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.

"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.

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.

This week in Armenian city Dilijan will start the construction of new social housing project, told the director of the National Association of Social Housing Ara Nazinyan. In September last year Dilijan City Hall and the NASH signed a contract about the program. The new project with total area of 1.1 hectares will be built in the west of Dilijan with completion in several phases in 2013-14. The new social block will include nine 2-story new developments and reconstructed one 4-story building. The project loan provided by the Dutch DIGH company. Note, that in 2011 during his visit to Netherlands, Chairman of the Trustee Council of the National Social Housing Association, Secretary of the RA National Security Council Arthur Baghdasaryan and Chairman of Dutch International Guarantees For Housing Eric Berzhen signed an agreement which will provide new opportunities for social housing development in Armenia. According to this contract, 3 million Euros will be provided to Armenia to solve low and middle income family housing problems, at the first phase of cooperation. The National Association of Social Housing intended to build social housing also in Ashtarak and Hrazdan. First social houses in Armenia were built by the government in Yerevan, Goris and Maralik. For example in Maralik the government built 3 buildings and now in 59 apartments live orphanage graduates, invalids and single old peoples. 2008 economic crisis especially hit the real estate market. The construction of new buildings becomes less profitable even in well developed countries due to low demand. After this many countries began to build social houses. Today, for example, half of residents in Hong-Kong, 25 percent in USA live in social houses.