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 ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

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 (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian House of Romanov, imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the Pushkin, Saint Peter ...

, 1911–1912; the house of Prince S. A. Scherbatov in Novinski Boulevard in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, 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 (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics ...

(1925–1936), sponsored the construction industry, designed the layouts of towns and villages including Leninakan (now Gyumri) (1925),

Stepanakert Stepanakert officially Khankendi is a city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in ...

(1926), Nor-Bayazet (now Gavar) and Ahta-ahpara (both in 1927),

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( ) is the 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is commonly known as Ejmiatsin ...

(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 maternal granddaughter to architect Nicholas Benois. 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’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 * Shcherbatov apartment house – Novinsky Boulevard – 1911–1913

Projects

Tamanian also designed the layout of many towns and cities in Armenia, such as: *

** Nor Arabkir town ** Nubarashen, 1926 * Ejmiatsin *

, 1926

Notes

References

* Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia, 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