Anna Ter-Avetikjan

Anna Tigranowna Ter-Awetikjan ( Armenian Աննա Տեր-Ավետիքյան , Russian Анна Тер Аветикян ; born September 27 ^{. Jul} / 10 October 1908 ^greg. In Yerevan , government Yerevan , Russian Empire ; d. 16 Jan. 2013 in Yerevan, Republic of Armenia ) was the first female Armenian architect. She designed many important structures and received several national awards for her work.

Childhood and youth

Anna Ter-Avetikjan was born in 1908 in Yerevan, which was then in the Yerevan Governorate of the Russian Empire. The Russian Tsar Nicholas I had given the Ter-Avetikjan family a title of nobility because they supported the troops of the Russian general Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich and supplied them with medical supplies when Russia occupied Armenia during the war with the Ottoman Empire . In her family there were several architects and town planners who, among other things, built the Yerevan drinking water system, the city's first hospital and other important structures. Her father Tigran Ter-Avetikjan and his brother Yervand Ter-Avetikjan created the Yerevan Philharmonic, the town hall on Shahumyan Square and other important works.

After completing higher education in 1924, Ter-Avetikjan enrolled at the Technical School of Yerevan State University to study architecture. In 1926, parallel to her studies, she began to work for the Armenian architects Nikoghajos Buniatjan and Aleksandr Tamanjan , who designed the master plan for Yerevan and many of its buildings. At that time she went to school in the morning, worked in Buniatjan's studio in the afternoon and then with Tamanjan in the evening. Ter-Avetikjan finished her studies in 1930 and shortly afterwards married her fellow student Kostandin Howhannisjan .

Working life

Pontschikanoze building on the corner of Mesrop-Maschtoz-Allee and Korjunistraße

Together with her husband Kostandin Howhannisjan, Ter-Awetikian designed fire and police stations in Yerevan and the “David von Sasun” cinema (which was later destroyed). In 1938 one of her designs attracted attention at the International Exhibition "Women in Art and Folk Art" in Paris. In the same year she was the winner of the all-Union competition Technical Creativity of Architects ( Russian: Лауреат Всесоюзных смотров творчества женщин-архитекторов Laureate Vzessojusnych smotrov tvschinovsky ). Between 1941 and 1943 she was chairman of the Armenian Architects' Association.

Her design for the House of Filmmakers won first prize in the All-Soviet Women Architects' Competition in 1948. The building is called “Pontschikanoze” because it was one of the first cafes in Yerevan that served pontschiks ( Armenian Պոնչիկ , Armenian pancakes).

School No. 7 Vladimir Mayakovsky, Yerevan, designed by Ter-Avetikjan

During her professional life, Ter-Avetikjan, who later worked with another design firm, built over 40 buildings, including residential and office blocks, schools and hospitals. Her designs include the film studio “Armenfilm” on the corner of Leninallee and Kirov Street in Yerevan, the building of the Ministry of Commerce, the NKVD building on Abovyan and Kirov streets in Yerevan, the language institute “Hratschia Adscharjan” in Yerevan, schools in Etschmiadzin , Vanadzor , Gyumri , Stepanawan and Yerevan and a hospital in Gawar . Her designs were known for their classical composition and decorative elements, with a clear choice for national Armenian architecture . It received recognition for its corner structures and the ability to create harmony with surrounding spaces. She used concave arcades to level out the straight lines of a street.

In 1945 Ter-Avetikjan was awarded by the Supreme Council of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1956 she again received the award of the all-union competition. In 1968 Ter-Avetikjan became an emeritus architect. In 1972 she retired. After Armenia gained its independence from the Soviet Union, Ter-Avetikjan was honored by the Republic of Armenia and received the Aleksandr Tamanyani gold medal in 2002. In 2008, on the occasion of her 100th birthday, she received the gold medal of the city of Yerevan.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Anna Der-Avedikian. In: milwaukeearmenians.com. October 27, 2014, accessed June 24, 2018 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Tigran Mirsojan: Architect Anna Tjer-Avjetikjan (АРХИТЕКТОР АННА ТЕР-АВЕТИКЯН). In: golosarmenii.am. February 7, 2013, accessed June 24, 2018 (Russian). 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Ter-Avetikjan Anna Tigranovna (Тер-Аветикян Анна Тиграновна). In: uaa.am. Retrieved June 24, 2018 (Russian). 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Pontschikanoze jew Kinogorzitschneri give kendani patmutjun (Պոնչիկանոցը եւ Կինոգործիչների շենքը `կենդանի պատմություն). In: mediamax.am. March 27, 2012, Retrieved June 24, 2018 (Armenian).