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.

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.

In the quietest and sunniest part of Dilijan, a complex of cottages was built with modern architectural solutions and according to modern construction standards. The attractive feature of the complex is, that you can live and relax in a cottage, as well as rent it out through Dili Town Resort and Spa, at an interest rate of 70/30, 70% of which will be yours. All the cottages have a patio and a garage. Owners and guests on preferential terms will be able to use the services of the Dili Town Resort and Spa hotel complex: swimming pool, sauna, gym, restaurant, laundry, etc. Because the whole initiative was quite attractive, the cottages are already sold out. But since there are many people who want to become business partners of Dili Town, investors also took up the construction of an apartment building, which will be put into operation as a hotel.> Hotel suites, like the cottages, are offered with interior decoration and full furniture with the same percentage ratio of 70/30. 30% of the amount must be paid first, and the rest of the sum is distributed in parallel with the construction process in the form of equal monthly payments, without any additional fees and interest. In the middle of the cottages and the residential building, Dili Town Resort and Spa complex will be built with an outdoor pool, a conference hall, children's playground, a restaurant and cafe, as well as an indoor pool, Finnish and Russian bathhouses and sauna. The architectural solution of the exterior of Dili Town is implemented in accordance with the architecture of Dilijan. Both Dili Town Resort and Spa Complex cottages and the residential building have suspended wooden balconies typical for Dilijan. The interior of the cottages and the building is decorated with natural plants. The residential building - hotel is planned to be put into operation in 2023.

Children of Armenia Charitable Foundation (COAF), founded by businessman and scientist Karo Armen, strives to help Armenia in these difficult days for our country, implementing new projects. Debet village will soon become the first smart village in Armenia. According to COAF infrastructure program coordinator Arthur Ter-Simonyan, a new playground will soon be built in Debet, which will be one of the best COAF playgrounds. Within the framework of the project, the first smart bus-stop with a unique design will be built. The bus stop design is completed and now in its approval phase. This program can bring a new breath into the cultural and everyday life of Debet population, because it is aimed at creating a more comfortable, modern environment for the villagers in order to reduce the emigration flow. The project also envisages road repair, improvement of street lighting and the state of public transport, well-built tiled roofs, high-quality infrastructure, a developing economy, modern means of communication and, of course, active and involved residents. Of course, with such an integrated approach, it is possible to solve practically all the problems of the village. We also learned from the COAF website that modular houses will be built in the village for displaced families from Artsakh as part of the SMART Debet program.