year in the city center. The restoration work was carried out by the owner of the company “Tashir Group” Samvel Karapetyan. The park is equipped with 100m long new fountain systems and small houses for children covered with artificial grass. The number of trees in the park has increased by three times. Taking into account the fact that Yerevan was designed as a garden city and not for so many people and heavy traffic, also given the rhythm of today's life, the need to increase green areas in the city has become urgent. For 2800th anniversary of Yerevan in the administrative district of Erebuni, the first smart park in the city was built, which is a gift to citizens of Yerevan from Vahagn Badalyan charity foundation. The idea of creating such a park in Erebuni district of Yerevan is very important, because the birth and further development of Yerevan began from this area. '’Our dream was to build a park and give it to the citizens, and we are happy to realize this dream. There will be no commercial structures in the park - neither a shop nor a cafe. This is a new kind of park using only solar energy. It is like a piece of forest in a big city'‘, - said Vahe Badalyan. It should be noted, that the park has been in a terrible state for a long time. Now it has a playground, a chess table and skateboard track. The park has a picturesque artificial lake, a stage, a reading room and an amphitheater. It is important, that the design of the park took into account the needs of people with disabilities.

About 90% of multifamily buildings of Armenia were built in Soviet-era. Most of them are already 50 years old. Some buildings were affected by 1988 earthquake, others became dilapidated for time reasons. Besides, at Soviet times, the buildings were designed and built for 7-point earthquake intensity resistance. After 1988 earthquake in Spitak the complex of regulatory and technical documents on protection of buildings and structures from seismic impacts has been revised, and now the houses are designed for 9-point earthquake intensity resistance. Therefore, we have a large part of the "aging" housing fund, which needs improvement or demolition. About 550 Multifamily Buildings are in Poor Technical Condition The picture of the technical condition of the Armenian housing fund is not complete. The last survey on buildings technical condition was conducted in 2003. According to the preliminary estimation about 6 billion AMD (about USD 13 million) is required for a new large technical survey, which is impossible to do now using public funds due to other key issues requiring more priority solution. According to the last data 550 out of 19,000 multifamily buildings in our country have insufficient technical conditions, of which 500 have 3rd degree damage (in this case reinforcement and recovery works are strongly required), and 50 have 4th degree damage and are subject to demolition. Moreover, after resettlement of the population of 4th degree damaged buildings to avoid further illegal occupancy, demolition of these buildings is mandatory. To avoid unpredictable destruction of the buildings, the government supports residents of 4th degree damaged buildings. “36 unsafe buildings have been repopulated since 2000, more than 1300 families and about 1200 private house residents’ issues have been resolved. As of January 1st 2014, in Yerevan the problem of all 4th degree damaged buildings has been solved. The situation is different in provinces, because here the funds required for the construction of new multifamily buildings often exceed several times the amount of money required to provide financial support for obtaining an apartment. That is the reason why in provinces the government mostly choose the way of providing financial support to owners to buy new apartments. Greater spending is also required for reinforcement in case of 3-degree damaged buildings. At the same time, these costs often exceed the costs of construction of similar building. In such cases the demolition of the building and the resettlement of the population are considered the most appropriate option,” – said Tanya Arzumanyan, the Head of the Housing Fund Management and Utility Infrastructure Department of the Urban Development Committee. The Owners are Responsible for the Maintenance of Their Real Estate From legal point of view, the owners have to take care of the building's maintenance through the management body (condominium) and make accurate payments for the maintenance of their joint property. Building managers, from their side, must carry out relevant property inspection, find the issues and organize appropriate works in accordance with priorities established by the owners and at the expense of the collected amount. Unfortunately, irregular payments of residents on the one hand, and often inefficient activity of property management company on the other hand leads to deterioration of multifamily buildings. The owners of multifamily buildings should be aware, that regular payments and appropriate maintenance of their estate will guarantee a safeness and reliability for their families, which can be possible only through honest execution of their own obligations and rights and through effective cooperation with property management company.

“Prom Expo” company invites you to take part in the 12th largest international specialized exhibition entitled “Construction and Interior” 2019, which will be held on 17-19 May 2019 in YEREVAN EXPO CENTER More than 120 local and foreign organizations from Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Iran and etc., which represent the field, are going to participate in “Construction and Interior” 2019 exhibition and present to a consumer innovations and new technologies. The aim of “Construction and Interior” 2019 is spurring of joint business and investing programs, assisting the investigation of the given sphere and these all has positive effect on the economic growth of the country. The exhibition creates propitious conditions for establishing new business relationships, as well as it contributes the development of small and medium business. In collaboration with the SME Development National Center of Armenia, as Business Cooperation Center of the Enterprise Europe Network in Armenia the Brokerage event/B2B meetings will be organized to promote business cooperation between EU and Armenian companies. It is an excellent opportunity to find business partners in other countries. Thematic divisions: Security systems Banks, loan organizations Cargo carriage Systems of gas – thermal and water supply Doors and windows Exterior and interior design Interior items, furniture, carpet, service Swimming-pools and saunas Lighting technology Green planting Cleaning services and products Projecting Coloring and protecting materials Construction tools and equipment Construction and interior decoration items, technologies Construction, rebuilding services Systems of heating, ventilation Sanitary engineering and white goods Official support of the exhibition: Government of RA Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of RA Ministry of Urban Development of RA Chamber of Commerce & Industry of RA Municipality of Yerevan Organizer: “Prom Expo” LLC:

Tourist Information Center is founded in Dilijan Central Park․ It is built by IDeA foundation within the framework of regional development program “Dilijan and Adjacent Communities Development Initiative” co-financed by the European Union and the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development. Tourist Information Center is an innovative architectural structure in line with the environment. Windows from floor to ceiling reflect the surroundings, creating a direct connection with the nature․ Architect of the center Vazgen Sedrakyan notes, that such an architectural solution has not been an end in itself (the general idea of the building belongs to NST architectural studio together with Tim Flinn Architects). The place and the environment of the park dictated the design of the building. ’’As the building was planned to stand in the park, we tried to make it transparent and light, so that it fits the environment,’’ said Vazgen Sedrakyan, “We tried to make it attractive. The exterior and interior decorations are also very simple. We used wood, which is very popular construction material in Dilijan (the balustrades and balconies in Dilijan are mostly made of wood). The structure is very simple inside, too. The task was to build a house open from inside to outside and from outside to inside. We did not imitate, we tried to create an environment friendly building.'' The area of the Tourist Information Center is small, total area is120 m², the first floor - 80 m², the second floor - 40 m². The first floor is consisted of several zones: tourist information sector, a small souvenir store, rental office for travel accessories like, bicycles, tents, etc., and storage room to keep visitor’s luggage safe. On the second floor located a community center where different trainings and meetings can be organized. “We tried to build the center with high energy-saving standards. There is a place on the roof for solar panels, and in nearest future the building will be supplied by solar energy. Besides, we have planned that the outside walls will be covered with climbing vines. Thus the building will fit more to its surroundings,” said Vazgen Sedrakyan. The city park was also renovated with help of IDeA Foundation: the park has been cleaned, the trees have been pruned, the tracks have been covered with red gravel, the children's playground has been renewed, new benches and garbage bins were installed, the lighting of the park was modernized, and the frames of the paintings depicting Soviet symbolism were updated. Reconstruction of the lake with modernized drainage and filtering system is also envisaged in the nearest future.