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Kharatian Center for the Performing Arts
By : NEUF + Storaket
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Other categories in architecture / Concept & Unbuilt : Platinum Winner
Built in the Soviet era in 1926 and severely damaged by a major earthquake in 1988, the only remains of the Sevyan Cultural Center still standing were its neoclassical facades. A project initiated by the Ballet 2021 Foundation in 2018 proposed its rehabilitation under a new name and vision, the Kharatian Performing Arts Center.
A primary objective of the project is to strengthen Armenia’s cultural dialogue with the global art scene by providing Gyumri, its cultural capital, with a lively place that welcomes the world through an innovative and multidisciplinary school. It intends to make the site a node of physical connection that bridges separate points of the urban fabric but also of social connection between people, across borders and cultures.
To maintain a link between the old and the new, a parametrically designed geometric volume is inserted inside the preserved stone facade. The largest, an ovoid in shape, houses a state-of-the-art performance hall for 500 people. The historic entrance is maintained and enhanced by a stone parvis, which links the center and its community. The adjoining gardens have been redesigned to allow passersby to catch a glimpse of the vibrant creativity from the outside.
By seizing the opportunity to breathe new life into an abandoned building still in ruin, the Kharatian Performing Arts Center inspires dreams about future possibilities and celebrates their very real, positive impacts on the cultural, economic, and social situation while reactivating a major piece of built heritage in the country’s history.
Collaboration
