Yereruyk, the dilapidated temple dated IV-VI centuries, located on the left bank of Akhuryan gorge, in Anipemza community of Shirak region, can be built up, in case of available financing. The temple is a huge basilica, which together with Anipemza settlement on March 16, 2016 was included in the list of the seven UNESCO monuments under the greatest threat of extinction in Europe in 2015. About a month ago, within the framework of an agreement signed between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian National University of Architecture and Construction, a complex of design work was developed to strengthen the Yereruyk temple, the vaults of the mausoleum, restoration of the Anipemza House of Culture and the creation of a small museum. Professor Emma Harutyunyan, PhD in Architecture, Associate Professor, Scientific Director of the Engineering Academy of Armenia, told us about the excavations and the temple. “During numerous excavations in the Yereruyk temple, early Christian tombs and caves were discovered, including graves of infants. After excavations in 2011, archaeologist Patrick Tonapetyan said that this is somehow connected with the nature of the temple, since it is dedicated to John the Baptist, and according to people, he allowed unbaptized children to be buried there... Studying the results of previous excavations, I was amazed by the fact that the huge temple has practically no foundation, it is built on two rows of small stones, stacked on top of each other. In addition, the stairs of the temple, which are mostly typical of pagan temples such as the Garni temple, are not a pedestal here, but were built to give the temple more solemnity and grandeur… The Yereruyk temple is now in an extremely dangerous state, we can say that it is on the verge of collapse, because over the years the temple has undergone some changes, the stones on the top of the walls have collapsed. Seismic calculations have shown that the most dangerous part, which is still on the verge of collapse, is the southwestern part of the temple. Here, the stone mortars will be treated with a special solution to strengthen the stone walls, some new stones must be added to the walls to give strength to this part of the temple, and special measures will be taken to strengthen the walls with basalt reinforcement bars… In the mausoleum, we plan to strengthen the vaults, add coverings to protect from atmospheric influences. In Anipemza, a village near the Yereruyk temple, there is a small non-functioning house of culture. We have planned the reconstruction of this building in order to create a museum where the most valuable fragments of the temple will be exhibited. Unfortunately, Yereruyk has few visitors. If the project is implemented, it will contribute to the development of tourism. People would visit Yereruyk and Anipemza, will get acquainted with our history and culture.”

Eco Techno District in Gyumri Recently, more and more investment programs are becoming popular in Gyumri, the second largest city and cultural center of our republic. According to the Facebook page of the Gyumri municipality, an eco-district will be built in the city, and the investor is Todd Fabacher from New-York, representing the Digital Pomegranate company. In accordance with the agreement approved at the meeting of the Council of Elders of Gyumri on May 14, the company will be provided with a plot of 21 hectares for the implementation of the program - the former military unit Huri Gund. "The project was presented to the Council of Elders, according to the decision of which the land plot was allocated to the company for the construction of a green city," the press secretary of the Mayor of Gyumri Sona Arakelyan said in a telephone conversation with us. It is worth noting that there is a lake formed by groundwater on the territory, which will be included in the project, in addition, it is planned to fill the territory with parks and lakes. It is also planned to create sites for IT startups. From a telephone conversation with the director of the Foundation for Sustainable Development and Environmental Enterprises “District” Gayane Ghandilyan, we learned that after the start of work on the project, the sketch submitted to the Council of Elders can be changed and supplemented. ˝We presented to the Council of Elders the concept of the planned area, that is, what we plan to implement. It is clear that after the research work there will be deviations from this sketch˝. It should be noted that the program is planned to be implemented in stages, during the first three years the existing buildings on the territory will be reconstructed. Of course, investment programs are the most important factors in the development of urban planning, reflecting the unique stages of city life. However, everything should be in the context of the existing urban image. Each settlement has its own foundations, which have been formed over the centuries. The weakening of the foundations leads to the destruction of the city and the loss of identity. Analyzing the abovementioned, it becomes clear that the implementation of any project, especially in historical cities, requires cultural, historical, urban planning, archaeological, serious, professional, in-depth research, on the basis of which a draft design must be drawn up. Has such research been carried out or not, especially in the field of archeology? ˝Such studies have not yet been carried out. After the lease of the site, when geological work will be carried out, excavations will be planned. We will work with the chief architect of Gyumri city Henrik Gasparyan and architect-designer Ani Yenokyan, who will conduct research to find out what specific details and attributes of Gyumri we will have in the District. But nevertheless, we will not repeat the style of the historic city, that is, it will differ from what a tourist sees in the city center. The new district will have a more modern look, but it will definitely reflect the typical Gyumri details in our branding. Each café or restaurant in that part should fit the branding of the District,- said the Director of the Foundation for Sustainable Development and Environmental Enterprises "District" Gayane Ghandilyan.

Ancient architectural, construction and cultural findings have always fascinated and continue to amaze us. The director of historical and archaeological museum-reserve “Erebuni” Mikael Badalyan told us about the recent excavations near the ancient hill Karmir Blur. - We are closely cooperating with the construction company building the North-South highway on the matter of the site connecting Shirak street with Argavand highway, where fragments of clay utensils were found. As a result, construction work on this site was suspended and we began control preventive excavations, as a result of which we were able to fix archaeological layers, containing different ceramics, where in the same context the “Urartian elite” and the local, so-called “polished” ceramics are combined. Besides, another structure was excavated with regular rows, parallel to each other, made of crushed stone, filled with river pebbles … This can be a wall or part of a tomb, or a platform … Also we found in the layer the bottom of a clay amphora. Obviously, they made a hole to place this amphora in the layer of river pebbles … The amphora may have been intended for cremation or other purposes. The main thing is that we have discovered a layer of human activity of the 7th-6th centuries BC on the outskirts of Karmir Blur. - And how many layers are there on the territory of Karmir Blur? - There are layers of pre-Urartian and Urartian periods, as well as structures of the late Bronze and early Iron ages, with semicircular and square layouts, on which the people of Urartu used to build their houses in the 7th century BC. In 2019, together with Armenian-Austrian expedition, we managed to fix also a post-Urartian layer, which I consider to be a very important achievement … In addition, there is a fairly rich medieval layer. In the upper part of Karmir Blur there was a chapel, that did not persist. Most likely, it was a medieval chapel. Initially, Karmir Blur - as a monument of the Urartian period, was known for this chapel... And I would not be surprised if it turns out that this chapel was built on the base of the Urartian Susi temple, as we found the cuneiform cornerstones of the Susi temple in Karmir Blur. In addition, coins of Georgian Queen Tamara and medieval ceramics were discovered. The interesting fact is, that few years ago we decided to plant cedars in front of the museum building. Digging the holes, we came across pottery and stopped digging. It turned out that it was a pottery of Kura-Araxes period, dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. - Could the find during excavations be the basis for changing this part of the North-South project? - Yes, it could, if we found a serious monumental structure… This could be a tomb, palace, castle, some piece from prehistoric period. After all, Yerevan is a mosaic that is not fully known to us. … In general, very few excavations have been carried out on the territory of Yerevan. Mostly these are accidental discoveries. For example, ancient Urartian tomb near Yerevan-mole was discovered in 1984, when during the construction of auto parts factory the builders found several slabs. Another accidental discovery is Dzoraberd fortress next to Mergelyan Institute.

The State Urban Development Committee announced an international open architectural and urban planning tender for reconstruction of Kond district in Yerevan. It was proposed to organize a professional working group, which will include architects, urban planners, economists, sociologists, lawyers, representatives of public relations and mass media (including journalists), artists, sculptors, ethnographers, historians, non-governmental organizations, as well as active and responsive residents of Kond and other interested or competent people who can help with the implementation of the project with their advice. Of course, listening to the opinions of all interested parties is not bad, especially for experts, but the opinion of residents of Kond is also important. And, of course, one of the priorities to be the issue of providing residents of Kond with housing on site. Since Kond is the historical district of Yerevan, it is necessary to carry out excavations and launch research before the start of the tender, and meanwhile, research and excavation can take many years. A result of similar rush has been the Youth Palace and Ferdowsi Street, the fate of which is still unclear. Of course, it would be highly desirable that the Kond reconstruction project fully reflects the atmosphere of Armenian architecture with 2-3 story buildings. That does not mean, that we are against the creation of trade and entertainment centers. We simply propose that all these structures should be designed in the spirit and according to the rules of Armenian architecture of this era. For revitalizing the district it is proposed to include the following plan in the conceptual draft: organization of access to all entrances to the area, development of an information system aimed at facilitating communication within the area, specialized cafe, visitor information center, workshops, studios, work areas, media center, gift shops and exhibition halls, open air and indoor venues for events, shops, guest houses, catering establishments, public baths and premises for temporary accommodation of the guests. Meanwhile the tender for reconstruction of Kond district of Yerevan was announced twice many years ago. Along the perimeter of the rectangular garden, it was planned to restore the surviving 2-3-storey old buildings, to use Armenian cuisine for restaurants, cafe, tea houses, attractions, games (including national ones), art clubs, etc. In the park, artists could paint and exhibit their paintings. It could be like Armenian Montmartre. However, this project was also cancelled, and the announced tender is the third attempt. Let’s hope that this attempt will be successful and finally we will get reconstructed, renewed and renovated face of one of the Yerevan’s old district – Kond.

Yerevan Children's Railway will not lose its architectural and cultural values. This is not a presumption, but a statement made by the Municipality of Yerevan. We were somewhat worried about the proposal to build a parking and a fitness center to renovate the children's railway, which was more like a business plan that would completely distort the spirit of the Children's Railway. Therefore, we made an enquiry from the Municipality about what construction work will be carried out and how true our fears were. We were told that there were several investment proposals for the modernization and expansion of the territory of the Children's Railway, which were considered by the interdepartmental commission on programs requiring a comprehensive urban planning solution. As a result, it was decided that the construction works on the territory of the railway are inappropriate, except for consolidation, restoration, repair and landscaping. The good news is, that the residents will not be deprived of their favorite park, which from generation to generation conveys the vivid memories of our parents, being a small green oasis in the dusty center of our capital. Children’s railway is connected to the city center by two tunnels. According to the plan of the chief architect of Yerevan Alexander Tamanyan, the Hrazdan gorge was supposed to serve as a recreation zone, the clean air of which was supposed to reach the city center through the tunnels. Two 400-meter tunnels were built in the 1940s and were designed as military shelters. Unfortunately, after the independence declaration, the attention is paid mostly to modern solutions, rather, than Armenian traditional architecture. To preserve this unique piece of national architecture, the Municipality made a decision to keep the appearance of Children’s Railway. It is noteworthy, that the first tunnel was cleaned in May, and very soon the second tunnel and all the stations of Children’s Railway will be cleaned and put into operation. The official opening of Yerevan Children’s Railway took place on 6th of July 1937. The idea of opening the railway belongs to Aghasi Khanjyan, the chief architect is Mikael Mazmanyan. In the late 1940s, the wooden building of the station was replaced with a stone one designed by the architect Gohar Grigoryan. According to the witnesses, there were German prisoners working on the construction of tunnels. The people used to give them bread, and the prisoners made wooden dolls for them as a sign of gratitude.