Thursday, January 24 2019 14:47

ArmInfo.The chief architect of Yerevan, Arthur Meschyan, is very critical of the project to create the "Old Yerevan" quarter, which was approved in 2004, and found its  implementation in its current form unacceptable.

 

Meschyan said this at a press conference.According to him, during the construction of  the quarter no historical monument will be destroyed anymore.   "Fortunately, after the collapse of the wall of the building at Aram  23, where the choir" Little Singers of Armenia "was located, the plan  of" Old Yerevan "is being revised," Meschian assured.

As for the building's fate at Arami 23, then Meschyan assured that  today a tripartite agreement will be signed between contractors, art  director and chief director of the Little Singers of Armenia choir  Tigran Ekekyan and the Ministry of Culture.The chief architect noted  that, according to the contract, the developer will allocate 14  million drams to the Italian architect Lucio Petit for designing a  plan for the reconstruction of the building. 

"I am very pleased with the fact that Petty will be engaged in the  reconstruction of the building at Arami 23. I think that now all  parties will be satisfied," Meschyan stressed.He also noted that the  promotion of the mayor's office in this matter is only an act of  goodwill, since this building does not belong to the municipality.  "Our support is an act of goodwill, since the building does not  belong to us. In fact, we were somewhat surprised by the hype raised  around this building. Let's not forget that there were much more  crying cases of destruction of historical monuments in Yerevan,  however, they They did not receive such a resonance. However, with  all due respect to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, I will not allow  further reconstruction of the monument at Aram 23, as it is  dangerous, "Meschyan concluded.

Note that on January 11 in the evening in the center of Yerevan the  wall of the Children's Philharmonic "Little Singers of Armenia"  collapsed. On the scene left and. Minister of Culture Lilit Makunts,  who said that all necessary measures would be taken to restore the  building. According to the Emergency Situations Ministry, as a result  of the incident, this section of Arami Street will be closed to  traffic for some time. 

"It turned out that at the above address the outer wall collapsed  (about 35 sq. M) and partly the ceiling (about 20 sq. M) of the  rehearsal room, and the reception ceiling was damaged (cracks  appeared on the ceiling and wall - about 1.5 sq. M The outer wall  (about 18 sq. M.) And the ceiling (about 20 sq. M) of the living  house adjoining the philharmonic building collapsed. Cracks appeared  on the ceiling and the bedroom wall. There is a danger of the other  part collapsing, promising provide more information later.  Earlier,  ArmInfo reported that in Yerevan an attempt was made to save this  building, built in the 19th century and located in the register of  protected monuments. Even four rescue options were developed, of  which the choice was made in the fourth. However, while there were  discussions, the wall of the building, as noted above, collapsed. 

The building was conducted by world famous children's choir "Little  Singers of Armenia". As parents of students and school staff told the  ArmInfo correspondent, it all started with the construction right  next to the architectural monument of the next elite building.  According to the teachers, the contractors carrying out construction  work violated all conceivable and inconceivable construction norms,  as a result of which the foundation of the old building began to  settle, and deep cracks formed on the walls.Recall that the "Old  Yerevan" project covers about 100,000 square meters of construction  in the center of Yerevan - from Abovyan Street to Koghbatsi Street,  from Arami Street to Buzand Street. According to the project, it is  planned to restore the architectural appearance of the Armenian  capital of the late XIX - early XX centuries. It was assumed that the  project "Old Yerevan" worth $ 150 million was to be completed in  2010- 2011.

 However, the government entered into an agreement with  Multicontinental distribution only in 2014 due to some problems.  Construction work started only in 2017. The project is being  implemented by Swiss businessman of Armenian origin Vardan Sirmakesh.  According to the information exaggerated in the media, the project  was delayed due to the failure of the cabinet of ex-premier Hovik  Abrahamyan to fulfill its contractual obligations, which, having  received the amount stipulated in the contract for the construction  of the quarter, subsequently delayed construction for various  reasons.