Saghmosavan Community Center - Armenia

PASCALI SEMERDJIAN ARQUITETOS + NORAIR CHAHINIAN ARCHITECT

SAGHMOSAVAN COMMUNITY CENTER - ARMENIA

The project of Saghmosavank Community Center has as its main purpose the creation of a municipality in the village with the implantation of basic equipment such as an outpatient clinic, a library, computer training labs and an auditorium.

We have proposed a vibrant community center that goes beyond an official bureaucratic space, becoming a true meeting place that will attract tourists and local people.

The Auditorium shall be also equipped with kitchen installations and a coffee shop for tourists and serve as a support for wedding ceremonies that frequently take place in the Saghmosavank Church complex. In doing so, the residents of the region will be able to meet such demand, generating income and job opportunities in the village .This approach is used by other foundations and initiatives around the world as a way of implementing sustainable projects that are managed by the beneficiaries themselves.

The structure in "tuff" stones (abundant in Armenia) under the main complex has a grandstand configuration and boosts the Center's natural vocation for unpretentious and spontaneous utilization, inviting inhabitants to use the space: children reading their books, small producers exposing their fruits and souvenirs, besides attracting tourists to spend more time in the place, not just visiting the Church.

Our proposal is to create a living and multipurpose space that increasingly responds to the dynamic way of living of the region's population, empowering them, generating work, income and helping to combat the migration of the active population of the Armenian Villages.

The place of choice for project implementation is in a walk distance from the Church, yet visually far from it so there won´t be an “architectural clash” between the Contemporary Center and the Historical Heritage.

The Project is being fund raised by the Brazilian Armenian Community through the Armenian Fund and Himnadram. The architecture of the Center is simples and minimalistic seeking cost optimization: the more resources can be saved in this project, the sooner the Foundation can plan the next one in order to help another villages.

The Project is being fund raised by the Brazilian Armenian Community though the Armenian Fund and Himnadram.

Location: Saghmosavan, Armenia

Status: Development Stage

Completion Date: 2020

Project Area: 180 m²