In the framework of “Aravot” online “Face to Face” program, the theme is debated by architect Hrach Poghosyan and artist Sahak Poghosyan. The theme is the distortion of historical and cultural environment and the monuments at stake
Gohar Hakobyan – Mr. Poghosyan, how do you feel about the use of the territories in the city of Yerevan for the sake of public priority interest, where there are monuments and buildings that are part of the image of our city. Is the so-called public priority interest always justified?
Hrach Poghosyan – What we call a public priority is not always justified, the priority interest should be to the benefit of the public and the state, while today, the priority interests are aimed at individual people’s interests. I think that in this case, it will be right not to go after the cases when the next building is demolished but to think why the public is protesting of. To the point, a small part of the public is protesting because the topic is not so much important for many of them. For example, in the case of the “Covered Market”, the protests were less than Samvel Aleksanyan’s supporters. It is natural that many people had little interest from Aleksanyan … You have to look back to the pages of our history to understand why everything has reached this situation. I do not know whether intentionally or without thinking, not only the building but also the memory is destroyed in us, our nation gradually is becoming like a man who has lost his memory and has no past.
H. – Mr. Poghosyan, you are a member of the Architectural Committee of the Urban Development Council at the Yerevan Municipality. Doesn’t this Council advise the appropriate officials to make more reasonable decisions?
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P. – The Council only has the right to an advisory vote, which is enshrined in the Decision, while the city mayor may accept or reject this advice, so there is no need to rely so much on the Council. In short, if the city mayor has a good will, he will listen to the Council, if not, he will do as he thinks right. Here, the problem is not with the Council, the problem is that I, you and the city mayor are all a part of the same people, if someone does something wrong, we should say that this city mayor is bad and the other will be good. The worst thing is that the memory is no value to our people.
H. – Mr. Poghosyan, Do you share Hrach Poghosyan’s view that a smaller number of people are interested in demolishing the buildings, the public is passive, it has a benefit, therefore it is silent.
Sahak Poghosyan – I will formulate in this way, generally, do not agree with the concept of priority interest, there is already a clear element of violence in the public interest, it is an act of violence. I will bring an example of when the priority interest should work for the public. I have lived in Los Angeles for 22 years where there was a huge way, which should be connected to another segment. This segment was impossible to connect during twenty years because of people living there, they had a property that they were disposing of as they wanted and the state that had announced this territory a priority interest, should have come to an agreement with each individual and pay, but it was not possible during the twenty years. What I mean is that people were able to defend their property, even though it is a demolishing house but it is his history, there were people who were saying, my grandfather was born here … The picture in Armenia, unfortunately, is different …
H. – After demolishing the house at Arami 30 at night, a group of intellectuals joined and created the “Yerevan” initiative by resisting the “slaughter” of the building. What do you think about such initiatives?
P. – I have a positive attitude, the recent events are the intellectual problems, the problem of the city and its history, and all the people who are considered intellectual or generally have the ability to think, naturally, must rise. Unfortunately, part of the intelligentsia formulated Aram 30 as a “barn” in the event when this “barn” was in the center of the city, it was an elite house, a history was created, people used to live there, they were citizens. In our days, this building was demolished secretly, like a criminal, at night. A tradition has been formed that whatever is done, it not done obviously and openly, they ignore people saying, we’ll do what we want.
H. – Mr. Poghosyan, one of the Facebook users wrote that once Tamanyan built the Opera House in the place of one of the famous churches of Old Yerevan, Gethsemane chapel. At that time, Tamanyan was criticized but whether today we have architects of Tamanyan’s caliber to justify nowadays demolishing.
P. – No need to list such architects, although I can say names but Tamanyan is Tamanyan. When Tamanyan worked on his Master Plan, he accepted the network of the streets that existed in the Old Yerevan and the streets had names. During the first Republic, only the name of one street was changed and it was Tsarskaya Street, which is now called Arami Street. Today, all the streets are changed, being an old Yerevan resident, I can hardly orient which is what street. When you eliminate the person’s memory, he becomes a different person. Now when they destroy Arami 30, today’s generation does not know what street this building was built because Aram did not exist back then … In other words, a part of this history was the name of the street.
H. – By the Master Plan of Yerevan city, in the territory surrounded by the Main Avenue: Abovyan, Pavstos Byzand, Yeznik Koghbaci and Arami Streets, it is planned to create an “Old Yerevan” architectural environment by transporting lost and destroyed historic and cultural monuments. The area of Reserve zone will be supplemented by the buildings dissembled from these streets. For example, is it possible to restore the house at Arami Street in the “Old Yerevan” that was demolished with the help of bulldozers at night? And whether you believe in the implementation of this project.
P. – The project may be implemented but whether it is a good implementation, this is the problem. There are buildings of Old Yerevan on these streets, and they have decided that those dissembled would also be brought and assembled around them but for someone to finance this project, he should have benefit. The project is realistic but a bad one in my opinion.
P. – I would like to put a ban on Tamanyan’s name for some time, otherwise, what is done is justified by Tamanyan’s name, they have made Tamanyan’s name a shield and do what they want. The fact that the buildings are going to be restored, it is a useless thing, secondly, the houses that were demolished, I am sure that the majority of the numbered stones do not exist any longer and even if found, they will not be lined up on each other. In addition, to find today a master of 100-150 years of psychology who has shaped the stone with his hand and placed on one another, has placed his love in the base of the building is impossible, in the best case, a window dressing will turn out as it happens in the case of Northern Avenue. Disney land-type constructions are erected, maybe this is today’s requirement but we cannot even formulate yesterday’s requirement. Generally, the understanding of a free public area has been eliminated from our city, even the sidewalks are not free, all are legally privatized territories. The historical value and the right to ownership, in fact, are in conflict in Armenia but the matter here is not only legislative, there is also the moral side of the issue.
Prepared by Gohar HAKOBYAN, Details in the “Aravot” Daily
