BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
Text by Gayane Abrahamyan; Photos by Anahit Hayrapetyan
11/21/07
In the last five years, central Yerevan has been transformed into a vast construction site, with cranes seemingly outnumbering trees. Officially, the scores of multi-storied buildings are part of large-scale urban planning projects. Experts, however, assert that many of the new edifices violate urban planning and earthquake safety requirements.
The newly built or semi-built high-rise buildings dot nearly every street in central Yerevan, often squeezed in alongside much older structures. Roughly $1.8 billion was spent on such construction in 2006, according to the national statistical service. Prices for downtown apartments have increased by about ten times over the last decade, realtors say.
The construction boom is an ongoing cause for controversy among Yerevan residents. Some are happy that the city is getting an updated look, while others complain about the loss of old Yerevan and the overabundance of buildings.
Architects of Armenia Union Chairman Mkrtich Minasian contends that the entrepreneurs responsible for putting up these new apartment blocks, hotels and office buildings are destroying Yerevan’s nearly 2,800-year-old history. Urban planning in Yerevan, he argues, amounts to "[E]verybody builds whatever he wants, wherever he wants."
"Look, this building goes beyond the line of the pavement area and crosses the ‘red line’ of the street!" fumes Minasian, pointing at one structure. "You should be blind not to see that there can’t be so many buildings built up so close to each other in a small city, where earthquakes may happen any moment!"
In the last three years, about nine 19th century buildings have been destroyed and replaced by high-rises of up to 15 stories, according to the Ministry of Culture. Former senior architect of Yerevan Narek Sargsyan says that the transition from old to new is simply part of the city’s evolution: "It’s a natural development."
However, this "natural development" worries some seismologists, who question the quality of the new buildings. Frequently, they say, the structures do not meet seismic safety requirements. Moreover, their density in the city may hinder rescue operations in case of a disaster.
"Nothing will be left of Yerevan if a seven-magnitude earthquake strikes," warned Armenian Association for Earthquake Engineering Chairman Mikayel Melkumian. "There will be about 300,000 casualties. Eighty percent of the buildings will collapse."
After the 1988 earthquake in northern Armenia that killed some 25,000 people, seismologists estimated that the country could experience earthquakes of 9 and above on the Richter scale.
Alvaro Antonian, president of the National Survey for Seismic Protection (NSSP), shares the concerns. "Those who build have either forgotten the 1988 earthquake, or the profits from construction have made them blind. We don’t try to resist earthquakes," Antonian said.
Yerevan is within the area of the largest seismic risk, Antonian said, adding that city construction requirements do not include a seismic safety examination.
"It’s bad enough as it is, as about 40 percent of the residential buildings built in Soviet times are in inadequate condition," commented Gurgen Amalian, head of the NSSP’s department for buildings’ seismic safety. "Those that are built now are beyond supervision, and we lack any leverage for controlling their seismic safety."
Architects, however, say that building materials used nowadays are of much higher quality than in Soviet times and are durable. They instead point to hastiness in building and a zeal to earn money as the real problems.
A design approved for a 10-story building may gain a few more stories "when they see they have a buyer," elaborated Architects of Armenia Union Chairman Minasian. One building on Yerevan’s Northern Avenue, a downtown location not far from the city’s Opera House, went from five stories to nine to 10, without inspection of whether the structure could carry the weight of the extra levels, he added.
Yet the Yerevan city government, which carries primary responsibility for construction permits, asserts the projects meet all requirements.
Yerevan senior architect Samvel Danielian told EurasiaNet that "most of the construction" will now be done in accordance with a new citywide construction plan, approved in late 2005. The lack of such a plan previously accounts for past violations, he added.
One real estate agency director, however, says that apartment buyers still cannot receive technical overviews of residential buildings’ earthquake-readiness when they opt to buy a flat. "[N]either the old nor the new buildings have seismic safety descriptions," said Vruyr Penesian.
The city government and the authors of Yerevan’s construction plan, though, call the blueprint "environmental," asserting that the capital’s amount of parks and greenery will increase in the next 15 years.
Environmental activists, worried by increased dust levels, see little cause for reassurance. "The new plan simply has indicated places for green areas," commented former Minister of Environental Protection Karine Danielyan, chaiwoman of the non-governmental organization For Sustainable Human Development. "There are places where green is supposed to be, but there are huge multi-storied buildings there. Are they going to dismantle them to plant trees?"
More than 9,000 trees got the axe to erect the Golden Palace hotel in one of the city’s major parks, according to Greens’ Union of Armenia Chairman Hakob Sanasarian.
Gurgen Musheghian, the lead author of Yerevan’s new master construction plans, concedes that the Armenian capital is "suffocating," but argues that restoring trees in the city’s parks is still possible.
"The cafes there are light structures, in areas that are leased to them, so it is possible to take them back to plant greenery," concluded Musheghian.
Editor’s Note: Gayane Abrahamyan is a reporter for the independent online ArmeniaNow weekly in Yerevan. Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photographer in Yerevan.
