Behind the Wall | Public Space Concept Proposal
Yerevan | Armenia |
2020 |
4800.00sqm
Concept design
Cultural Public Buildings Master Plan Landscape Architecture
Credits | Karen Berberyan | Armen Hakobyan | Vardan Kilichyan | TL Bureau
In today’s connected and globalized world, cities compete for the most important asset of the future - young minds. Their geographic attachment is weaker and their mobility enhanced; new factors have come to the forefront to determine their choice of place of residence and work. The most effective tool for attracting the younger generation to a city (and for retaining those that may consider leaving) is a good urban environment, its accessibility and safety, comfort, and intensity. Public spaces, parks, properly planned streets promote financial stability by attracting economically active population. In other words, the better the city uses every inch of its territory, the more success it garners. This effect is especially noticeable when the most valuable territory - the city center – is considered.
Behind the wall, a collaborative initiative of TL Bureau and Tarberak Architectural Studios, aims to reveal such opportunities in Yerevan, identify specific sites with greatest potential, and investigate the possibility of their development at modest financial cost.
Construction of Cascade broke the integrity of the “social lines” on the hillside where it is located. While serving as powerful public space in Yerevan, an urban magnet, and an important vertical link between the small center and the “upper” city districts, Cascade has disrupted the horizontal connections of several streets and virtually ceased their development. At the same time, Cascade in its present form has almost reached the peak of its own evolution; the space around it, all the way up, is occupied only by private households and generates almost nothing for the city.
To restore the connections, the Cascade area needs comfortable, illuminated slopes, stairs and ramps - this is already enough for business activity to propagate from Cascade deep into the surrounding neighborhoods.
It will also help to bring together multiple cultural sites of the area into a single canvas. Between Matenadaran and Cascade (and in their immediate proximity) there are museums, theaters, and an art academy. In addition, the territory of the former residence of the President of Armenia (now a Government office building) includes - locked behind a WALL - a green zone, which could serve as an excellent public space, a discussion platform for lectures and open film screenings, a park for city center residents and tourists, an information center for museums (possibly, with a shared museum box office), a creativity park for students of the art academy.
With our project, we propose to remove the wall, return the green zone to the city, and create a new community center there.
By linking Cascade, the adjacent streets, and Matenadaran into a single public space with high-quality urban environment, Yerevan will gain a new community center, new connections, the ability to grow the capacity for investments and economic development, as well as tourism development. Last but not least, the city will become more attractive for its own residents.