old terminal, currently disused

location: 40.15247440323528, 44.39775475730143 

architects: Arthur Tarkhanyan, Spartak Khachikyan, Levon Cherkezyan, George Shekhlyan 

date: 1974–1980

The old Zvartnots terminal rises from the flat Ararat Plain, 12 kilometers west of Yerevan. Two concentric rings and a 61-meter tower stand out against the snow-capped silhouette of Mount Ararat. Travellers on a plane sometimes catch sight of another circle from the window of their plane: the ruined 7th-century Zvartnots Cathedral. So, in this space, medieval and contemporary Armenia share a single panorama.

Construction of Zvartnots Airport mostly took place during the tenure of Karen Demirchyan, the First Secretary of Soviet Armenia from 1974 to 1988 — an era marked by ambitious modernist architectural projects in Armenia. The winning airport design was selected in a two-stage competition in 1971–72. Initially, the architects proposed linear concourses. However, following visits by representatives from the civil aviation sector to the newly opened Cologne–Bonn and Frankfurt airports, it was decided that function should dictate shape. Thus, the new, two-ring design was adopted because it perfectly matched the flow of planes, passengers, and baggage.

These circular structures also paid homage to the nearby Zvartnots Cathedral (c. 643–652). Now a partially reconstructed ruin, the cathedral was once a three-tiered, centrally planned church with a round outer form. Its aisles and great drum once rose more than 40 meters high. Only foundations and carved capitals remain, yet its Armenian name, Զվարթնոց (Zvartnots, “Temple of the Vigilant Angels”), and its bold geometry offered a local precedent for structural beauty and clarity, which architects have now reimagined in concrete and glass. Demirchyan’s wife later recalled that he insisted the airport bear this name, replacing the initial working title, “Zapadnyi” (“Western” in Russian).

The airport project was developed by architects Arthur Tarkhanyan, Spartak Khachikyan, Levon Charkezian, and Georges Shekhlyan within Armgosproekt, the state design institute responsible for major public and infrastructure projects across the Armenian Soviet Republic. Sergey Bagdasaryan served as the chief structural engineer, and younger architects Arthur Meschyan and Haik Tigranyan participated at certain stages. The final airport configuration comprised two interlocking truncated cones: a 504-meter outer ring for departures with part of the façade cut by elevated roadways and a smaller inner cone for arrivals crowned by a central tower.

The geometry of the buildings was not only symmetrical but also profoundly functional. The outer ring was divided into seven micro-terminals, which could be reached by car or bus. This decentralized departures, cutting walking distances so that, overall, the terminals could process approximately 300 passengers per hour. The inner cone centralized arrivals and support areas. Passengers stepped down from glazed boarding bridges into a three-level arrivals hall containing a baggage claim area, a meeting lounge, a waiting zone, and a café. On top of the tower, a two-story round space offered a 360-degree view of the airfield. The control room was located below, and a restaurant faced Mount Ararat above.

The decoration was minimal. The volumes themselves served as the primary language. For example, the concrete ribs that made up the exterior of the building were exposed inside. Another type of decoration was material adaptation. The interior’s reinforced concrete was occasionally plastered or faced with stone. Alternating bands of warm and cool marble created subtle zones within the vast departure hall. The only deviation from the minimalist design was the incorporation of abstract flight motifs, rendered in stained glass and crafted by the sculptor Mkrtich Mazmanyan, which served to seal the two cut ends of the outer ring.

The terminal opened in 1980. A twin facility was once planned but never built. In response to 21st-century safety and capacity demands, a new glass-walled terminal with a more conventional linear layout was developed from the mid-2000s and fully opened in 2011, shifting airport operations away from the original circular building. Since then, several adaptive reuse proposals have been discussed, including initiatives involving Georges Shekhlyan, one of the co-architects of the 1980 terminal. Yet the building remains without protected heritage status, and the investment required to adapt it to contemporary airport standards has kept demolition debates alive. The Tarkhanyan Center’s design concept, presented through a 3D animation below, offers an alternative vision: a revitalized Zvartnots terminal that could combine renewed functionality with respect for the building’s original architectural character.

Sources and Further Reading

Balyan, Karen. Аэропорт Звартноц [Zvartnots Airport]. Yekaterinburg, 2016.

Balyan, Karen. Артур Тарханян, Спартак Хачикян, Грачья Погосян [Artur Tarkhanyan, Spartak Khachikyan, Hrachya Poghosyan]. Yekaterinburg, 2012.

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text by Elena Lisitsyna