HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

1949

Architects: Stepan Satunts, I. Susterovich

Located in the Kanaker-Zeytun administrative district at 20 Tbilisyan Highway, on the right side of the road.

Pre-Soviet Yerevan was a small provincial town, mainly built with single-story houses and a few two-story buildings, which did not change the city’s modest appearance. A radical reconstruction of the city was necessary, also conditioned by the development of Soviet industry and the construction of new production facilities in new areas.

According to Yerevan’s 1939 master plan, a new industrial district was to be built in the free northern area of Kanaker, ensuring the connection between residential areas and industrial structures.

At the time when the industrial complex of the wine-making association (“Ararat” trust) and the Cognac Factory were being built and reconstructed, the Champagne Wines Factory building was constructed on the right side of Tbilisyan Highway, on a hillside in a wooded area (1949).

Today, the structure is part of the Champagne Wines Factory complex. It is located in a high-fenced area, surrounded by dense trees, which is why it remains out of sight and cannot be viewed from any side. It is only outlined when entering through the gate, and even then, from a distance. The building can be approached by a shady, wide, and long multi-level cascade.

The building is connected to the relief. Its main (western) facade faces Tbilisyan Highway. It is three stories high, two stories on the eastern facade side. The floor plan has a complex design. In the center, the building is elongated (about 50 m long), with annexes attached at obtuse angles on the right and left (about 36 m long). The foundation height is 5.0 m. The main facade has three entrances.

The first and second floors house production halls, while the third floor contains administrative and work rooms.

The building was constructed with some deviations from the original design. The arcade planned for the foreground and two small rotundas on the roof are absent. The facades are designed with high artistic taste, featuring arches, pilasters, niches, and decorative floral ornaments. The combination of light-colored tuff with basalt gives the building a solemn appearance. The entrance doors are decorated with engraved wood and wrought iron. The majestic forms and laconic volumes transform this purely functional building into a unique architectural creation, distinguished from other industrial structures by its finely crafted details. Basalt, tuff, glass, and reinforced concrete were used as building materials.

The 1949 Champagne Wines Factory building is the only one in Yerevan built by the talented architect Stepan Kristapor Satunts. Its composition carries the traditions and spirit of medieval Armenian architecture.

It is a high-value structure, an example of monumental classicism in its style.

“Scientific Research Centre of Historical and Cultural Heritage” SNCO

Yerevan Municipality