By Vrej Haroutounian

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After the Dark Years of Yerevan’s independence came what I describe as the Rapid Development years.

The Artsakh War was over and Armenia was ready to start rebuilding and tapping into its diaspora network for financial resources. The diaspora itself was ready, as well, to finally come to Yerevan and be a part of its future.

This started the construction that would change the Yerevan landscape to make way for this perceived demand of repatriation and tourism. In this period the city would be redesigned to soak up excess capital brought in by the diaspora, tourists, and by the newly forming bourgeoisie of Armenia. Following in the footsteps of Baron Haussmann in Paris, a new Yerevan would be created with its Northern Avenue mirroring in comparable scale to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Northern Avenue would be designed to provide a central space for consumer recreation in the form of shopping, restaurants, cafes, and entertainment outlets. Northern Avenue would be the centerpiece of this new Yerevan.

“Beginning around 1996, the economy of Armenia started to stabilize, demonstrated by the slight growth of the Gross National Product by about six percent after the post-independence years of sharp decline (Holding, 2006). The liberation war in Karapagh was over and foreign investors had more confidence in investing in Armenia.” (Dudwick, 1997)

“After years of instability, poverty, and emigration, a state of relative consistency was ushered in. Yerevan was going to start building again, first and foremost by the thousands of Armenians in the Diaspora that would flock there as tourists to see for the first time what they could not in all the years before and to claim a share of Armenia. Although facing a slow start in the first few years, development in Armenia intensified by the beginning of the 21^st century as foreign investments made their way to the capital city, with the help of the diaspora.” (Miller & Miller, 2003)

Aggressive construction began in the city center in the years between 2000 and 2002 (Interviewees, 2011)

"Construction in the city was motivated by a new ideology. “While the Soviet government had ideological reasons to erect statues of Communist leaders to replace churches, motivation in our day is purely financial— buildings that are lucrative are built, while cultural and historical monuments that do not bring anyone any profit end up hampering the construction process.” (Sargsyan, 2006, pg. 1)

Centralization: The phenomenon of centralization has its roots in Soviet times, with the centralization of everything beginning with Moscow, and expanding out from there. This construct makes Yerevan the natural center of activity. (Interviewee, 2011)

Development in the city center was a concern as most government, educational, and other communal functions were located in the city center during the Soviet period. The increase in residential buildings in the era, beginning with Khrushchev, continued even further with the last period of construction. The city envisioned by Tamanyan begins to lose its form particularly in this latest era, as rabid housing developments began to expand into the previously communal courtyards of Stalin era buildings. The first green belt, known as the Oval Park, is encroached upon during this period with public/cultural buildings such as the Friendship Metro Station, the Yerevan Dramatic Theater, and the Chamber Music Hall Concurrent to the rapid housing projects taking place in the center of Yerevan, there were also suburbs being built all around the city to meet the housing demands.  (Interviewee, 2011)

Yerevan Master Plan: “The lack of an updated master plan prior to the end of 2006 is clearly one of the reasons for most of the construction issues raised by different members of society. Some argue that it was intentionally done to allow for the construction to take place unchecked. Yerevan Project Director Gurgen Mushegyan stated in 2006 that the master plan for Yerevan should have been completed before the transition to a market economy in 1991. Even then, it was clear that the landscape of Yerevan would have to change as international diplomatic communities, banks, and new infrastructure moved into the capital city.” (Sargsyan, 2006)

The zoning of the Yerevan master plan is irrelevant given the fact that the government created a special construction committee after 1998 that reviews and decides on each building individually. As a result, the urban landscape of Yerevan began to suffer as construction boomed” (Interviewee, 2011). “

The first major change that began the wave of gentrification that would follow was the splitting of the English park to create a road in between the Shahumyan statue and the Italian embassy. The 19th century municipality was destroyed and the Congress Hotel was built in its place. (Interviewee, 2011)

Historic Preservation: The construction cranes, which were left to rust around the city in the Dark Years of Yerevan’s history, were once again greased and ready to lift new buildings up into Yerevan’s skyline, as new high rise building projects were underway. The construction of Northern Avenue (Hyusisayin Boghoda) began in 2000, bringing with it a construction craze in Yerevan that threatened the historic buildings inherited from the pre-Soviet and early Soviet period. A list of approximately 197 protected historical monuments was established in 1983. These buildings and monuments were mostly of religious value during the Soviet era. The list was updated by the order of the Mayor in 1991 and grew significantly. In 2000, during the midst of the construction boom, Yerevan Mayor, Albert Berzeyan, declared the new list ineffective and restored the 1983 Soviet era protection list, thereby easing development restrictions (Interviewee, 2011). Construction of the multi-level, mixed-use residential development of Northern Avenue comes at the price of historically significant buildings in the area, which the government agencies have demolished and plan to relocate at a future time. These projects are repeatedly carried out, regardless of expert concerns and consultations. (Interviewee, 2011)

The Yerevan skyline is dominated by buildings from a few different eras. There are three to five-storey buildings made of tuff that are reminiscent of the early years of Soviet architecture. The prefabricated housing from the end of the socialist era are at the end of their life cycle. Their balconies have been closed-in after independence to create rooms for growing families. With an original expected lifespan of 25-75 years, their weathered and tired appearance is a symbol of the bygone era of their Soviet past. The buildings of the Rabid Years peek out from the skyline of the city, surrounded by cranes constructing the new Yerevan. The Rabid era postmodern buildings that dominate the skyline are designed for commercial or mixed-use purposes, with ground floors that cater to commercial activity and other floors that serve both commercial and residential purposes. Street trees are either absent or merely an afterthought to the development process.

As fountains from the Soviet era are in shambles and open green space is reduced throughout the city, there is, however, an increase in auto traffic. A sign of this increase is in the temperatures associated with urban heat island effect. Private dwellings have installed air-conditioning units into the facades of buildings to maintain a comfortable temperature in their homes. Satellite dishes on the façades and balconies of buildings attest that the Iron Curtain has been lifted and that international media is available to the citizens of Yerevan. In the photos, we can see new levels being added to old buildings in order to create additional living space. The attics and first floors of Soviet era buildings are converted into private businesses, in the form of restaurants, retail stores, bars, clubs, and business dwellings, with entrances that encroach onto the sidewalk, reducing the pedestrian friendliness of the city significantly.

Photo: Yerevan's Northern Boulevard

Sources:

Abrahamyan, V. and Baghdasaryan E. (2003, October 17).Yerevan's parks have been       

            seized by government officials. Hetq.am, np.

Dudwick, N. (1997).  Armenia: paradise regained or lost? In I. Bremmer& R. Taras

            (Eds.), New states, new policies: Building the post-Soviet nations. Cambridge: 

            Cambridge University Press.

Holding, N. (2006).Armenia: With NagornoKarabagh. Chalfont St. Peter: Bradt Travel

            Guides.

Khanjian, A. (2008). Neo-liberal economic policies and their social effects.Armenian

            Review Journal Volume 50(1-4). p. 11-36.

Miller, D.E. and Touryan Miller, L. (2003).  Armenia: Portraits of survival And hope.

            Berkeley and Los Angeles:  University of California Press.

Sargsyan, A. (2006, April 24). Old and new Yerevan.Hetq.am.n.p.

Sargsyan, A. (2006, May 8). Yerevan is being built to suit investors tastes.Hetq.am.

            n.p.

Suny, R.G. (1993). Looking toward Ararat: Armenia in modern history. Bloomington:

            Indiana UP.