HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

1937

State index: 1.6.178.2

Architects: Gevorg Kochar, Mikael Mazmanyan, Hovhannes Margaryan, Arsen Aharonyan

The department store is situated at the corner of the intersection of Abovyan and Aram (formerly Spandaryan) Streets, at Aram Street 32. Its plan and volume-spatial configuration are determined by its prominent corner location. Construction commenced in 1935 and the building was commissioned in January 1937.

This three-story building features a main entrance at the corner, highlighted by an open portico. Additional entrances are located on the side facades. A high volume with columns, adorned with cube-shaped capitals, sits atop the colonnade. The side facades, extending along the streets, are articulated with masonry columns and large window openings.

The interior space exhibits a clear plan, with spacious, high-ceilinged, colonnaded halls on each of the three floors, connected by central corridors. An eaves cornice runs along the perimeter of the building. The first floor on the Abovyan Street side housed a grocery store (gastronome). The structure has a reinforced concrete frame, reinforced concrete roofs, and midis lining.

The building materials include shale stone, gray basalt, marble, and glass. Until the 1980s, it served as the city’s central department store. Following an expansion in the 1980s, it operated as the “Children’s World” department store, with the project authored by Oleg Shokarev of the Yerevan Project Institute.

The building experienced two fires, in 1956 and 1995. In 2002-2003, a new project was developed by the “Army Project” institute, aiming to reconstruct the facades on Abovyan and Aram streets, though the work remains unfinished.

The “Children's world (central) department store” building is one of the most architecturally intriguing structures in Yerevan. It clearly reflects the main trends of the late period of functionalism (1930s), where functionalist elements are harmoniously combined with national forms.

“Scientific Research Centre of Historical and Cultural Heritage” SNCO

Yerevan Municipality