Newmag and Hasratyan-Minasyan Foundation Published a Monograph about Architect Phoenix Darbinyan (trailer in Armenian)

After the death of Phoenix Darbinyan, professor Karen Balyan published an article about the architect entitled " The architect who gave a smile to the city". The article was about the fountain in Khanjyan Street Park, the last major work of the Master. Eventually, the title of the article became the title of the book.

Due to the national awakening of the 1960s, the avant-garde of Armenian architecture was established. Phoenix Darbinyan was the head of the group. He was one of the main figures among the masters of the glorious generation of Armenian modernism.

            

Phoenix Darbinyan's rich creative path began with a water fountain, a small student project, and ended with the construction of the Great Fountain beautifying Yerevan. The first building was "Ani" hotel, the last one was the building of the Metro department. The idea to build a metro station belonged to Grigor Hasratyan. Eventually, Darbinyan designed Barekamutyun station. It was named Barekamutyun, because at that time Baghramyan Avenue was called Barekamutyun.

In the early 1950s, Kievyan, considered a suburb of Yerevan, became a central street in a few years. Phoenix Darbinyan was an essential participant of the large project, which reconstructed Kievyan.The work with metal has become a unique feature for him, which helped Phoenix Darbinyan to stand out among his colleagues, the Armenian modernists.

       

Darbinyan was very versatile in his profession. He mastered the art of building from stone and concrete, masterfully used the flexibility of metal, mastered the poetics of the simple language of modernism. Yerevan was Phoenix Darbinyan's working space and he constructed it beautifully. He has become one of the key figures in Grigor Hasratyan’s great idea - the “Project-2750”. The Ani hotel has become one of the symbols of the Project-2750. 

The hotel was named after the old capital, when there was almost no talk of Western Armenia. That year "Ani" was recognized as the best building in the USSR. The presentation of Karen Balyan’s book will be held in “Ani” hotel. Professor Karen Balyan visited Yerevan specially to participate in the book presentation.