The Armenian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture discussed the reconstruction of the former Foreign Ministry building on Republic Square

ArmInfo. The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of Armenia held a regular meeting of the Scientific and Methodological Council, which discussed the revised project for the reconstruction and adaptation of the second Government House, the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs building located in the Republic Square complex.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of Armenia, the meeting was chaired by Zhanna Andreasyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports. The organization implementing the project is the British architectural and urban planning firm Foster+Partners.

Andreasyan noted at the meeting that this is the third time the project has been submitted to the Scientific and Methodological Council for discussion. During previous discussions, a number of professional comments and suggestions were presented, based on which the project was revised and resubmitted to the council for consideration.

"I hope that the revised proposal will allow us to truly revitalize this part of the square, given the lengthy discussions and collaborative work. A very important task is to restore life to the square, return this territory to public use, and bring it back into active circulation," Andreasyan said.

She emphasized that from the outset, the key goals of the project were to improve accessibility to the area, create a new passage to the adjacent street, and create additional public spaces. According to her, these solutions can contribute to improving pedestrian and vehicle traffic in central Yerevan, as well as expanding the functionality of Republic Square.

Andreasyan also noted the importance of the reconstruction project of the former Foreign Ministry building in the context of other initiatives aimed at developing Republic Square. In particular, the idea of creating an underground passage from the Republic Square metro station to the square was discussed. to the History Museum of Armenia.

"If we can make the right decisions and implement this project in parallel with work on the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, then we will essentially breathe new life into the square, using the logic of an integrated solution," noted the Minister of Education, Culture, and Sports, emphasizing the constructive professional discussion of the project.

The Minister also emphasized the importance of collaboration between the professional community and partner organizations on projects, noting that when implementing large-scale urban development and infrastructure programs, it is necessary to find solutions that take into account both professional observations and requirements for the development and effective use of public spaces. The project's author, Neil Dempsey, presented a revised design and changes made based on comments made during previous discussions. According to him, the project was based on the idea of connecting the building with the city, in which culture, art, crafts, and entertainment became an integral part of the building's content.

"The essence of the project is to discover and preserve the historical values of the monument. We wanted to emphasize that heritage and progress are not contradictory. The combination of history and modern solutions became a challenge for us," the designer said.