About the Competition

Almost every community of Armenia has its share of several historical periods or a development era. Almost all parts of Armenia have a rich heritage beginning from the stone and bronze ages (petroglyphs, cosmic mandals and symbols typical of Indo-European ethnos), Ararat Kingdom (Urartu), pagan, Hellenistic, early Christian, developed Middle Ages or from the period of the Armenian Renaissance and ending with a significant and remarkable heritage of the 20th century.

Meanwhile, the cultural inseparability itself is providing an opportunity for furbishing and constantly refining the environment of objective and sensory perception of territories for ages. This is clearly seen from the same European example where the cultural continuity is being preserved and refined for ages and then, naturally, step by step it enters the modern life. Armenia is also a cradle of many crafts, industrial and agricultural activities. The rich ethno-cultural and historical heritage of Armenia is an inexhaustible source for Armenian territories’ urban development cultivation.

In modern world it is necessary to take a conscious approach in order to develop cities and regions. We must learn to get changed in line with modern requirements. Thus, if the city does not realize its uniqueness then it weakens its investment attractiveness by treating so and may even lose its inhabitants remained.

The major problem of urban historical landscapes’ identity preservation is a physical criterion which itself represents the originality of the urban environment with self-expression of individuality of an individual or groups forming that environment, the loss of which has a negative influence on cities and their inhabitants.

The historical context of the city is the latter’s part of cultural values which reflects the identity and values by means of building the inhabitant’s collective memory and demonstrating the ancestral lifestyle. The city that has an identity is a city where the connection between the past, the present and the future is not interrupted. Therefore, it is a viable scenario of different time-periods and historical layers. In a world being globalized day by day the cities using similar building materials and architectural styles have more than ever become alike.Therefore the original and unique urban environment and the surrounding landscape can attract investment programs much more effectively, provide visitors and create favorable social conditions for the inhabitants, hence, economically it is more efficient to preserve and use it.

At present Kond’s identity is generally endangered. In recent years some part of historically valuable or environmentally friendly structures and urban landscape has gradually been changed beyond recognition. Continuing the same policy will lead to harmful consequences for other parts of the district as well. Once after being unrecognizably altered or destroyed the historical environment disappears and all the history and facts being contained in it are lost forever without a trace.

Invited to participate The competition is open for all individual architects and architectural studios, consulting enterprises, scientific and non-governmental organizations and various consortia from all over the world that have a successful experience in implementing historic urban (including vernacular) construction restoration projects without any restrictions.

Competition schedule

• Official announcement of the competition- on March 10, 2021.
• Registration fee none
• The submission of bids / registration deadline for the participants of the competition. 20.04.2021.
• Deadline for the acceptance of competition packages (Concept representation) Deadline: 10.06.2021.
• The review and summary of the results of the competition’s 1st stage 11.06.2021-06.10.2021.
• Publication of results, decision on the participants passing to the final stage: 06.10.2021.
• Total prize fund 45 000.0 thousand. AMD
• Organizer: Urban Development Committee of the Republic of Armenia.
• Full name of the competition. Open International Competition – Concept-Urban Development Environment Competition for Yerevan’s "Kond" District Regeneration.
• The official website of the competition: www.kond.minurban.am
• Contacts of the Organizing Committee: kond_info@minurban.am

Rules

Type of competition. Open international two-stage conceptual-urban development-architectural competition.

Invited to participate The competition is open for all individual architects and architectural studios, consulting enterprises, scientific and non-governmental organizations and various consortia from all over the world that have a successful experience in implementing historic urban (including vernacular) construction restoration projects without any restrictions.

Competition packages

Competition documents include the following documents, each of which is an integral part of them:

• Competition conditions,
• Technical task
• List of initial data.

1. By requesting the package of initial data and submitting a bid, the bidders accept the rules of the competition.
2. The transmission of initial data to a third person is forbidden.
3. The bids submitted by the registered persons who did not receive the right to participate in the competition are not subject to consideration.
4. The authors of the project reserve the copyrights of the projects, the projects are not subject to change without the formal, written consent of the latter.
5. The members of the jury have the right not to consider any project that does not comply with the mandatory requirements and rules of the competition presented in the package.
6. All projects, including those not accepted by the jury, will be displayed for free at Alexander Tamanyan National Museum-Institute of Architecture in Yerevan for two weeks. The report signed by the members of jury will also be a part of the exhibition.
7. The projects are to be stored in the database of the Urban Development Committee under the name of the author. In case of necessity, the author can obtain a legal document-certificate from the database of the Urban Development Committee confirming the authorship and time of his project.
8. Jury members, as well as organizers, may not set a grand prize- by distributing the prize fund among the winners.
9. In case of conflict of interests, the organizers have the right to disqualify that participant and / or the jury member.

Clarification provision.

Any participant has the right to send a request on the clarification of the provisions of the Competition Documents. Such a request is sent in the form of a written letter to the e-mail address indicated on the Competition website.

The Organizer is obliged to provide a response to the request on the clarification of the provisions of the Competition in the form of an electronic document within 5 (five) working days from the date of receipt of the request.

The requests of the participants must be received not later than 5 (five) working days earlier before the Application Deadline.

Competition schedule

• Official announcement of the competition- on March 10, 2021.
• Registration fee none
• The submission of bids / registration deadline for the participants of the competition. 20.04.2021.
• Deadline for the acceptance of competition packages (Concept representation) Deadline: 10.06.2021.
• The review and summary of the results of the competition’s 1st stage 11.06.2021-06.10.2021.
• Publication of results, decision on the participants passing to the final stage: 06.10.2021.
• Total prize fund 45 000.0 thousand. AMD
• Organizer: Urban Development Committee of the Republic of Armenia.
• Full name of the competition. Open International Competition – Concept-Urban Development Environment Competition for Yerevan’s "Kond" District Regeneration.
• The official website of the competition: www.kond.minurban.am
• Contacts of the Organizing Committee: kond_info@minurban.am

URBANISTIC PROBLEMS OF KOND’S CONSTRUCTION

• since the Tamanyan times there has been a problem of Kond’s urbanization-demolition-new way construction.

• in the mid-1980s, the problem of Kond evaluation and conservation came forward, the project however, where the real solutions for conservation and development were included, was not carried out.

• no new ideas have been pushed forward during the last three decades. Up to now, in line with the action model of the Third Republic it has again become purposeful to demolish the existing historical layers and build high-rise buildings instead

• Simultaneously, an alternative perspective corresponding to modern international experience exists, according to which Kond’s environment that has reached us is valuable and worth for preservation

• the main task of the problem is - what to preserve, how to preserve and how to modernize the existing environment?

• one of the important problems is the property and owner’s rights’ preservation problem as some part of the population is striving to continue living in Kond, the other-to leave it

• Accepting Kond conservation program as a priority interest –it is necessary to study and find the urban environmental fragments and separate buildings subjected to protection

• Application of modern scientific-methodological principles of preservation and restoration towards the environment and separate buildings-including those represented in the works of modern Russian urbanists Andrey Ivanov and Narine Tyutcheva.

ASSIGNMENTS

• Explore and analyze the topic, providing a development vector, discovering the hidden potential, offering those kinds of methods and purposes which are relevant in city the modern city’s historical environment
• Make the area more recognizable and attractive for the residents, guests and investors as if the city is not conditionally able to impress its consumers then it loses its attractiveness for business. If the region, the district, the city and the territorial unit do not have an independent strategy then they carry a defeat in a global market that is becoming more aggressive
• Research, analyze and propose effective tools for the area development, namely: the language (including the local dialect, as well as the vernacular language and pronunciation peculiarities), the local mythology, myth-making, historical memory, unique means of information, forms of communication, traditions of personal communication, spiritual-religious resources, (local church communities, traditions of celebrating religious festivals) purely local peculiarities of business, family, friendly, upbringing, educational, sports traditions, the local cuisine, the colorite of the environment, traditional crafts, forms and means of civic activity, leisure and entertainment, jokes, stories, local holidays, national folklore etc..
• Inventory the fragments and structural elements of cultural value of the buildings / structures in the district (old doors, windows, balconies, locks, knockers, railings, etc.), provided that they are later used in architectural and design solutions). Collaborate closely with the "Institute of Archeology and Ethnography" SNCO of NAS RA to write the ethnographic and folklore material of the district.
• Developing modern and rational architectural and urban planning solutions that will make the community attractive for their residents, tourists and investors based on the principles of sustainable development
• Taking the sustainable (or structural) factors into consideration such as location, climate and history
• Taking the variable factors into consideration (that are being changed in a long-run perspective) such as community sizes and overcrowding, the external view, well-being of the inhabitants, the cultural traditions of the local community
• Taking the symbolic factors into consideration, such as: urban symbols, political environment, cultural codes of the residents’ behavior, significant events, celebrities, the demand for certain products and services, the nature of communication within the community and other components
• Taking into consideration the urban environment identity preservation and the provision of demands representing the heritage undistortion with the consent of an authorized body of the given sphere while accrediting new functions towards the historical buildings of the district or representing reuse proposals by maintaining their functions.
• Completely preserve and restore both the buildings registered in the state list of monuments and the ones with the status of newly discovered monuments (the list is attached), coordinating all their related projects with the authorized body at all stages of the work.
• To maintain the current street network as much as possible, zoning Kond with separate sub-districts, setting an allowable buildings’ height level for each sub-district.
• Brand a part of Kondi under the name of Arshile Gorky.
• When assigning new functions to the historical buildings of the district or submitting proposals for refurbishing or adaptive reuse while preserving their functions, take into account the preservation of the identity of the urban environment and the heritage safety requirements provision with the consent of the authorized body of the sector.

PARTICIPATION

The competition is open for all individual architects and architectural studios, consulting enterprises, scientific and non-governmental organizations and various consortia from all over the world that have a successful experience in implementing historic urban (including vernacular) construction restoration projects without any restrictions.

The participation is free of charge.

Format

Open

International

bilingual

Competition language: Armenian / Russian / English

Requirements presented to the 1st Phase of the package

Requirements presented to the 1^st phase (of concept development)

Concept text material may include:

• Concept-explanatories,
• schemes
• diagrams,
• tables
• photos,
• panoramas-sketches;
• sectional sketches
• calculation-substantiations,
• management plans.

Text materials must be submitted:

• Electronically,
• On A4 format paper,
• In GHEA Grapalat font (for Armenian) and Times New Roman (for Russian and English), with 12 pt font size
• In A4 format, should not exceed 40 pages.

The graphic part of the presented package must be represented:

• On 700 × 1000 mm 2 wallpapers with 300 dpi resolution,
• In Adobe Acrobat (PDF) և AutoCAD, ArchiCAD (DWG, DXF, IFC, BCF, etc.) vector- format.

Each poster must have a seven-digit identification code in the upper right corner. Identification code must be in Times New Roman Bold or another standard font, with 20 pt. font size.

Digital materials should be named as follows, including identification code (ID). ID_DESIGN.PDF:

For example: graphic materials 1234567_DESIGN.PDF

Text materials: 1234567_DESCRIPTION.PDF

Each applicant must prepare an A4-sized information sheet naming it the seven-digit identification code (ID) of the proposal ID_INFO.PDF. The information sheet should include the same seven-digit numbers, the full name (s) of the author(s) of the proposal, the contact information, including postal code, telephone number, and e-mail address. The authors must indicate their share of work in percentage terms in the information sheet.

Include averaged value-indicators ​​in the package justifying the economic analysis of the project’s feasibility.

All documents must be submitted in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format and together must not exceed 50 MB.

Final files must be submitted through one of these sites: WeTransfer, Dropbox, OneCloud. The availability of the offer packages must be at least 5 days after sending.

Requirements presented to the 2^nd Phase (The urban development environment’s reorganization proposal)

• Concept-explanatories,
• schemes
• diagrams,
• tables
• photos,
• panoramas-sketches;
• sectional sketches
• calculation-substantiations,
• management plans.

Text materials must be submitted:

• Electronically,
• On A4 format paper,
• In GHEA Grapalat font (for Armenian) and Times New Roman (for Russian and English), with 12 pt font size
• In A4 format, should not exceed 50 pages.

The graphic part of the presented package must be represented:

• On minimum 6, maximum 8 posters with a size of 700 × 1000 mm, with a resolution of 300 dpi,
• In Adobe Acrobat (PDF) և AutoCAD, ArchiCAD (DWG, DXF, IFC, BCF, etc.) vector- format.

Each poster should have a seven-digit identification code in the upper right corner. Identification code must be in Times New Roman Bold or another standard font, with 20 pt font size.

Digital materials should be named as follows, including identification code (ID). ID_DESIGN.PDF:

For example: graphic materials 1234567_DESIGN.PDF

Text materials: 1234567_DESCRIPTION.PDF

Each applicant must prepare an A4-sized information sheet naming it the seven-digit identification code (ID) of the proposal ID_INFO.PDF. The Information sheet must include the same seven-digit numbers, full name (s) of the author (s) of the proposal, the contact information, including postal code, telephone number, and e-mail address. The authors must indicate their share of work in percentage terms in the information sheet.

Include averaged value-indicators ​​in the package justifying the economic analysis of the project’s feasibility.

All documents must be submitted in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, alltogether not exceeding 100 MB.

Final files must be submitted through one of these sites: WeTransfer, Dropbox, OneCloud. The availability of the offer packages must be at least 5 days after sending.

General provisions

The proposal must be sent to the official website of kond_info@minurban.am by entering an identification code (ID) consisting of seven digits in the title field. The information sheet must be attached to the letter, and the link to download the proposal should be placed in the text of the letter.

In case of technical problems, the organizers will contact the participant via the same e-mail address. After sending the proposal, you will receive a successful receipt confirmation.

The name (s) of the author (s), juridical and/or unofficial signatures must not be put on the submitted package. This data must be included in the information sheet only. Otherwise, the package will not participate in the competition.

Each author (author group) can submit one competition package only.

All submitted competition packages are the property of the organizer and are not subject to return.

All submitted competition packages are posted on the organizer's electronic website and are subject to publication.

For questions or clarifications, please contact the the contact person with the mentioned link.

Competition fund

Participation in the competition is carried out on a free of charge basis.

The prize fund of the two-stage competition is 45 000.0 thousand. AMD:

Prize places of the 1st stage:

• 1-7 prizes.

An urban development-architectural sketch design competition (of the "2nd stage") is announced based on the selected 7 concepts.

Prize places of the 2nd stage:

• 1^st prize
• 2^nd prize
• 3^rd prize

Special jury awards (3 incentive prizes).

The jury is not obliged to allocate the entire prize fund, regardless of the number of nominations. The monetary reward includes the taxes that will later be levied from the amount.

The project having won the first prize is not subject to mandatory implementation.

Jury

Preliminary jury staff

The jury staff of the competition includes thirty-three specialists from Armenia and abroad.
The chairman of the jury is Hrachya Poghosyan - / architect /.

Hrachya POGHOSYAN
architect
Jury chairman

Armen GHULARYAN
specialist Bagrat BADALYAN
engineer-constructor Mkrtich MINASYAN
architect Nune PETROSYAN
architect-urban planner Davit CHGNAVORYAN
designer Vahe BALASYAN
architect Armenak GRIGORYAN
architect Hovhannes SANAMYAN
architect-restorer Andrey IVANOV
architect Aslan Mkhitaryan
Chris MARSHAL
architect Karen BALYAN
architect Maria Christina Jianbruno
architect-restorer Gagik GYURJYAN
architect-restorer Maurizio BORIANI
architect Suzanna MONNO
architect Narine Tyutcheva
architect Vaghinak GEVORGYAN
historian Pavel AVETISYAN
archaeologist Karine KHOCHAR
artist Nvard MELKONYAN
sociologist Mary KHACHATRYAN
lawyer Mark GRIGORYAN
journalist Armen YEGANYAN
economist Narek TERTERYAN
economist Mekhak APRESYAN
tourism specialist Zarmine ZEITOUNTSIAN
tourism specialist Harutyun VANYAN
archeologist Antonio MONTANTO Naira YEREMYAN
resident of Kond Lyusya HOVHANNISYAN
resident of Kond Gohar HOVHANNISYAN
resident of Kond Karen MARTIROSYAN
resident of Kond

Baseline material package

You will receive a letter with the headline "KOND. Competition Package" on your e-mail, in which the link to the mentioned package will be placed. The competition package is trilingual. The following baseline materials are totally provided to the participants having gained permission to participate in the competition.

1. Competition announcement

2. Task

3. Historical remark

4. Topographic survey map,

5. Orthophotographic survey

6. Site boundaries,

7. The allocation plan and the list of both listed in the State monuments list as well as newfound monuments and their protection zones of Kond district;

8. Archive materials,

9. Archaeological materials,

10. Situational plan,

11. Cadastral measuring materials of the district / available /,

12. Site photos and videos,

13. Information on population.

Goal

The aim of the competition is to select the best conceptual, urban development-architectural-planning solutions that reflect the identity peculiarities of the preserved ancient part of the city. The competition implementation will allow the talented architects, urban planners, historians, sociologists from all over the world to become co-authors of the revaluation of the vernacular district, to diversify the image of the city area, to promote the integration of the community’s principles of sustainable urban development being historically formed and having an ethnographic-archaeological value, to prevent the emigration of local residents, to increase the value of local real estate with minimal investments and interventions, to activate the local economy and tourism, to increase the service quality of architecture and infrastructures and to create workplaces, considering the interests of the population of Kond as a priority.

The goal of the Environmental Regeneration / Restoration Model Competition stage is to predict those methods of impact that are optimal for the preservation and development of this historic environment, the goal of which is not to destroy but to strengthen the methods of impact including the architectural decisions and actions that are far from being the first and the primary ones.

HISTORICAL REMARK

Urban originality is the symbolic and semantic capital of the city. The degree of expression of urban originality is conditioned with the level of self-awareness of the local population.

Kond/ A city within a city
The district of Kond gazes at the city from the north-western elevation. Some people think that Kond is the capital of Yerevan, others-that it is a city within a city. From the plane where the “city” walks Kond cannot be seen. Some beautiful and well-maintained private houses adjacent to the central and main streets caress the eye and dispel all the suspicions and assumptions that inside-somewhere deeper, there is a district with a semi-dilapidated houses leaning on each other with the previous century doors and too narrow but full of history streets.

Kond’s doors are a separate topic. It is said that once their colors were brighter from one another. There is nothing left from the colors now but every house-door and gate tells a living story. People live in this district for generations which is already a rare phenomenon in Yerevan. The first impression of the capital’s probably the one and only oldest district –having survived, depends on which of the many steps you will take to get there.

If you go up on Saryan street next to the Central post-office for instance, you’ll find yourself in a relatively fresh and new Kond. The locals call this part Kondaglukh (the central part of Kond) and a bit farther beyond the Central post-office the two narrow stairs- a few hundred meters apart from each other, take you to a completely other Kond.

The area of Kond district has been dwindled in recent years and compiles 16 hectars. Its borders are crossed by Paronyan, Leo and Saryan streets close to Hovhannes Tumanyan’s house-museum and go up the stairs leading to the House of Composers and Frik street then Paronyan Street including Saint Hovhannes church.

KOND’S DAILY LIFE

Many Kond stories are woven into stone or concrete benches adjacent to houses the abundance of which allows us to suppose that they enjoy great love among the people of Kond. It turns out that all such kind of benches are occupied during summer months: men of Kond play backgammon or cards on them and women discuss the latest news and events of the district over a cup of coffee. Local women can also often be seen near springs-located on almost every step. Although almost every house already has the opportunity to have an individual water-supply, the modernity of faucet springs in the district however has not decreased thereof.

As soon as the weather becomes warmer women do laundry here or rinse the coffee cups.

The houses situated adjacent to the territory of Dvin Hotel, as well as the residential house being built of black tuff from Leo street’s side represent a historical and architectural value in the area of Kond.

Kond occupies the western highlights of the city centre. It was named Kond because of its high location. The word “Kond” in Armenian means longitudinal or round hill. During the Persian domination the name of that district was changed and called “tapabash”, which is itself the translation of the word Kond. Kond has been one of the oldest districts of the city of Yerevan and simultaneously its historical core. It has been the most vibrant part of Yerevan which has become a kind of a museum district for the city passing through centuries. According to Russian researcher Ivan Chopin the borders of Kond have been more extensive in old Yerevan plan. Dzoragyugh, the Hrazdan canyon gardens and Dalma have also been included into Kond’s borders-from the other side the borders of Kond reached Berd. Kond’s exterier, the structure of the streets, the urban texture have reached us almost unchanged from the 18th century. They have been formed without architectural design-within a period of time.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Kond was only one of the three main districts of Yerevan to be located on a hill. Moreover, the district spread on the hill had both irrigation and drinking water. The Kond residents Ter-Grigoryans, the priest Grigor, his brothers and uncles sold their inherited house, and by these means in 1793 they used pipes to bring water from Getar -the area near the city with clean water, to the vestibule of St. John's Church. All the people of Kond used the clean water of the water supply system reaching the churchyard

The Kond district, perched on a hill at the top of the gorge, had a favorable position and a favorable climate at the highest point of the old town. The hill is irregularly surrounded by narrow and rugged streets. There were one or two storey houses on the top of the hill, the rich people lived at the foot of the hill. Later, Soviet streets were built on the footpart of Kond, where houses for intellectuals and artists were built instead of the "mansions" of the nobles.

Dzoragegh occupies the left bank of the Hrazdan River, the canyons that lie above the Victory Bridge. By the way, Dzoragegh also had its subdivisions: Verin or Karap district, Lower or Dzor district and Carbo district.

Dalma was famous for its fine grapes, the gardens of which were spread on the right bank of Hrazdan.

Berd (fortress), with which Kond was closely associated, had a special place in the image of Old Yerevan, it was built at the end of the sixteenth century. The fortress was the seat of Yerevan’s king Sardar. Berd itself was a small town, it had its population.

In time, Yerevan expanded including Kond, which spread to the lower parts.

Based on the testimonies of chroniclers, as well as the archeological and stony evidence that has survived up today, it can be concluded that Kond is of great archaeological interest.

In fact, there are archeological materials of at least 3 historical periods of Yerevan’s development in the territory of present-day Kond. Being the main impregnable hill of the center of Yerevan, Kond has been the only refuge for the population of the central part of the city for centuries.

In the 5th-6th centuries, during the division of Armenia between Byzantium and Persia, Kond was the last stronghold of Byzantine Armenia in the plain of the Hrazdan River, now a part of Yerevan.

There are reasonable doubts that this impregnable hill was used for defensive purposes much earlier than in the Byzantine period. A number of circumstances that have emerged as a result of professional consultations allow us to assume the possibility of the existence of historical layers of a much earlier period.

Among the antiquities preserved in Kond, The Church of St. John the Baptist, a very old monument, was destroyed during the great earthquake of 1679, but was restored in 1710.

The list of existing monuments is available on the baseline data page.

About the Competition

Almost every community of Armenia has its share of several historical periods or a development era. Almost all parts of Armenia have a rich heritage beginning from the stone and bronze ages (petroglyphs, cosmic mandals and symbols typical of Indo-European ethnos), Ararat Kingdom (Urartu), pagan, Hellenistic, early Christian, developed Middle Ages or from the period of the Armenian Renaissance and ending with a significant and remarkable heritage of the 20th century.

Meanwhile, the cultural inseparability itself is providing an opportunity for furbishing and constantly refining the environment of objective and sensory perception of territories for ages. This is clearly seen from the same European example where the cultural continuity is being preserved and refined for ages and then, naturally, step by step it enters the modern life. Armenia is also a cradle of many crafts, industrial and agricultural activities. The rich ethno-cultural and historical heritage of Armenia is an inexhaustible source for Armenian territories’ urban development cultivation.

In modern world it is necessary to take a conscious approach in order to develop cities and regions. We must learn to get changed in line with modern requirements. Thus, if the city does not realize its uniqueness then it weakens its investment attractiveness by treating so and may even lose its inhabitants remained.

The major problem of urban historical landscapes’ identity preservation is a physical criterion which itself represents the originality of the urban environment with self-expression of individuality of an individual or groups forming that environment, the loss of which has a negative influence on cities and their inhabitants.

The historical context of the city is the latter’s part of cultural values which reflects the identity and values by means of building the inhabitant’s collective memory and demonstrating the ancestral lifestyle. The city that has an identity is a city where the connection between the past, the present and the future is not interrupted. Therefore, it is a viable scenario of different time-periods and historical layers. In a world being globalized day by day the cities using similar building materials and architectural styles have more than ever become alike.Therefore the original and unique urban environment and the surrounding landscape can attract investment programs much more effectively, provide visitors and create favorable social conditions for the inhabitants, hence, economically it is more efficient to preserve and use it.

At present Kond’s identity is generally endangered. In recent years some part of historically valuable or environmentally friendly structures and urban landscape has gradually been changed beyond recognition. Continuing the same policy will lead to harmful consequences for other parts of the district as well. Once after being unrecognizably altered or destroyed the historical environment disappears and all the history and facts being contained in it are lost forever without a trace.

Invited to participate The competition is open for all individual architects and architectural studios, consulting enterprises, scientific and non-governmental organizations and various consortia from all over the world that have a successful experience in implementing historic urban (including vernacular) construction restoration projects without any restrictions.

Competition schedule

• Official announcement and launching of the 2nd stage of the competition- on April 30, 2024.
• Deadline for the acceptance of competition packages (Concept representation) Deadline: 01.10.2024.
• The review and summary of the results of the competition’s 2nd stage07.10.2024-20.12.2024.
• Publication of the list of winner participants of the competition23.12.2024.
• Total prize fund 45 000.0 thousand. AMD
• Organizer: Urban Development Committee of the Republic of Armenia.
• Full name of the competition. Open International Competition – Concept-Urban Development Environment Competition for Yerevan’s "Kond" District Regeneration.
• The official website of the competition: www.kond.minurban.am
• Contacts of the Organizing Committee: kond_info@minurban.am

Rules

Type of competition. Open international two-stage conceptual-urban development-architectural competition.

Invited to participate The competition is open for all individual architects and architectural studios, consulting enterprises, scientific and non-governmental organizations and various consortia from all over the world that have a successful experience in implementing historic urban (including vernacular) construction restoration projects without any restrictions.

Competition packages

Competition documents include the following documents, each of which is an integral part of them:

• Competition conditions,
• Technical task
• List of initial data.

1. By requesting the package of initial data and submitting a bid, the bidders accept the rules of the competition.
2. The transmission of initial data to a third person is forbidden.
3. The bids submitted by the registered persons who did not receive the right to participate in the competition are not subject to consideration.
4. The authors of the project reserve the copyrights of the projects, the projects are not subject to change without the formal, written consent of the latter.
5. The members of the jury have the right not to consider any project that does not comply with the mandatory requirements and rules of the competition presented in the package.
6. All projects, including those not accepted by the jury, will be displayed for free at Alexander Tamanyan National Museum-Institute of Architecture in Yerevan for two weeks. The report signed by the members of jury will also be a part of the exhibition.
7. The projects are to be stored in the database of the Urban Development Committee under the name of the author. In case of necessity, the author can obtain a legal document-certificate from the database of the Urban Development Committee confirming the authorship and time of his project.
8. Jury members, as well as organizers, may not set a grand prize- by distributing the prize fund among the winners.
9. In case of conflict of interests, the organizers have the right to disqualify that participant and / or the jury member.

Clarification provision.

Any participant has the right to send a request on the clarification of the provisions of the Competition Documents. Such a request is sent in the form of a written letter to the e-mail address indicated on the Competition website.

The Organizer is obliged to provide a response to the request on the clarification of the provisions of the Competition in the form of an electronic document within 5 (five) working days from the date of receipt of the request.

The requests of the participants must be received not later than 5 (five) working days earlier before the Application Deadline.

Competition schedule

• Official announcement and launching of the 2nd stage of the competition- on April 30, 2024.
• Deadline for the acceptance of competition packages (Concept representation) Deadline: 01.10.2024.
• The review and summary of the results of the competition’s 2nd stage07.10.2024-20.12.2024.
• Publication of the list of winner participants of the competition23.12.2024.
• Total prize fund 45 000.0 thousand. AMD
• Organizer: Urban Development Committee of the Republic of Armenia.
• Full name of the competition. Open International Competition – Concept-Urban Development Environment Competition for Yerevan’s "Kond" District Regeneration.
• The official website of the competition: www.kond.minurban.am
• Contacts of the Organizing Committee: kond_info@minurban.am

URBANISTIC PROBLEMS OF KOND’S CONSTRUCTION

• since the Tamanyan times there has been a problem of Kond’s urbanization-demolition-new way construction.

• in the mid-1980s, the problem of Kond evaluation and conservation came forward, the project however, where the real solutions for conservation and development were included, was not carried out.

• no new ideas have been pushed forward during the last three decades. Up to now, in line with the action model of the Third Republic it has again become purposeful to demolish the existing historical layers and build high-rise buildings instead

• Simultaneously, an alternative perspective corresponding to modern international experience exists, according to which Kond’s environment that has reached us is valuable and worth for preservation

• the main task of the problem is - what to preserve, how to preserve and how to modernize the existing environment?

• one of the important problems is the property and owner’s rights’ preservation problem as some part of the population is striving to continue living in Kond, the other-to leave it

• Accepting Kond conservation program as a priority interest –it is necessary to study and find the urban environmental fragments and separate buildings subjected to protection

• Application of modern scientific-methodological principles of preservation and restoration towards the environment and separate buildings-including those represented in the works of modern Russian urbanists Andrey Ivanov and Narine Tyutcheva.

ASSIGNMENTS

• Explore and analyze the topic, providing a development vector, discovering the hidden potential, offering those kinds of methods and purposes which are relevant in city the modern city’s historical environment
• Make the area more recognizable and attractive for the residents, guests and investors as if the city is not conditionally able to impress its consumers then it loses its attractiveness for business. If the region, the district, the city and the territorial unit do not have an independent strategy then they carry a defeat in a global market that is becoming more aggressive
• Research, analyze and propose effective tools for the area development, namely: the language (including the local dialect, as well as the vernacular language and pronunciation peculiarities), the local mythology, myth-making, historical memory, unique means of information, forms of communication, traditions of personal communication, spiritual-religious resources, (local church communities, traditions of celebrating religious festivals) purely local peculiarities of business, family, friendly, upbringing, educational, sports traditions, the local cuisine, the colorite of the environment, traditional crafts, forms and means of civic activity, leisure and entertainment, jokes, stories, local holidays, national folklore etc..
• Inventory the fragments and structural elements of cultural value of the buildings / structures in the district (old doors, windows, balconies, locks, knockers, railings, etc.), provided that they are later used in architectural and design solutions). Collaborate closely with the "Institute of Archeology and Ethnography" SNCO of NAS RA to write the ethnographic and folklore material of the district.
• Developing modern and rational architectural and urban planning solutions that will make the community attractive for their residents, tourists and investors based on the principles of sustainable development
• Taking the sustainable (or structural) factors into consideration such as location, climate and history
• Taking the variable factors into consideration (that are being changed in a long-run perspective) such as community sizes and overcrowding, the external view, well-being of the inhabitants, the cultural traditions of the local community
• Taking the symbolic factors into consideration, such as: urban symbols, political environment, cultural codes of the residents’ behavior, significant events, celebrities, the demand for certain products and services, the nature of communication within the community and other components
• Taking into consideration the urban environment identity preservation and the provision of demands representing the heritage undistortion with the consent of an authorized body of the given sphere while accrediting new functions towards the historical buildings of the district or representing reuse proposals by maintaining their functions.
• Completely preserve and restore both the buildings registered in the state list of monuments and the ones with the status of newly discovered monuments (the list is attached), coordinating all their related projects with the authorized body at all stages of the work.
• To maintain the current street network as much as possible, zoning Kond with separate sub-districts, setting an allowable buildings’ height level for each sub-district.
• Brand a part of Kondi under the name of Arshile Gorky.
• When assigning new functions to the historical buildings of the district or submitting proposals for refurbishing or adaptive reuse while preserving their functions, take into account the preservation of the identity of the urban environment and the heritage safety requirements provision with the consent of the authorized body of the sector.

PARTICIPATION

Format

Open

International

bilingual

Competition language: Armenian / Russian / English

Requirements for Phase 2 (Terms of Reference and Appendix 1)

TECHNICAL TASK

1. Contents

1. Purpose of the competition,
2. Technical task for concept development,
3. Concept preparation principles,
4. General requirements for competition preparation,
5. Requirements for the format of concept materials,
6. Structure of the concept,
7. Redefining public spaces,
8. Reorganization of the urban fabric of the district with the expansion of functions,
9. Concept implementation management plan/population resettlement,
10. Feasibility,
11. Expected result,
12. Appendix 1.
13. Purpose of the competition

Contribute to the integration of the principles of sustainable urban development of a historically formed and ethnographically-archeologically valuable community, prevention of emigration of local residents, increasing the value of local real estate with minimal investments and interventions, activation of the local economy and tourism, increasing the quality of architecture, infrastructure and service, and job creation considering the interests of the population of Kond as a priority.

The purpose of the environmental restoration/rehabilitation model competition phase is to determine the optimal impact methods for the preservation and development of that historical environment, which is not aimed at destroying, but strengthening the impact methods, among which architectural solutions and actions are far from being the first and major ones.

3. Boundaries of the competition zone

The area of "Kond" district of Yerevan city is about 16.0 hectars (boundaries are given in the starting materials section).

 Subject of the competition

Development of an urban planning concept project for the purpose of restoration/reorganization of the urban environment of "Kond" district of Yerevan. The project objectives are the following:

1. Demonstrating the uniqueness of Kond district as the oldest preserved district of the city,
2. Justification and identification of valuable elements, objects and other qualities of the historical environment, which should be preserved or restored,
3. Determining the transformation and development goals as well as resource,
4. Elaboration of recommendations for the creation of methodology and regulations, which will lead to the sustainable long-term development of the region,
5. Illustration of proposed regulations on specific examples, including building, home ownership, neighborhood scales,
6. Determination of the administrative and economic tools for the preservation and development of the area.
7. Technical task of the concept project

The area of inclusion of the competition project is the historical urban structure of Kond district, which is envisaged for the restoration-revitalization of the area, maintaining the identity, ensuring the continuity of the old and the new, and at the same time creating a more comfortable and accessible/barrier-free environment for the population.

5. The principles for the concept project development

Differentiation and diversity, sensory resonance with the site`s historically shaped environment and natural landscapes.

Proposals for the competitive concept project should take into consideration the features of the cultural landscape of the district, form a visual integrity with the natural landscapes and the existing urban-architectural environment.

Design solutions should take into consideration the degree of interference with architecture that preserves the scenic nature of authentic streetscapes, ensuring the continuity and integrity of the perception of the environment. It is important to pay attention to the maintenance of visual connections with Ararat from the district, the visual perception of the district from Saryan Street and Tsitsernakaberd. Proposals should contain regulations that define the characteristics of height, outline, overall dimensional specifications, requirements for the materials used. The regulations should refer to both the construction and the improvement of the area.

The presented proposals should change the reputation of the district to a positive one, reflecting the uniqueness of Kond as the oldest district of the city, "Old Yerevan", representing the richness of national history, traditions and culture. The neighborhood should be friendly to all categories of residents and guests of the neighborhood and also contribute to the maintenance of the neighborly attitude of the residents of the region, the development of small and medium-sized businesses.

Development of an optimal territorial planning solution for the greening of the buildings of the district and the entire region, with the preservation of the existing historical heritage, taking into consideration the development prospects of the area, its dominant architectural appearance and style.

Spatial development proposals must preserve the established urban structure, which is unique, originating from the centuries-old history of the city and, at the same time, take into consideration the creation of an accessible, comfortable and safe environment, well-developed public spaces that meet the needs of both residents’ and visitors` requirements and demands.  

The participants of the competition should also submit an enlarged feasibility study of the project, which takes into consideration the costs of transformation of common areas and engineering infrastructure of the community, construction maintenance and development costs by private investors, future operating costs of the community, future taxes that the municipality will receive from business and real estate development. It is necessary to define the principles of interaction of all participants in the process of district transformation.

It is necessary to present the architectural-urban part of the developed concept, which contains basic architectural solutions that comprehensively take into account social, economic, functional, engineering, technical, fire-fighting, sanitary-hygienic, environmental, architectural, artistic and other requirements for objects and territory, for the preparation of which the participation of an architect is necessary.

The project contending for the award should meet the above-mentioned requirements, propose the best managerial and economic algorithm for the preservation and development of the unique district of Kond, demonstrate the best qualities of sustainable construction, use the principles of preservation, regeneration and adaptive reuse of the historical environment and the unique natural features of the area itself, creating an attractive environment for residents and tourists. Participants must present their ideas of what this place offers to residents and guests and leave an impression on visitors as a real Old Town but not as a City-Museum, but alive and developing, preserving its traditions and respecting its history in its authenticity and integrity.

Taking into consideration the value of the implementation of the concept, which is related with the presence of the social component of the latter, consider the citizen of Kond as of a priority interest and present the justification of the feasibility of the project in the competition concept.  

General requirements for the competition preparation

1. The competition offers should meet the requirements of the technical task,
2. Competition offers should meet the normative-legal legislation of the Republic of Armenia, including the requirements of normative-technical documents
3. Competition proposals should identify and complement the general approaches presented in the concept in a best manner,
4. Requirements for the format of concept project materials.

• Description of the main idea in accordance with the requirements of the concept project,
• Description of urban planning and architectural solutions,
• The main technical and economic indicators.

6. Concept project structure

As a result of the reconstruction of the district, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for different groups of people and visitors, develop the infrastructure, regulate public spaces, preserving the historical structure of the 17th century streets, create an accessible, comfortable and safe environment for both residents and guests of the historical district.

7. Redefining public spaces

Public spaces are an integral part of the planning structure, where one of the three basic vital needs of people (accommodation, work, recreation) is organized. Social contacts, entertainment, communication are organized here as well. Effective organization of the area allows to ensure favorable microclimatic conditions, accessibility, aesthetic perception of objects intended for these functions. The environmental reconstruction project envisages the creation of thematically interrelated open public spaces with the organization of the latter`s traditional and new functions. They should be free of vehicle access, with the use of alternative means of transport and accessible to the reduced mobility and disabled population. At the same time, ensure the approach of vehicles to organize the safe evacuation of the population in emergency situations.

Public places should serve the daily life requirements of the locals (organization of entertainment for different age groups), as well as the modern requirements of the users of newly attributed functions.

8. Reorganization of the urban structure of the district with expansion of functions

1. Determine routes for tourists that will define the public infrastructure of the area,
2. Establish measures to ensure the accessibility of public infrastructure for all groups of visitors and residents, as well as for the transport service of the area,
3. Formulate regulatory proposals for the improvement of the public infrastructure, including

- coatings

- lighting

- landscaping

- location

- signboards

- fences and gates

- household waste collection sites

- other street design elements

4. Identify the public active infrastructure of the area that is predisposed to the creation of a commercial function,
5. Offer housing that is primarily designed to accommodate small business facilities,
6. To develop a regulation for the creation of trade (commercial) facilities on the example of specific facilities, taking into consideration the preservation of the scale and character of the development,
7. Separate the zones of mainly residential functions, separate the common areas, streets and alleys related to the residential environment,
8. Establish measures to ensure the accessibility of the residential public infrastructure for all groups of residents, as well as to ensure safety for the transport service of the area,
9. Formulate regulatory proposals for the improvement of residential public infrastructure, including:

- coatings

- lighting

- landscaping

- location

- fences and gates

- household waste collection sites

- other street design elements.

The nature of the improvement of common use areas for trade (commercial) and residential areas should have differences for a better reading and positioning of the space and at the same time emphasize the uniqueness of the historical environment, follow its scale and materiality.

• In order to enliven life in the neighborhood, ensure equal operation of areas at different times of the day, safe use of areas designated for different functions and extension of visits, it is recommended to include the territorial and volume-spatial organization of the following proposed functions in the conceptual sketch-project, in each case ensuring equal accessibility conditions for all groups of the population (disabled sitters), in order to facilitate the orientation of persons with disabilities, as well as visitors with no language skills, in order to organize movement in an accessible and unobstructed manner, without additional assistance.
• Organization of accessibility and attractiveness of all entrances to the neighborhood (gradual development of the composition from the entrance junction to the composition hearth).
• Visitor Information Center.
• Studios/workshops (traditional, modern) with the organization of display/sale of works.
• Furnished workplaces (creative technologies, offices, etc.). (Coworking space).
• Open-air/closed air areas for holding activities with the exhibition of works of young artists (performances, films, photography works, education, languages, national song-dance training and organization of competitions, organization of painting competitions, etc.) for Yerevan residents and guests of the city.
• Open-air trade halls.

Guest houses, public catering establishments, public toilets (taking into account the needs of the sedentary and disabled).

Any other function that contributes to the more complete implementation of the defined goal and does not contradict the main idea of the concept.

9. Concept project implementation management plan/population resettlement

During the implementation of the concept, to present recommendations related to the problems of displacement of different layers of the population.

Determine the percentage ratio of the objects of the following categories with the project proposal and propose appropriate management approaches.

• Residential houses of private (individuals) in which residents want to stay,
• Private (individuals) residential buildings that residents want to sell and leave,
• Residential buildings of private (individuals) that are empty,
• Private houses bought by foreign investors,
• Community owned houses:
• On-site resettlement of residents (provision of temporary housing during the period of urban environment restoration),
• Provision of new apartments to residents in another location,
• Provision of housing compensation.

10. Implementation

The architectural proposal of the concept sketch for the development, revitalization and development of touristic infrastructures of the historical urban environment of the Kond district of Yerevan should include:

• calculation-justification of economic expediency, to be economically justified and feasible,
• from a social point of view, solving the problems of providing housing for residents (one of the options mentioned above), is a project of investment interest.

11. Expected result

It is expected to receive such architectural solutions that will allow Kond to preserve the originality of the unique urban environment, serving as a center of social, urban and cultural communication for different layers of society, locals and visitors, will become the symbolic historical center of Yerevan. Therefore, the best conceptual, urban planning and historical architectural solutions should equally refer to both external and internal solutions of recovery, repair, restoration (regeneration), reconstruction, modernization. It is also expected that the participants will receive options for professional alternative solutions that will offer stylistically diverse and at the same time harmonious and coherent solutions to spatial, stylistic, scale, environmental and other problems.

Assess the priority of functional mobility organization` by regulating the flows and needs of large and small groups of visitors so that it is possible to form a safe, comfortable and reliable mobility system` by directing visitor flows in the simplest and most interconnected scheme possible.

The concentration of a large number of historical layers in a relatively small part of the city should make the district a place where any space and area can and should serve both to introduce people to this diversity and to organize entertainment.

In organizing mobility, special attention should be paid to the most complete ideological solution of perception of the environment, which ensures the organized and purposeful direction of potential flows of people from all possible entrances.

In the modernization process, great importance is attached to the preservation of the historically formed real-original (true) image, which should be realized in the modern city by clearly defining the unique appearance of this part of the urban environment, which has historically maintained its identity.

The requirements of the competition for the architectural and urban development concept project for the development of the historic urban environment of Kond district, the design of tourist infrastructures.

To base the project on the idea of maximum preservation and best representation of urban authenticity and identity of the environment and historical-architectural heritage objects;

The project-proposal should be submitted with the mandatory set of drawings presented below, which may be supplemented with additional drawings or sketches, depending on the specifics of the project;

Based plan

1. Area analysis by structures.

• value, objects and structures that have historical authenticity and value that are intended for conservation, restoration or rehabilitation;
• property characteristics of the area and development;
• identification of the characteristic morphotypes of the construction and the composition of the construction;
• landscape-visual patterns;
• climatic features, factors of sustainable environment and architecture;
• technical condition of construction and infrastructure;
• assessment of transport and pedestrian connectivity within and outside the district;
• analysis of common use space and public infrastructure;
• a resource for development and revaluation;
• analysis and evaluation of spatial planning documents, including cultural heritage protection documents;
• economy and management.

2. 2. Design proposal

• Master plan showing regulatory zones and their description;
• Proposal on the organization of the street-road network, including transport service schemes, parking lots;
• A proposal for the creation of a public infrastructure, including development regulations that take into account the characteristics of commercial and residential areas, as well as the accessibility of the environment. Illustrations of examples of different types of spaces;
• Recommendations for development, residential and commercial works, including recommendations for building codes and regulations. Illustrations of the application of the technique to various types of objects;
• Sections by area depicting the contours of the development and the relationship with the surrounding areas of the Kond;
• Perspectives (3D images, episodes);
• Conceptual-explanatory note (up to 50 pages)
• Project implementation roadmap.

The scale of the presented pictures can be chosen by the participant, ensuring the readability of the graphic material.

Competitions participants present:

Competition (Tender) tablets (8 pieces) containing sufficient information to present and justify the project idea.

• Master plan showing regulatory zones and their description;
• Proposal for the organization of the road network, including transport service schemes, parking;
• A proposal for the creation of a public infrastructure, including regulations for the improvement that take into account the characteristics of commercial and residential areas, as well as the accessibility of the environment. Illustration of examples of different spaces types;
• Recommendations for development, residential and commercial work, including recommendations for building codes and regulations. Illustrations of the application of the technique to various types of objects;
• Sections by area showing the contours of the development and the relationship with the surrounding areas of the Kond;
• Perspectives (3D images, episodes);
• Concept-explanatory note (short version);
• Project implementation roadmap.

The design of the tablet corresponds to the recommended sample

• Participant`s album, including detailed information about the submitted project, album size with 15-20 pages. The album is made according to the suggested sample. The album also includes a brief textual description of the presented project, a summary of the presentation of the project on the competition platform, in the mass media.

The statement (placed on the participant`s tablet and album) contains the following information:

• Professional justification of the choice of project solutions according to the project requirements;
• Demonstrating the uniqueness of Kond district as the oldest preserved district of the city, its impact on the development of Yerevan and Kentron district;
• Justification and identification of valuable elements, objects and other properties of the historical environment that are subject to preservation or restoration;
• Determining transformation and development goals, as well as resources;
• Description of the proposal for the creation of the methodology and regulations implying sustainable long-term development of the area;
• Basic description of conservation methods, rehabilitation rules, new construction, improvement and infrastructure reconstruction and development regulations, including structural schemes and building materials for use;
• Description of road network, parking lots and improvement solutions;
• Definition of managerial and economic tools for the preservation and development of the area
• Feasibility calculations and justifications for decisions made, road map for project implementation.

Evaluation criteria

To determine the winner of the competition, the evaluation of the competition (tender) projects is carried out according to the following criteria:

• compliance of the competition (tender) project with the design task;
• compliance with the objectives and tasks of the competition;
• the depth of understanding of Kond`s history as the ancient part of Yerevan and the manifestation of its authenticity in the design proposal;
• professionalism of proposals for maintenance and development of the area and facilities;
• social orientation of project proposals, taking into account the interests of different groups and strata of residents;
• integrity, authenticity and expressiveness of the architectural image;
• the quality of used building materials and architectural elements from the point of view of creating a sustainable ecological environment;
• the economic efficiency and long-term stability of the proposed solutions;
• a system of stable and cost-effective operation of the facility;
• the distinctiveness and adaptability of the tender project to the existing development, which demonstrates and complements its historical character and value;
• visual perception of near and far angles.

Compliance of the tender project with the existing documents of territorial planning and urban development zoning, including the requirements of normative legal acts in the field of protection of cultural heritage objects, as well as compliance with the architectural and urban appearance of the city of Yerevan.

Appendix 1

Program principles

Applicants should consider five additional principles when working on a competition project. Following these principles will allow to achieve the main goal of the project, to improve the quality of the urban environment of the district.

• Comfort: neighborhood improvement should take into consideration their universal functional use and accessibility and make them comfortable for all types of users;
• Sustainability: neighborhood streets should create a healthier environment in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. It is necessary to increase the area of green plantings taking into consideration the climatic and operational features, to ensure the care of the existing plantings;
• Security: Safety is an important feature of a qualitative public space. To ensure this component, the participants should plan a number of measures, including: 1. organization of safe pedestrian crossings, 2. reorganization of the transport scheme. Pedestrian comfort should be ensured throughout the area. The area should have at least 2 vehicular accesses from adjacent areas.
• Identity: each city and district is unique with its history and traditions. In environmental improvement programs, it is important to preserve and emphasize their unique nature, historical and cultural significance. Project activities should restore the historically formed facade, competently integrating modern solutions in the urban environment.
• Variety: the diversity of the urbanized environment allows covering the maximum range of needs and provides visual richness of the space by highlighting important objects. In addition to the main functional areas, it is necessary to provide meeting and recreation areas, as well as routes for pedestrians with different needs. 

Urban identity

Kond District is a preserved part of the old urban environment from the period of Yerevan Fortress existence which has maintained part of urban identity in one area along with a large number of unique traditional historical buildings, and can become one of the largest tourist centers, but at the same time it should also become a place for residents to live comfortably and also a place of preservation of the traditional structure.

Tourist infrastructures and cultures are actively developing in the adjacent areas. Many events like wine festival, art festival and other festivals are held in the city. The project zone is located on a favorable accessibility zone of an already established infrastructure zone and is accessible from multiple entrances located next to a pedestrian route for both locals and tourists. The improvement of these areas will also expand the scope of the existing infrastructure in the sector of Kond, improve the quality of the urban environment and make the visit to the city center more attractive for all user groups.

Target audience and significant objects

• Local residents, residents of neighboring regions,
• employees of nearby institutions: office workers, service staff,
• students,
• tourists/visitors of the area, residents of other marzes, foreign tourists, tourists from other cities, tourist groups.

Symbolic objects

Kond district is a symbolic object and has a great attractiveness for guests and citizens of the city, especially for the representatives of creative professions, but the basis of its attraction is its authenticity and vernacularity. The preserved streets with their proportions and trajectory, the historical construction and the materials from which this construction was developed also play a tremendous role. Most of the Yerevan’s attractive places for visitors are concentrated in the city`s historic center, within easy reach of Kond, where hotels, cafes and cultural heritage sites are all situated within a walking distance. Kond district can become a part of Yerevan`s cultural base.

Distribution of stakeholder groups in the improvement area

• adult population- the adult population is more active in the neighborhood, church and school grounds;

• children and young people - the activity of teenagers is concentrated in several areas: in the square next to the school, in public institutions surrounding the area, also the places of children`s activity are more evenly distributed throughout the area.

• Development of the pedestrian street system.

The main pedestrian route of the district passes through Rustaveli Street. Architectural monuments, parts representing the traditional type of construction, as well as the approaches to the main observation points overlooking Ararat and Hrazdan Gorge are concentrated here, it has a great touristic and commercial potential.

Develop

• to identify routes for tourists that define the public infrastructure of the area;
• to establish measures to ensure the accessibility of the public sphere for all; groups of visitors and residents, as well as for the transport service of the area;
• to formulate regulatory recommendations on public infrastructure improvements;

• to predetermine the active public infrastructure of the area, which is predisposed to the creation of a commercial function;
• to separate zones of mainly residential function, determine common areas, streets and alleys related to the residential environment
• to establish measures for ensuring the accessibility of the residential public sphere for all groups of residents, as well as to ensure safety for the transport service of the area;
• to formulate regulatory proposals for the improvement of the residential public framework.

The nature of the improvement of common use areas of trading (commercial) and residential zones should have diversity (variations) for better readability of space and navigation (orientation) and at the same time emphasize the uniqueness of the historical environment, follow its scale and materiality.

Perceptions of public places by residents

Main streets and squares are considered improved areas and are perceived positively by residents. The drastically negative attitude of the residents of the neighborhood is caused by the inhospitable narrow areas, lack of pedestrian infrastructure and chaotic parking lots.

Main problems

• parking along the street creates "visual noise";
• limited traffic possibilities on historical streets;
• low quality and lack of recreation/public places;
• the main problem is also the low level of safety when pedestrians travel on the carriageway;
• infrastructure/playground support for children;
• lack of navigation (orientation);
• lack of necessary but sufficient lighting;
• external location of engineering communications;
• lack of accessible environment for people with limited mobility.

Circulation and tourist infrastructure

Many streets are silent and do not say anything to the city residents or tourists. They are simply streets of houses, although they are mostly historic buildings from the 17th to 19th centuries, and there are preserved houses whose history and owners are known. However, often the residents themselves do not know anything.

Develop

• proposal for functional zoning of the area,
• an information system for complete orientation and information provision, the city will start talking to people. The system may function as a result of the change in e-mail, in the form of panels, static signs, as well as infographics,
• Historic streets with restoration of original pavements within the district boundaries,
• developed hiking routes of thematic orientation and integration into the system of pedestrian connections of the city,
• ensuring pedestrian traffic safety,
• development of pedestrian infrastructure and provision of functional diversity of the district,
• organization of more cultural events (handicraft exhibitions, festivals, etc.) and related infrastructure (rest zones, cafes, terraces with seats and cultural events) aimed at eliminating the marginalization of public spaces,
• navigation (orientation) system,
• new variety greening and restoration measures for planting,
• optimization of traffic and pedestrian flows, as well as parking spaces,
• development of a unified code for the design of house fences and signboards,
• main street-boulevard for pedestrians traffic with rest areas, cafe terraces and a unified architectural code of the project,
• restoration of the lost image of historical facades, removal of visual debris from facades,
• design code for signboards and entrances of historic buildings,
• street lighting system,
• "quarter gate" with a developed network of pedestrian connections in the area organized by the recreational zone and commercial function,
• organization of a special service area with retail trade, cafe,
• development of regulations for working with the improvement of streets and the environment and facilities,
• making adjustments to territorial planning documents, including regarding the preservation of cultural heritage.

The organization of a comfortable, intuitive and simple hiking route in the internal planning structure of the district and its functional saturation will make the space attractive for all users.

The development of the project involves the development of the historical districts of the city, which currently have a low quality of improvement. The transformation of these zones will allow to form a complete walking route in the block.

Technical and economic indicators of projects, justification (expedience)

Characterize the degree of use of the area, the provision of housing and cultural and community facilities for the population, the quality of residential construction, the profitability of the area selected for construction/reconstruction/maintenance/restoration, the cost of its construction, engineering equipment and landscaping

Within the framework of the implementation analysis, the study of all issues of significant importance for the project, including economic, financial, technical, legal, implementation dates and possible alternatives, is considered, as a result of which detailed information is provided on the possibility of project implementation, as well as risks.

Economic justification is a mandatory element of the project, which is organically related to the provisions of the project and includes the following sections.

• General considerations of the feasibility and effectiveness of project development and implementation related to the economic and social development of the area.
• Compilation of territorial balances.
• Calculation of the volumes of housing-communal areas and cultural-community construction according to urban development norms and project.
• Calculation of volumes of buildings and structures according to building design standards and according to the project.
• Considering the area of the district, its planning structure and the uniqueness of the construction, which was formed before the emergence of modern norms and rules applied to new construction, it is necessary to propose compensation measures for its preservation, but under the condition of maintaining safety and sanitary norms.
• Calculations of construction costs; calculation of annual operating costs of buildings and facilities maintenance. To propose a system of distribution of costs of project implementation and further operation among all participants: residents, investors, municipality. To propose a promotion and incentive system for historic construction and environmental preservation.
• Calculation and analysis of technical and economic indicators of the project and evaluation of its effectiveness.

In the process of project feasibility evaluation, the criteria that deserve attention are:

1. impact on human capital;
2. the public importance of the proposed infrastructure, which evaluates the urgency and necessity of the implementation of the given project from the point of view of the provision of public services;
3. the compliance of the sectoral strategy, by which the direct, partial or indirect compliance of the given sectoral strategy project is assessed;
4. the riskiness of the project, which evaluates the actual recorded risks hindering the implementation of the project and their manageability;
5. the internal rate of economic profitability.

In the process of nominating a feasibility study, it is also important to consider the possibility of nominating a project implementation scheme in the format of public-private partnership provided by the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On State-Private Partnership".

Requirements presented to the 2nd Phase of the package

Requirements presented to the 2^nd Phase (The urban development environment’s reorganization proposal)

• Concept-explanatories,
• schemes
• diagrams,
• tables
• photos,
• panoramas-sketches;
• sectional sketches
• calculation-substantiations,
• management plans.

Text materials must be submitted:

• Electronically,
• On A4 format paper,
• In GHEA Grapalat font (for Armenian) and Times New Roman (for Russian and English), with 12 pt font size
• In A4 format, should not exceed 50 pages.

The graphic part of the presented package must be represented:

• On minimum 6, maximum 8 posters with a size of 700 × 1000 mm, with a resolution of 300 dpi,
• In Adobe Acrobat (PDF) և AutoCAD, ArchiCAD (DWG, DXF, IFC, BCF, etc.) vector- format.

Each poster should have a seven-digit identification code in the upper right corner. Identification code must be in Times New Roman Bold or another standard font, with 20 pt font size.

Digital materials should be named as follows, including identification code (ID). ID_DESIGN.PDF:

For example: graphic materials 1234567_DESIGN.PDF

Text materials: 1234567_DESCRIPTION.PDF

Each applicant must prepare an A4-sized information sheet naming it the seven-digit identification code (ID) of the proposal ID_INFO.PDF. The Information sheet must include the same seven-digit numbers, full name (s) of the author (s) of the proposal, the contact information, including postal code, telephone number, and e-mail address. The authors must indicate their share of work in percentage terms in the information sheet.

Include averaged value-indicators in the package justifying the economic analysis of the project’s feasibility.

All documents must be submitted in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, alltogether not exceeding 300 MB.

Final files must be submitted through one of these sites: WeTransfer, Dropbox, OneCloud. The availability of the offer packages must be at least 5 days after sending.

General provisions

The proposal must be sent to the official website of kond_info@minurban.am by entering an identification code (ID) consisting of seven digits in the title field. The information sheet must be attached to the letter, and the link to download the proposal should be placed in the text of the letter.

In case of technical problems, the organizers will contact the participant via the same e-mail address. After sending the proposal, you will receive a successful receipt confirmation.

The name (s) of the author (s), juridical and/or unofficial signatures must not be put on the submitted package. This data must be included in the information sheet only. Otherwise, the package will not participate in the competition.

Each author (author group) can submit one competition package only.

All submitted competition packages are the property of the organizer and are not subject to return.

All submitted competition packages are posted on the organizers electronic website and are subject to publication.

For questions or clarifications, please contact the the contact person with the mentioned link.

Requirements presented to the project staff

Requirements for the 2^nd phase

The requirements of the competition for the development of the historical-urban environment of Kond district and the architectural-urban concept design of tourism infrastructures are:

1) To base the project on the idea of maximum preservation and representation of the urban development identity and the objects of historical-architectural heritage of the environment in the best possible way.

2) The project-proposal must be submitted with the obligatory composition of drawings presented below, which can be supplemented with additional drawings or outlines, depending on the specifics of the project.

• Baseline plan.

1. Construction analysis according to the structures.

• Value,
• significance,
• function,
• technical condition;
• Taxation.

2. Coherence analysis of monument-buildings’ and historical environment’s protection and urban development elements being newly added
3. Analysis of the street network, with the definition of connections with the city and the outline of car-parking lots.
4. Analysis of the impact of adjacent constructions (of silhouettes, viewfields, etc.).
5. Definition of protection zones of the monuments and the separation of excavation zones.
6. Separation of reinforcement sections.
7. Analysis of the outline of public spaces.

• General Master plan,
• Outline of dislocation,
• Outline of public areas
• Street stretches with the best concept revelation.
• Incision within the district;
• Perspectives (three-dimensional images, episodes),
• Interiors, exteriors
• Concept-explanation (up to 20 pages) in Armenian.

The scale of the submitted drawings can be chosen by the participant, providing the legibility of the graphic material.

Competition fund

Participation in the competition is carried out on a free of charge basis.

The prize fund of the two-stage competition is 45 000.0 thousand. AMD:

Prize places of the 1st stage:

• 1-7 prizes.

An urban development-architectural sketch design competition (of the "2nd stage") is announced based on the selected 7 concepts.

Prize places of the 2nd stage:

• 1^st prize
• 2^nd prize
• 3^rd prize

Special jury awards (3 incentive prizes).

The jury is not obliged to allocate the entire prize fund, regardless of the number of nominations. The monetary reward includes the taxes that will later be levied from the amount.

The project having won the first prize is not subject to mandatory implementation.

Jury

Preliminary jury staff

The chairman of the jury is Hrachya Poghosyan - / architect /.

Hrachya POGHOSYAN
architect
Jury chairman

The list of jury members is currently being updated and will be published soon.

Baseline material package

You will receive a letter with the headline "KOND. Competition Package" on your e-mail, in which the link to the mentioned package will be placed. The competition package is trilingual. The following baseline materials are totally provided to the participants having gained permission to participate in the competition.

1. Competition announcement

2. Task

3. Historical remark

4. Topographic survey map,

5. Orthophotographic survey

6. Site boundaries,

7. The allocation plan and the list of both listed in the State monuments list as well as newfound monuments and their protection zones of Kond district;

8. Archive materials,

9. Archaeological materials,

10. Situational plan,

11. Cadastral measuring materials of the district / available /,

12. Site photos and videos,

13. Information on population.

For download materials please register

Goal

The aim of the competition is to select the best conceptual, urban development-architectural-planning solutions that reflect the identity peculiarities of the preserved ancient part of the city. The competition implementation will allow the talented architects, urban planners, historians, sociologists from all over the world to become co-authors of the revaluation of the vernacular district, to diversify the image of the city area, to promote the integration of the community’s principles of sustainable urban development being historically formed and having an ethnographic-archaeological value, to prevent the emigration of local residents, to increase the value of local real estate with minimal investments and interventions, to activate the local economy and tourism, to increase the service quality of architecture and infrastructures and to create workplaces, considering the interests of the population of Kond as a priority.

The goal of the Environmental Regeneration / Restoration Model Competition stage is to predict those methods of impact that are optimal for the preservation and development of this historic environment, the goal of which is not to destroy but to strengthen the methods of impact including the architectural decisions and actions that are far from being the first and the primary ones.

HISTORICAL REMARK

Urban originality is the symbolic and semantic capital of the city. The degree of expression of urban originality is conditioned with the level of self-awareness of the local population.

Kond/ A city within a city
The district of Kond gazes at the city from the north-western elevation. Some people think that Kond is the capital of Yerevan, others-that it is a city within a city. From the plane where the “city” walks Kond cannot be seen. Some beautiful and well-maintained private houses adjacent to the central and main streets caress the eye and dispel all the suspicions and assumptions that inside-somewhere deeper, there is a district with a semi-dilapidated houses leaning on each other with the previous century doors and too narrow but full of history streets.

Kond’s doors are a separate topic. It is said that once their colors were brighter from one another. There is nothing left from the colors now but every house-door and gate tells a living story. People live in this district for generations which is already a rare phenomenon in Yerevan. The first impression of the capital’s probably the one and only oldest district –having survived, depends on which of the many steps you will take to get there.

If you go up on Saryan street next to the Central post-office for instance, you’ll find yourself in a relatively fresh and new Kond. The locals call this part Kondaglukh (the central part of Kond) and a bit farther beyond the Central post-office the two narrow stairs- a few hundred meters apart from each other, take you to a completely other Kond.

The area of Kond district has been dwindled in recent years and compiles 16 hectars. Its borders are crossed by Paronyan, Leo and Saryan streets close to Hovhannes Tumanyan’s house-museum and go up the stairs leading to the House of Composers and Frik street then Paronyan Street including Saint Hovhannes church.

KOND’S DAILY LIFE

Many Kond stories are woven into stone or concrete benches adjacent to houses the abundance of which allows us to suppose that they enjoy great love among the people of Kond. It turns out that all such kind of benches are occupied during summer months: men of Kond play backgammon or cards on them and women discuss the latest news and events of the district over a cup of coffee. Local women can also often be seen near springs-located on almost every step. Although almost every house already has the opportunity to have an individual water-supply, the modernity of faucet springs in the district however has not decreased thereof.

As soon as the weather becomes warmer women do laundry here or rinse the coffee cups.

The houses situated adjacent to the territory of Dvin Hotel, as well as the residential house being built of black tuff from Leo street’s side represent a historical and architectural value in the area of Kond.

Kond occupies the western highlights of the city centre. It was named Kond because of its high location. The word “Kond” in Armenian means longitudinal or round hill. During the Persian domination the name of that district was changed and called “tapabash”, which is itself the translation of the word Kond. Kond has been one of the oldest districts of the city of Yerevan and simultaneously its historical core. It has been the most vibrant part of Yerevan which has become a kind of a museum district for the city passing through centuries. According to Russian researcher Ivan Chopin the borders of Kond have been more extensive in old Yerevan plan. Dzoragyugh, the Hrazdan canyon gardens and Dalma have also been included into Kond’s borders-from the other side the borders of Kond reached Berd. Kond’s exterier, the structure of the streets, the urban texture have reached us almost unchanged from the 18th century. They have been formed without architectural design-within a period of time.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Kond was only one of the three main districts of Yerevan to be located on a hill. Moreover, the district spread on the hill had both irrigation and drinking water. The Kond residents Ter-Grigoryans, the priest Grigor, his brothers and uncles sold their inherited house, and by these means in 1793 they used pipes to bring water from Getar -the area near the city with clean water, to the vestibule of St. John's Church. All the people of Kond used the clean water of the water supply system reaching the churchyard

The Kond district, perched on a hill at the top of the gorge, had a favorable position and a favorable climate at the highest point of the old town. The hill is irregularly surrounded by narrow and rugged streets. There were one or two storey houses on the top of the hill, the rich people lived at the foot of the hill. Later, Soviet streets were built on the footpart of Kond, where houses for intellectuals and artists were built instead of the "mansions" of the nobles.

Dzoragegh occupies the left bank of the Hrazdan River, the canyons that lie above the Victory Bridge. By the way, Dzoragegh also had its subdivisions: Verin or Karap district, Lower or Dzor district and Carbo district.

Dalma was famous for its fine grapes, the gardens of which were spread on the right bank of Hrazdan.

Berd (fortress), with which Kond was closely associated, had a special place in the image of Old Yerevan, it was built at the end of the sixteenth century. The fortress was the seat of Yerevan’s king Sardar. Berd itself was a small town, it had its population.

In time, Yerevan expanded including Kond, which spread to the lower parts.

Based on the testimonies of chroniclers, as well as the archeological and stony evidence that has survived up today, it can be concluded that Kond is of great archaeological interest.

In fact, there are archeological materials of at least 3 historical periods of Yerevan’s development in the territory of present-day Kond. Being the main impregnable hill of the center of Yerevan, Kond has been the only refuge for the population of the central part of the city for centuries.

In the 5th-6th centuries, during the division of Armenia between Byzantium and Persia, Kond was the last stronghold of Byzantine Armenia in the plain of the Hrazdan River, now a part of Yerevan.

There are reasonable doubts that this impregnable hill was used for defensive purposes much earlier than in the Byzantine period. A number of circumstances that have emerged as a result of professional consultations allow us to assume the possibility of the existence of historical layers of a much earlier period.

Among the antiquities preserved in Kond, The Church of St. John the Baptist, a very old monument, was destroyed during the great earthquake of 1679, but was restored in 1710.

The list of existing monuments is available on the baseline data page.

The second stage of the competition is now underway