Zaruhi Martirosyan graduated from the Master's course at the Peter Behrens School of Architecture at Fachhochschule Düsseldorf.
Three months are given to complete the thesis at the Behrens School; the topic and the lead teacher can be chosen by the student, or they can be appointed by the school. The student must defend the chosen topic by proving to the commission that he is able to cope with the task (get the necessary drawings, establish contacts with people who can advise him, provide the necessary materials, etc.).
The choice of the professor determines what the project will focus on: for some teachers, the most important is the artistic side, for others - the design, for the third - the environmental aspect.
Intermediate views of the thesis (m idterm review) are always valuable, where a student must present his project to professors of the Faculty of Architecture and his fellow students in a short time and receive useful criticism in return.
The main role in the completion of the diploma is played by the student's independent work. In this case, the professor is only an observer and advisor, and the decision - to listen to the professor or not - is up to each student himself. It is believed that by the time the job is handed over, the graduate has sufficient experience to work independently.
Visitor center and design of a human movement path in the city of Ani in Turkey
Ani is one of the impressive cities of the Middle Ages, a political, cultural and economic center, the former capital of Armenia. Today, devastated and abandoned, it is located in Turkey.
The assignment for the graduation project consists of two parts: designing a center for visitors and researchers from several buildings and organizing a route for tourists in the city.
Annually, Ani is visited by many people from different countries of the world, so a visitor center is needed there. In Ani, there is a constant risk of destruction of buildings and the loss of one of the greatest creations of Armenian and world architecture. Ani is included in the UNESCO list of endangered monuments. The new research center could provide new opportunities for researching architectural monuments in the city, discovering new values and methods for preserving the ruins.
The history of the city can be divided into 6 stages ("Founding", "Time of flourishing", "Decline", "Oblivion", "Discovery", "Modernity"). The "foundation" begins in the 5th century AD, when the city was founded by the Kamaskaran dynasty. From X to XIII centuries. it was “The Time of Prosperity”: Ani was proclaimed the capital of Armenia. At the end of the XIII century. Ani came under the rule of the Turks. In 1319 there was a strong earthquake, from which the city suffered greatly. After that a new period began, "Decline", which lasted until the end of the 15th century. "Oblivion" lasted more than 400 years - from the 15th to the end of the 19th century. The city was rediscovered by Nikolai Marr at the end of the 19th century, when this territory passed to Russia. At the same time, the first extensive archaeological excavations were carried out. After the First World War, Ani was again transferred to Turkey. Until recently, Ani was in a militarized zone and it was forbidden to visit it, but now the city is open to tourists and researchers.
Currently, Ani is approached by a road passing through the poor, seedy village of Osakli. The project proposes the implementation of an approach along an alternative path that runs through an open area. Thus, the visitor perceives the city in the middle of free space, without any influence of the dilapidated buildings of Osakli. The first thing a traveler sees is an observation tower, part of a complex of buildings that also includes a research building, a visitor center and a carport. Under a canopy, in a parking lot, which is located 2 m below the surface of the earth, a person can leave his car and go directly to the visitor center or climb the tower. The tower offers a unique view of the city and landscape. The windows of the tower are made in such a way that the observer can see various panoramas: landscape, mountains and the city of Ani itself.
After that, the traveler can visit the city itself, which should be perceived freely, without any restrictions. New elements from the same material - corten steel - have been introduced into its infrastructure. Among them there is an observation platform, a city block, a bridge, plates with information, a storage system, and a sun protection element.
The new bridge is located on the site of the old, only bridge across the Akhuryan River. Here, a platform is integrated into the ruin of the bridge, which partially hangs in the air over the Akhuryan River and the border between the two countries. A bridge has been designed over the city block, passing over it. From the bridge, the visitor has a view of the quarter, and he can inspect the historical buildings without harming them.
The observation platform, partially suspended in the air, is the last stop on the visitor's path. Inside there is a toilet and a cafe, and outside there is a beautiful view of Armenia.
The information boards are arranged horizontally so as not to spoil the view of the historical monuments of the city.
The next element is the storage system, which is located near the important buildings of the city. It was created on the principle of cabinets, in which fragments of the monument are placed, next to which this system is located. This is done so that it is impossible to steal stones from Ani.
The sun protection element is the simplest form of post-beam system.
The designed objects and elements do not seem like foreign inclusions, but are harmoniously integrated into the urban environment.
The center for visitors and explorers is located outside the city walls, in the lowlands. However, some of the buildings in this complex are low in height so that they remain invisible even when viewed from the highest point of the city. Thus, the project achieves a sense of the fusion of architecture and landscape. The top of the roof of the research center is at 2 m, and the roof of the visitor center - the museum - at 3 m. Both buildings have the same ground floor level (-1.5 m above ground level) and are connected by a courtyard. The yard has only a technical function - unloading and unloading things or products, replacing exhibits, etc.
The 2-story research center has a courtyard that allows sunlight to enter the building's lower, underground tier.
When a visitor leaves his car in the garage, from there he can go up the ramp leading up - directly opposite him is the Visitor Center - a museum.
On the ground floor of the museum there is a cafe, a shop, a lobby with an information point, toilets and a media exhibition. On the underground level there are exhibits in showcases.
The arrangement of the premises in the museum reflects the history of the city of Ani. Inspection route on the ground floor - A path that tells the history of the city of Ani, a kind of "travel in time". This Path is made of corten steel, on which the most important events and dates from history are engraved. There are various rooms along the Way where the film is shown. Each hall symbolizes a certain stage in history. Thus, a person moves from “Foundation” to “Modernity”.
There are no exhibits in the halls dedicated to the "Decline" and "Oblivion" periods, because practically nothing has survived from that time, so the space itself serves as an exhibit here.
There are openings in the ceilings of the first floor through which sunlight enters the museum. Holes are also made in the floor of the first floor, through which the visitor can see the exhibits located below: archaeological finds made at different times in Ani are exhibited there. The underground floor is connected to the tower by a walkway.
The visitor center is also accessible to people with disabilities: using the ramp in front of the main entrance, a visitor traveling in a wheelchair can get to the center. The museum itself has an elevator that will allow him to navigate the floors of the building.
The design of the museum is well demonstrated with the help of the layout. The roof of the building rests on the volumes of the exhibition halls. The roof structure consists of precast concrete and a network of steel girders. The overlap between the first and underground floors is made of monolithic reinforced concrete.
Summing up, we can say that in this project it was important for me to integrate the building of the complex into the surrounding landscape as much as possible, and I tried to make the building almost “invisible” so as not to spoil the view of the city walls of Ani. It was also impossible to leave unnoticed Anya's rich history, and therefore I included her in the concept of the media exhibition.
