Alexander Tamanian
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Alexander Tamanian (, March 4, 1878 – February 20, 1936) was a Russian-born Armenian neoclassical
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, well known for his work in the city of
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...
.


Life and work

Tamanian was born in the city of Yekaterinodar in 1878 in the family of a banker. He graduated from the St Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1904. His works portrayed sensitive and artistic neoclassical trends popular in those years. Some of his early works included the mansion of V. P. Kochubei in
Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the c ...
, 1911–1912; the house of Prince S. A. Scherbatov in Novinski Boulevard in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, 1911–1913; the village railway employees housing and the tuberculosis sanatorium at the Prozorovskaya station (now Kratovo) near Moscow, 1913–1923; central workshops of Kazan railway in Lyubertsy, 1916). He became an Academician of Architecture in 1914, in 1917 he was elected as the Vice-President of the Academy of Arts. In 1923 he moved to Yerevan, heading the new construction effort in the republic. He was the chief engineer of the local Council of People's Commissars and was a member of the CEC of the
Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...
(1925–1936), sponsored the construction industry, designed the layouts of towns and villages including
Leninakan Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
(now Gyumri) (1925), Stepanakert (1926), Nor-Bayazet (now Gavar) and Ahta-ahpara (both in 1927), Echmiadzin (1927–1928), and others. Tamanian created the first general plan of the modern city of Yerevan which was approved in 1924. Tamanian's style was instrumental in transforming what was essentially a small provincial city into the modern Armenian capital, a major industrial and cultural center. Neoclassicism dominated his designs but Tamanian also implemented a national flavor (red linings of tuff, traditional decorative carvings on stone etc.). Among his most famous designs in Yerevan are the hydroelectric station (ERGES-1, 1926), the Opera and Ballet house named after A. Spendiarian (1926–1953), the Republic Square (1926–1941) and others. He also played a major role in the development of restoration projects of historical landmarks in the country, chairing the Committee for the Protection of Historic Monuments in Armenia. Tamanian was married to Camilla Edwards, a member of the
Benois family The Benois family was a family of prominent 19th- and 20th-century Russian artists, musicians and architects, descended from French confectioner Louis Jules (Leonty Nikolaevich) Benois (1770/1772?-1822), cook-confectioner to the Duke of Montmorenc ...
. Their sons Gevorg (Georgi) and Yulius Tamanian also became noted architects and continued their father's work. Tamanian died in Yerevan on February 20, 1936 and is buried at the Komitas Pantheon which is located in the city center of Yerevan.Tamanian's memorial tombstone at Komitas Pantheon
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Buildings

*
Aghasi Khanjian Aghasi Ghevondi Khanjian ( hy, Աղասի Ղևոնդի Խանջյան; russian: Агаси Гевондович Ханджян, ''Agasi Gevondovich Khandzhyan'') (January 30, 1901 – July 9, 1936) was First Secretary of the Communist Party ...
’s mansion, Hrazdan River gorge – 1920s *Andrei Sakharov Square – 1924 – Nalbandyan St., Pushkin St., Vardanants St. *Freedom Square – Mashtots Av., Teryan St., Sayat-Nova St. – 1924-1939 * Republic Square – 1926-1977 *University Observatory - Student Park (between Abovyan and Teryan streets) – 1926 *First Hydroelectric Power Plant – Left bank of Hrazdan River – 1926 * State Medical University – Koryun St. – 1927-1955 *Institute of Zoology and Veterinary – Nalbandyan St. – 1928 *Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology – Abovyan St. – 1929 *Institute of Physiotherapy – Abovyan St. – 1930, 1932, 1939 * Engineering University - Teryan St. – 1932, 1935 *University of Architecture and Construction – Teryan St. – 1935 *Children's Hospital – Abovyan St. – 1939 * National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre – Freedom Square – 1933, 1940, 1953 * Government House – Republic Square – 1941, 1952


Projects

Tamanian also designed the layout of many towns and cities in Armenia, such as: *
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...
** Nor Arabkir town **
Nubarashen Nubarashen ( hy, Նուբարաշեն վարչական շրջան, translit=Nubarashen Varchagan Shrchan), is one of the 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It is situated at the southeastern part of the city. It is bordered by Shen ...
, 1926 * Ejmiatsin * Stepanakert, 1926


Notes


References

*
Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( hy, Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան, ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) publishing house was established in 1967 as a department of the Institute of History of the Armen ...
, v. 1, 1974 Yerevan {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamanian, Alexander Ethnic Armenian architects Russian people of Armenian descent Architects from the Russian Empire Soviet architects People from Krasnodar 1878 births 1936 deaths Burials at the Komitas Pantheon 20th-century Armenian architects