Yerevan International Hotel

Yerevan International Hotel & Business Center

Architect: Arel Architects Group

Supervisor: Golnaz Ghanean

Architect in charge: Emad Kashfi

Design team: Reza Eslami, Leila Niknam

Location: Yerevan, Armenia

Status: Competition - Finalist

Year: 2009

Due to the prominent location and dominating position of the project, both architectural and urban design were taken into account. While the hotel presents itself as an architectural landmark for the whole city, yet it attracts people to the complex. Designing the landscape as a plaza makes the project more like part of the city rather than just an architectural element. Along the promenade it develops out of the ground into a wall cable roof landscape. In some parts the roof is an artificial landscape with scenic routes, green gardens and topographic lines. The upright surfaces join into horizontally oriented platforms forming a multi-functional stage. These platforms are joined by three routs of non-axial stairs reaching the upper surface and leading to the open amphitheater and other spaces in the site, yet leaving the option of elevators for direct access to the complex. The cubic elements intersecting with the platforms frame the green emphasizing on green architecture. The combination of the non-axial stairs, platforms and the cubic frames makes the plaza a maze or twist for people urging the user to explore it. Due to the above material, the plaza works as a maze-looking vertical metropolitan space interconnecting the city and the project,inviting people inside.