ANIPEMZA: FROM GENOCIDE ORPHANS VILLAGE TO WORKERS VILLAGE. FIRST PROPOSALS FOR CONSERVATION, VALORISATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF AN INTERESTING ARCHITECTURAL SETTLEMENT EXAMPLE AND OF A RICH HISTORY SITE IN ARMENIA
ARCHITECTURE
Abstract
Anipemza, in Shirak province, is located on the border of Armenia with Turkey, on the bank of Akhurian River on which opposite coast there are, not so far, the ruins of the ancient and famous Armenian city of Ani in Turkey. The old Anipemza, founded in IV century by Kamsarakan princes, is a village and rural community (municipality) of Armenia. Anipemza’s territory is mainly well known for the near ruins of Yererouik basilica of IV-V century and for its quarry. The “new” village is characterized by an urban layout of particular interest and the impression is that to be in a workers' village of the early XX century. Near the buildings is possible to see a wide-open quarry for the extraction of the tuff and pumice. We cannot exclude that with the tuff of this quarry was built the Yererouik basilica. The oral witness obtained by interviewing the residents have established that the new Anipemza, since 1926, was a village for the orphans of 1915 genocide and then has been also a penal colony for forced labor for the dissidents of the Soviet regime in Armenia. The village is characterized by two distinct areas separated by a tree-lined entrance oriented towards the south north. The area problems are mainly: the lack of work for the inhabitants, repair of the water supplying system (repair of drinking water), lack of bathrooms, preservation and enhancing of the buildings, repair of road paving, agricultural products sales and completion of natural gas infrastructures. However, the very high urban and architectural quality of Anipemza deserves a contribution in order to make it known expecting that it will be preserved and enhanced. Researches and proposals for conservation, reuse and touristic-economic improvement of Anipemza’s area, starting since 2013 by the authors of this paper, are still in progress.
