Former head of Armenia’s Cadastre Committee, architect Sarhat Petrosyan, criticized the transformation of Yerevan’s historical districts in a Facebook post. He wrote that the redevelopment of the Firdusi neighborhood, which he calls “North Avenue 2.0,” is nearly complete, and that Kond could be next — “maybe under the name of Western Avenue.”
He argued that since 1999, many controversial projects have been justified in the name of architect Alexander Tamanyan’s vision, including demolitions of heritage sites. According to him, the destruction of Firdusi in 2019–2020 was personally initiated by then–Deputy Prime Minister, now Mayor Tigran Avinyan, amid alleged business interests.
Petrosyan accused the authorities of pushing through the Firdusi project under the “South Avenue” label, saying it carries the same anti-heritage and anti-architectural imprint as North Avenue. He also warned that officials are now eyeing Kond for similar redevelopment.
He singled out figures such as former Yerevan chief architect Narek Sargsyan and former Urban Development Committee chairman Avetik Eloyan, accusing them of negligence and opportunism in heritage protection.
Petrosyan lamented that professional circles remain largely silent out of loyalty or convenience: “Yerevan will become even more uninteresting, and we’ll be left discussing the aesthetics of yet another graffiti in the city center.”
