Brutalism in Yerevan

Yerevan's Soviet modernism has a strongly national character, built in the pink and grey tuff stone and raw concrete of the Armenian highlands. Artur Tarkhanyan was central to this scene, co-designing the Cinema Russia with its sweeping paired shells, the Hamalir sports and concert complex, and the Zvartnots airport terminal. Jim Torosyan shaped public spaces across the city, including the Cascade complex that now houses the Cafesjian Centre for the Arts, and metro stations like Yeritasardakan with its angled concrete light funnel. Spartak Khachikyan worked on the Tigran Petrosyan Chess House, a reminder of chess's official standing in Armenian culture. The result is a modernism that reads as distinctly Armenian rather than generically Soviet.