Yerevan's Soviet Architectue

The Northern Ray Towers (located at 74 Nairi Zaryan Street in Yerevan, Armenia) are a neo-brutalist residential complex completed in 2013. Locally nicknamed the "kissing buildings," the two stair-shaped, top-heavy structures lean toward each other dramatically without touching, inspired by early urban concepts from architect Aleksandr Tamanyan. 

1962 by Mother Armenia

The current statue replaced a monumental statue of General Secretary Joseph Stalin that was created as a victory memorial for World War II. During Stalin's government of the Soviet Union, Grigor Harutyunyan, the first secretary of the Armenian Communist Party's Central Committee, and members of the government oversaw the construction of the monument which was completed and unveiled to the people on November 29, 1950.^[1] The statue was considered a masterpiece of the sculptor Sergey Merkurov. It was one of the last important Stalin monuments still standing. Vasily Grossman found the statue to be one of the finest monuments of his time.

The pedestal was designed by architect Rafayel Israyelian. Realizing that occupying a pedestal can be a short-term honour, Israyelian designed the pedestal to resemble a three-nave basilica Armenian church, as he confessed many years later "Knowing that the glory of dictators is temporary, I have built a simple three-nave Armenian basilica". In contrast to the right-angled shapes of the external view, the interior is light and pleasing to the eye and resembled Echmiadzin's seventh-century St. Hripsime Church.

In spring 1962, the statue of Stalin was removed, with one soldier being killed and many injured during the process, and in 1967, the statue of Mother Armenia, designed by Ara Harutyunyan, was installed in its place.^[1]

The prototype of "Mother Armenia" was a 17-year-old girl Genya Muradian. Ara Harutyunyan met her at a store and persuaded her to pose for the sculpture.

"Mother Armenia" has a height of 22 metres (72 ft), thus making the overall height of the monument 51 metres (167 ft), including the pedestal. The statue is built of hammered copper while the pedestal-museum is of basalt.

The Aragil Cafe (or Aragil Restaurant, meaning "Stork") is a famous abandoned landmark of Armenian Soviet modernism located in Victory Park (Hաղթանակի զբոսայգի) in Yerevan. It was designed in 1960 by the prominent architect Rafayel Israyelian.Overview and HistoryLocation: Victory Park, near the Mother Armenia monument.Architect: Rafayel Israyelian.Year Built: 1960.Status: Abandoned and partially ruined, but widely recognized as an architectural heritage site of the Soviet modernist era.Architectural SignificanceBuilt on an elevated ridge in Victory Park, offering sweeping panoramic views over central Yerevan.Features characteristic mid-century modernist structural elements, soaring pillars, and a distinct retro stork-themed logo/signboard.Covered in community and urban exploration profiles on Wikimedia Commons as a notable photography and architectural sightseeing spot.

    

KAREN DEMIRCHYAN SPORTS COMPLEX.

    METRO YERITASARDAKAN STATION 

Station named after the youth of Armenia, a designation chosen due to its close proximity to the country's leading higher education institutions.

Station design:

The architect of the station is Stepan Kyurkchyan, and the constructor is Ilya Manucharyan. The interior decoration is made of light gray marble. The columns of the waiting room are decorated with vertical decorative metal meshes, which cover the ventilation devices installed in the columns. On the wall is the bas-relief "Youth" by Ruzan Kyurkchyan, a sculptor and a member of the Artists' Union of the USSR.

   YEREVAN STATE ENGINEERING  UNIVERSITY .

    YERITASARDAKAN METRO STATION 

    REPUBLIC SQUARE METRO  STATION.  That girl on the platform ran up to me and told me I wasn't  allowed to take pictures ,but snuck a few more in.

    REPUBLIC  SQUARE,  JUST ABOVE THE STATION. 

Republic Square (Armenian: Հանրապետության հրապարակ, Hanrapetut′yan hraparak, known locally as Hraparak [həɾɑpɑˈɾɑk] "the square") is the central town square in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It consists of two sections: an oval roundabout and a trapezoid-shaped section which contains a pool with musical fountains. The square is surrounded by five major buildings built in pink and yellow tuff in the neoclassical style with extensive use of Armenian motifs.This architectural ensemble includes the Government House, the History Museum and the National Gallery, Armenia Marriott Hotel and two buildings that formerly housed the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Communications. The square was originally designed by Alexander Tamanian in 1924.The construction of most of the buildings was completed by the 1950s; the last building—the National Gallery—was completed in 1977.

    ARAM KHACHATURIAN HOUSE MUSEUM 

The concept for the museum originated in the 1970s, with Khachaturian reviewing the initial blueprints and providing design input during his lifetime. In his will, the maestro bequeathed his manuscripts, letters, piano, personal artifacts, and gifts to the future institution. The museum building integrates and extends the original residence where Khachaturian stayed during his visits to Yerevan. This structural conversion and expansion was designed by architect Edvard Altunyan. The collection of note manuscripts and film music of Composer Aram Khachaturian included in the international register of the Memory of the World program.

Under its founding director Gohar Harutiunyan, the museum succeeded in attracting financial support from a wide range of sponsors and benefactors, and expanded its collection of artifacts belonging to Khachaturian. Today the museum continues to grow under the directorship of Armine Grigoryan.

The multi-story building features an elegant concert hall, equipped with a Bechstein grand piano, which regularly hosts classical music performances. The complex also houses an extensive CD library, an in-house workshop dedicated to the restoration and repair of violins, and a publishing department for scholarly books. Committed to advancing music education in Armenia, the museum maintains strong collaborative links with local musicians and contemporary composers.