NEW COAF SMART CAMPUS , Armenia | Finalist Project | Team: GDA Giuseppe D'Albenzio Architects | Giuseppe D'Albenzio

FINALISTS:

Campo Baeza from Spain; Fran Silvestre Arquitectos from Spain; Giuseppe D'Albenzio from Italy;Paul Kaloustian from France; Electric architects from Armenia; Quy Phu Nguyen from Germany; Sill & Sound Architects from Belgium; Urban Unit Architecture Construction from Armenia ; Wenyi Zhu from China;

COAF is building its second SMART Center in Armenia, this time in the Armavir region, replicating its flagship SMART Center in the Lori region inaugurated in 2018. Armavir is the region where COAF’s s journey toward rural development in Armenia started in 2003. This competition aimed to get landscape-specific, innovative, and sustainable design strategies interpreted through a creative architectural concept for the new COAF SMART Campus and in particular for the COAF SMART Center in the Armavir region. The construction of SMART Centers across all regions of Armenia is an ambitious initiative, aimed at making quality non-formal education accessible to rural youth while introducing multilayered development opportunities for children and adults alike.

COMPETITION

This international architectural competition, organized by the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), was open and required registration.
There was no application fee, but registration was mandatory to be able to receive the Competition Package.
Participants were required to maintain strong confidentiality throughout the competition and not identify themselves or release any design proposal images etc. to any third parties or media outlets until an official announcement has been made. This included also written / online announcements and visuals by an individual or legal entity on participation, images, and visuals that can reveal the participation in the competition.

About COAF

The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that employs community-led approaches aimed at improving the quality of life in rural Armenia, with a particular focus on children and youth. COAF’s target development areas are education, healthcare, social and economic development. #COAF launched its programs in 2004, starting in one village and expanding to 64 villages in Armavir, Aragatsotn, Lori, Gegharkunik, Shirak, and Tavush regions, impacting more than 107,000 beneficiaries.
Since 2015, COAF has developed and started implementing the SMART Initiative. COAF SMART is designed to advance a generation across the rural world through education that will benefit individuals, societies, and the environment. As an exemplary model of development, COAF SMART will be replicated in other regions and communities throughout Armenia. The first COAF SMART Center was inaugurated on May 27, 2018, near the village of Debet, Lori Region.