“Housing fund is in a devastating state”
Although today construction norms are more or less maintained, there are still flaws, especially in the disaster zone," President of the Union of Architects of Armenia Mkrtich Minasyan told "A1+". He emphasized that there are exceptional places at risk which are included as green zones in the main plan, but are under construction.
"In the given places there are buildings which have been preserved due to high quality. That sometimes lets people build similar structures, though they should avoid doing that," says Mkrtich Minasyan, adding that the only hope is that buildings in the cities devastated by the earthquake are built with 4 stories, which is a mandatory norm.
As far as Yerevan is concerned, according to Minasyan, the only main issue is the inadmissible density of buildings. According to Minasyan, in case of an earthquake, the quality of the newly built buildings and even the low level stories will not save the city from the devastating consequences.
"In case of an earthquake, the buildings built with such density will make it hard for rescuers to pass and will lead to great losses," says the architect. Minasyan brought up the examples of the Main and Northern Avenues which the Union of Architects had warned the corresponding bodies about several times. Even in this case, Minasyan sees a way out. He calls on all builders to go along with the construction plan and resist the temptation of adding more stories.
Nevertheless, the main issue facing Armenia remains the housing fund inherited from the Soviet era which can be used for a reasonable timeframe of 50 years. According to Minasyan, they can stay longer if they are well-preserved.
"Attics are currently being built on those poorly constructed buildings and they cause a danger for all residents. In addition, the foundations of the buildings are being destroyed due to intervention and water flow. The housing fund is in a devastating state," warns Mkrtich Minasyan, adding that if Armenians want to preserve the housing fund, they shouldn't make changes in the structure of buildings or add more structures.
