Vartan Hovanessian (; Persian:وارطان هوانسیان , 1896 in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

– 1982 in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

) was an Iranian Armenian

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 ...

and leading figure in architectural practice and philosophy. He was born in Tabriz. After high school graduation, he developed an interest in design and worked as a carpet designer in a German-owned carpet-weaving workshop in Tabriz before moving to

, where he began a career of teaching. By the end of World War One, he took a trip to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to study painting in a school for fine arts, but shifted, after a while, to architecture. He studied architecture in

École Spéciale d'Architecture The École spéciale d'architecture (ÉSA; formerly École centrale d'architecture) is a private school for architecture at 254, boulevard Raspail in Paris, France. The diploma from the École spéciale d'architecture (DESA), recognized by the St ...

of Paris. Holding a degree in architecture, he returned home after 17 years and worked notably in the fields of civil engineering and building architecture. He always preferred the title, "Architect Vartan". He, Aka Architect Vartan, stood out as a prolific and well-known designer of his time and made prominent constructions like "Ferdowsi Hotel", "Central Building of Sepah Bank", and "Sa'ad Abad Royal Palace". His architectural triumph included the construction of several movie halls including the "Metropol" and "Diana" movie-theaters. He died in 1982.

Projects

Some his notable projects are: * Metropol movie-theaters * Diana movie-theaters * Ferdowsi Hotel * Darband Hotel * Guest House of Tehran Railroad * Central Building of Sepah Bank and its Isfahan Branch * Shahreza Apartments * Sa'ad Abad Royal Palace * Jeep Building * Girls’ Vocational School of Tehran

Publications

His name frequently appeared on different magazines, including
The Architect
which had been published in Iran. Later, he founded the magazine, “The New Architecture” in Tehran.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hovanessian, Vartan Ethnic Armenian architects People from Tabriz Iranian people of Armenian descent 1896 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Iranian architects