Museum of memory of 1988 earthquake victims in Armenia

Project idea

The design area of this project is located in the city of Gyumri, Armenia, where a devastating earthquake occurred at 11: 41 a.m. on December 7, 1988, killing 25,000 people. A series of aftershocks in 30 seconds almost destroyed the city of Spitak and caused severe damage to the cities of Gyumri, Vanadzor and Stepanavan. In total, 21 cities and 350 villages were affected by the disaster. This concept project was created in order to preserve the memory of the victims and survivors of such a terrible tragedy. The project is also a call that Armenia needs an earthquake Museum.

Project description

The building is designed as a sloping tower, which will become the dominant feature in the city of Gyumri and will be viewed from all points of the city. The tower is submerged in the ground at 31 m, which symbolizes the rubble left after the earthquake, and at 41 m it extends to the height, which indicates the infinite and unyielding will and endurance of the Armenian people. The exhibition halls on the upper floors will be filled with information about those people who did everything to save people who were left under the rubble and lost everything. About such heroes as Charles Aznavour, Nikolai Ryzhkov and many others.
In the exhibition halls in the underground part of the Museum, information about the thousands of tragic fates of people who survived this disaster will be presented. In addition, the underground rooms are designed to convey the feelings of impassability and destruction that people felt when they lay for weeks under a huge building structure in complete darkness and silence.
The visitor to the Museum will have 2 ways of passing the expositions. The first path is the path from light to darkness, the path of the rescuer. The second path is the path from darkness to light, the path of an earthquake victim.

Technical information

The building is made in the form of a monolithic structure made of reinforced concrete. The facade is lined with volcanic tuff of various shades, which is common in Armenia. At the -5.400 level, there are all the necessary facilities for the functioning of the Museum, such as: storage of funds, restoration workshops, administrative and technical rooms, ventilation chambers, and others. The plot area is 9 500 m2. The building area is 4 190 m2. Landscaping area is 2 450 m2. The paving area is 1 960 m2. Asphalt surface area is 900 m2.