POLYLINE

Օne of Yerevan’s most distinctive historic neighbourhoods. The project was driven by a central question: how can Kond preserve its identity while continuing to evolve as a living part of the contemporary city?

Our approach began with understanding the neighbourhood before proposing interventions. We conducted a comprehensive field survey, documenting the area building by building, street by street, and courtyard by courtyard. The study examined building condition, height, use, function, occupancy and vacancy, along with other spatial and contextual characteristics.

The collected data was then translated into a series of thematic maps, allowing us to understand Kond as an interconnected urban system rather than a collection of individual buildings. This process revealed its existing challenges, valuable historical layers and potential areas for intervention, providing an evidence-based foundation for the design strategy.

Based on this analysis, we developed a new zoning and spatial organisation strategy that works with the existing urban fabric rather than replacing it. The proposal seeks to preserve the elements that define Kond’s identity — its characteristic street network, courtyards, human scale, spatial relationships and distinctive atmosphere — while introducing opportunities for new functions and development.

A key principle was to ensure that Kond does not become a museum frozen in time. Instead, we envisioned it as a living urban organism, where historical layers can coexist with contemporary needs and new layers can evolve naturally over time.

To support this approach, the project also proposed a framework of preservation and adaptive reuse guidelines, providing principles for restoration, reuse, renovation and carefully integrated new interventions.

Ultimately, the proposal was not about rebuilding Kond, but about establishing a balance between preservation and development — protecting what gives the neighbourhood its character while creating the conditions for it to continue living, adapting and evolving.

Team

Restoration and Preservation Architects

Lusine Martirosyan, Ruzanna Mkrtchyan

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