ARCHITECTURAL SUMMARY OF 2024_part 1

Last year, I conducted a year-end survey among 9 of the most famous and prolific architectural bureaus in Armenia, which have already established themselves not only with numerous concepts, but also with notable realized projects: Storaket, ARCHcoop, TarberAK, SNKH, D`Arvestanots, Electric Architects, SP2/UrbanLab, ZAART Architects and Archangel. You can read it here: part 1, part 2.

This year I decided to repeat this experience, but invite to participate 9 other, perhaps less well-known, but no less cool, architectural studios, which will be interesting to watch in the new year. Some of them have been working for quite a long time and have an impressive portfolio, while some have appeared quite recently, but have already managed to declare themselves with an extraordinary approach and high quality of their projects. So, let's start 2025 on an optimistic note and see what the future of Armenian architecture looks like.

Until 2015, I worked in Moscow, and before moving to Armenia, I spent the last 9 years at Moscow-based studio Officeproject where I was engaged in commercial interiors and competitive projects (metro stations, the ROSATOM building at VDNKH, etc.).

1_What was 2024 for your bureau?

We can confidently say that the past year has been the most successful for our bureau. Both in terms of the number of realized/completed projects and the quality of these projects. We are getting closer to the realization of our largest project, and it inspires us endlessly. One of the main disappointments of the year was the lack of resources to participate in arhitectural contests. From the very beginning of our bureau's existence, competitive projects have been an important link for the development of our company, and this year we participated very little in competitions. One of the things that always annoy is sometimes pointless paperwork and running around in the project approval process. The saddest moment of our profession) Relationships with customers/partners are developing smoothly, but more personal experience allows us to build such relationships correctly. What prevents you from developing? Perhaps the lack of more talent than we have)

2_What was 2024 for Armenian architecture in general?

On the one hand, 2024 can be estimated with a plus sign. The construction boom is gradually ending, the market has had enough of this endless housing, and now it is not enough to draw just square meters. We have to think about architecture and the environment. Competition has increased. On the other hand, there are still no good public space projects where the government can and should be the customer. All such implemented projects are of low quality, the state, as the customer, is only interested in the square meters delivered, but not in the quality of the completed projects.

3_The main things in Armenian architecture in 2024?

This is probably NPATAK second architecture festival. There have been a lot of architectural events in the last two years, sometimes too much. If nothing often happened before, now sometimes you have to choose which events you want to attend. The practice of publicly displaying architects' projects has emerged. LFA plays an important role in the architectural environment. Of the discoveries, I would like to mention the STOHA and Studio Trinity bureaus.

4_What do you expect from the next year?

We hope that the pace of 2024 will not decrease, that we will start implementing our apartment building project in Yerevan and continue working on several ongoing projects. At the same time, we see that the construction boom is ending, there are significantly fewer projects, and we need to make forecasts for next year carefully. I would like to see a change in the approach to designing urban spaces, public areas, and playgrounds. I would like to see normal competitive procedures for such projects and for their implementation to be carried out by the hands of professionals.

Triniti is a multidisciplinary architectural studio, founded by three young architects Arpi Saroyan, Anahit Vardanyan and Jbid Giragossian. We founded the studio in 2022, after working in the same bureau, we bonded over our shared vision, and decided to get out to the scene as a trio. We’ve done several number of projects over the last two years, ranging from product design, interiors and pavilions and expanding into our first architecture project this year.

As one of our favorite implemented projects of 2024, we want to mention a commercial project, as it is also accessible to the public. It’s one of the latest branches of the Amrak stationary shops, located on Baghramyan street next to Cascade, as well as the sister project of Amrak, which is a wrapping station on the first floor of dalma garden mall. Our key favorite part of these projects is the client’s willingness to reimagine her brand’s aesthetics, taking risks and trusting us with the process and the outcome was evident in the final realized projects.

And our favorite unrealized project of the year is the competition proposal that we did for the Tumo culinary school in Gyumri. Our design was inspired by the rhythmic patterns of the historical structures surrounding the site,We developed a grid system that extends across the entire competition area, creating a structured yet flexible framework. This served as the foundation for all subsequent site development, ensuring coherence and continuity while allowing dynamic spatial interactions. To address the existing chaotic nature of the open-air market, we proposed a design that opens up the site's perimeter, facilitating a more integrated and accessible market environment. The market pavilions are attached to the grid both visually and structurally, allowing for adaptability and change. The visible core elements emerging from the landscape subtly indicate the functions housed below, maintaining a visual connection to the site's use while preserving the aesthetic integrity to the environment.

1_What was 2024 for your bureau?

Keywords of this year are collaboration and expansion. We had multiple chances to collaborate with various artists and professionals, organized an event, collaborated in the framework of two international biennales, participated in competitions. Meanwhile fighting the outdated stereotypes around biased perception of our professionalism, due to our age and gender. Fortunately, we had more projects, both in quantity and scale, completed to last year. Speaking of obstacles, in global sense the instability in our region affects the general flow of work. But a more localized challenge for us is that the implementation of certain products depends on technologies and professionals in Armenia, sometimes that is what slows down further development of our projects.

2_ What was 2024 for Armenian architecture in general?

In terms of education and awareness it was definitely a plus, because of the various initiatives, international attention, competitions, events and connecting international professionals to ours. On the downside the uncontrollable mass constructions taking place in the city that’s leading to even bigger issues on ecological levels.

3_The main things in Armenian architecture in 2024?

We think the main event that caught a lot of international attention and also introduced our younger soon to be professionals to more international bureaus was the NPATAK festival, which we encourage.

4_What do you expect from the next year?

In 2025 we expect the construction of our first architectural project and participation in international biennale. We have plans to expand our product development and have more collaborations. We have no future plans of increasing the scale of Studio Triniti yet, as long as the projects have potential to reveal our vision in the most authentic way and help us grow, we go for it. We’re looking for likeminded clients and people to share our end goal with. Based on our own experience, it’s worth it to take more risks and not to be afraid of being provocative and brave, in search of identity, rather than playing safe - copy and paste.

STOHA, an architecture studio founded by Hayk Shahinyan and Arineh Keshishi, operates from Yerevan and Stockholm. With expertise in civic, residential, and urban design in Armenia and Sweden, STOHA undertakes projects of all scales through research, design, and writing.

Arineh Keshishi - studied in Yerevan and Milan, with 9 years of background in various architectural firms and independent projects of different scales, primarily within the Armenian context. Specializing in Concept Development, Project Management, and Team Leading, contributions have been made to projects spanning Urban Planning, Housing, Commercial, and Sports Facilities.

Hayk Shahinyan - over 16 years of professional experience and dual master’s degrees from Yerevan and Stockholm, with a long term experience in Project management, Team leadership and Construction Supervision. Specializing in wide-scale Urban Planning, Residential, and Office property development projects in international context with a focus on Sweden and Armenia.

1_What was 2024 for your bureau?

2024 marked the first fully operational year for our studio, and it proved to be both dynamic and productive. The year began with a win in our first invited competition, which led to an ongoing collaboration with the same client on several significant projects, bringing exciting developments.

Our most important achievement of the year was securing second place in the TUMO Gyumri Market competition. This was the result of a collaborative project with the world-renowned architecture studio SO-IL (New York) and leading engineering firm Bollinger + Grohmann (Frankfurt). The experience of not only acting as a local architect but also co-designing the project from its inception was invaluable. As one of three finalists, our international team traveled to Armenia for an intensive three-day workshop at TUMO. While we did not secure the final commission, the entire process - from our initial discussions about potential collaboration to the final submission - was a fantastic professional journey. We view this experience as a success and a defining moment in our studio's growth.

In addition to our project achievements, 2024 was a year of internal development and transformation. We expanded from a small studio of two partners to a collective of six talented team members. This growth multiplied our capacity to pitch for and take on new projects and ambitious challenges.

2_ What was 2024 for Armenian architecture in general?

The passing year has been one of the most active in recent history for architecture-related events. The number, frequency, and quality of architectural happenings have intensified significantly which is a positive development for Armenian architecture as a whole. Beyond the dominance of property development, architectural discourse is gradually taking shape, more visible and vocal, thanks to numerous initiatives. We are beginning to see signs of architectural education emerging as a priority. This change offers hope for a more thoughtful approach to architecture in Armenia in the near future.

3_The main things in Armenian architecture in 2024?

2024 was full of events and interactions between local and international architects, which we find quite important for the field at the moment. The Library for Architecture became a busy educational space with its monthly events organized by the 12 co-founders. There was always something going on—a year with something for everyone, from big events like the Total Drama Fest to month-long projects like the 'In and Out' workshop on Saryan Street, along with other smaller workshops, talks, and debates that strengthened the network and added to the architectural discourse.

In the summer, our studio, as part of NPATAK, collaborated with BUREAU, a Swiss-Portuguese studio, on a hands-on project where 15 students from Armenia and abroad built a shelter in the Urtsadzor mountains. Urtsadzor also saw an inspiring project by Guillaume Othenin-Girard, who explored and developed a climate-adaptive approach for the valley. Another summer highlight with international involvement was the Oshakan project, done in partnership with the AA.

We ended the year with NPATAK’s 4-day architecture festival, where 11 architects from 7 countries delivered lectures, and the festival closed with HEAD Genève’s “Learning by Stone” workshop exhibition of stone-based projects.

We feel that it was a year of lasting connections, both locally and internationally. We believe the activities made Armenia much more visible through its events, publications, and connections in the international architectural field. For the local community, it was a good opportunity for professional interactions and for experiencing the openness of the world, which we find quite important.

4_What do you expect from the next year?

For our studio, we aim to improve in certain areas this year. Our focus will be on further development of our team’s abilities—through exploring new ways to learn and work together. Rather than focusing on growing the size of the studio and the scale of projects, our goal is to expand the studio’s international presence through good, experimental, and high-quality projects, as well as through possible opportunities for international competitions and collaborations.

We are excited to continue working with clients and organizations who have started to trust us during the short time since our studio’s opening. That trust is something we deeply value, and we eagerly look forward to growing collaborations with new clients on projects we believe in.

As part of NPATAK, we are very excited to have our first book published this year, with an expected release in the spring of 2025. We see this as an important step—the first-ever architectural theory book translated into Armenian—and hope to continue this as a series. We believe in its significance for the architectural field and see it as one of the ways we can participate in international theoretical discourse, in which we are currently absent.

The founders' experience: Hayk Nikoyan - participation in projects of Archangel studio, (Pahest33, Sky44, Opera Suite Hotel); Hayk Gasoyan - PhD in Architecture, lecturer at YSUAS, participation in the Archangel project; Hrach Gharibyan - Master of Architecture (BAC, YSUAC), LEED GA, work experience in studios ArmProject, Zaart and Archangel, among the projects is the Monte Melkonyan Educational Center (Zaart).

1_What was 2024 for your bureau?

We have successfully resumed ArchiCAD courses, which have aroused great interest. In addition to individual students, we have attracted corporate clients from other architectural studios in Yerevan, which has strengthened our professional image. We have implemented several significant projects, including the completion of work on big projects. We took part in international competitions, which allowed us to reach a new level of interaction with the professional community.

Professionally, the year has brought its challenges: we have encountered difficulties in implementing some projects related to bureaucratic delays and a shortage of highly qualified contractors. Despite the success, attracting new customers sometimes took more time and effort than expected. There were fewer projects than we had planned, which required the team to be highly flexible and adapt quickly to new conditions. At the same time every year it becomes easier for us to build relationships with customers and partners - our reputation, experience and transparent approach to cooperation help us find common ground even in difficult situations.

The key drivers of growth for us are the high-quality work of the team, the emphasis on training and professional development, as well as our ability to adapt to market changes. The main difficulties are related to insufficient support at the local level and general economic challenges in the region, as well as bureaucratic delays at the municipal level. Overall, the year 2024 was eventful and productive, strengthening our position in the professional community. We are ready to continue developing, building on the successes achieved and taking into account the lessons of this year.

2_ What was 2024 for Armenian architecture in general?

The year turned out to be contradictory, combining both positive changes and new challenges. From an architectural point of view, the year can be estimated with a "+" sign, although with a number of reservations. Despite the economic and social difficulties, the field of architecture in Armenia continued to develop, and a number of interesting projects were successfully implemented.

Problems and challenges

Urban planning issues: unregulated construction continues to be a key problem, especially in large cities. In some places, there is no unified vision for the development of the urban environment. Bureaucracy: delays at the level of approvals and obtaining permits still make it difficult to implement projects, not to mention paying for an application for architectural planning assignment. Construction quality: The lack of qualified specialists and materials affects the quality of new buildings.

3_The main things in Armenian architecture in 2024?

1. MEDS GYUMRI workshop (the event actually took place in 2023 - editor's note). 2. Events organized by the NPATAK team. 3. Monthly events from LFA, mainly the Total Drama Festival.

4_What do you expect from the next year?

Professional goals and objectives

Reaching the international level: our main goal in 2025 is to conquer foreign markets, including the countries of the Middle East, Europe and North America. We plan to expand our customer base abroad and introduce Armenian architecture to the international arena. Participation in international competitions: to express ourselves through participation in significant architectural competitions to demonstrate our ideas and approaches.

Project scale growth

The goal is to focus on large commercial and public projects abroad. We strive to use the accumulated experience in Armenia to solve problems of a higher level of complexity and significance.

Desired changes

The globalization of Armenian architecture: the desire for the works of Armenian architects to gain international recognition and become the country's hallmark. Support of international partnerships: creation of conditions for cooperation with foreign bureaus and investors.

Officially "Yel" studio has been founded in 2023 but we had several attempts of creating a studio before. Tigran Melkonyan is an architect and Elina is a designer, we are NUACA graduates of 2016. Recently, Ira joined our team. We have completed several private homes, various scale interior and several public projects.

1_What was 2024 for your bureau?

This year has certainly been a successful one for our studio. Although the number of projects has remained the same as last year, their scale has increased significantly. for example, last year the largest project was 1100 sq. m, but this year we designed a residential project with an area of 10,000 sq. m. We also appreciate the opportunity to work intensively on a large project with studios d'Arvestanots, SNKH and STOHA. Working on this project, we were faced with a wide range of challenges, from ambiguously formulated regulations to various factors influencing the final cost of a project. A project of this scale also involves specialists from a wide range of fields who can impact the project significantly.

2_ What was 2024 for Armenian architecture in general?

As in previous years, active construction continues this year, but these are mostly boring residential complexes and very few public and infrastructure projects. We would like to note the problems of urban planning and the quality of the architecture in general.

3_The main things in Armenian architecture in 2024?

Maybe the competition "Gyumri Market and Culinary School” by TUMO was most vibrant. We would like to highlight the important contribution of LFA to the development of the architectural community. Also the event “musæum“organized by Electric Architects studio and Rambalkoshe contemporary art museum was memorable.

4_What do you expect from the next year?

Our expectations for the next year are to move to a new studio and involve more team members, as well as to implement some of the projects started in 2024. We expect more local and interesting architectural competitions. For next year we would like to be part of projects that will bring significant benefits to society.

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