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Armenian Architects Protest Tower Construction in Yerevan’s Republic Square

Any structure to be erected in Yerevan’s Republic Square has to be put for public discussion, said head of the Union of Architects of Armenia Mkrtich Minasyan, commenting on the tower to be constructed behind the government building at Republic Square. The construction of this tower hadn’t been discussed in the town council, he added, speaking at a press conference in Yerevan today.

In the opinion of architect Levon Vardanyan, the architect behind Yerevan’s Moscow House, any change in Republic Square has to be subject to wide public discussion and concept design.

“No one has the right to distort [Yerevan city architect Alexander] Tamanyan’s plan, to make any improvisations. There is the Tamanyan plan and no one should deviate from this. But now they’ve taken it, they’re improvising, and the person behind it, it’s not even a secret, is Narek Sargsyan. If any architect allows himself violations in legislation and makes improvisations to the Tamanyan plan, then I can say such an architect is not professional,” said Vardanyan.

Member of the civic initiative “Save Republic Square” Sevada Petrossian said such issues have come to the surface because the system doesn’t work and it is systematic changes that lead to such cases.

“First, we have to appeal to the state so that it understands the significance of this issue; we have to appeal to the public because the public is a great force for us,” said Petrossian, who is an architect himself.

Letters have been sent to the prime minister, the mayor of Yerevan and the president of the Public Council, Petrossian added.