
The church and urban development around it

Main compositional idea was to make the building stepping down the hill

The urban development around the church was not part of the initial program

The church and urban development around it
St. Gregor Illuminator Church in Koghb
Armenian Apostolic Church
Year: 2006-2016 (QC Architects)
Budget: 800'000 $
Stage: complete
Location: Koghb, Tavush, Armenia
The village of Koghb is one of the greenest and most picturesque corners of Armenia.
The customer with local roots transferred his land to the ownership of the Armenian Apostolic Church. To perpetuate the memory of his ancestors, he decided to build a small but prominent church on the site of a nearly destroyed chapel, once built by his grandfather.
The strong relief of the site dictated the location of the main terraces and the composition of the building itself, which is a basilica, stepping down the slope of the hill.
Being the size of a chapel, the building, nevertheless, has a minimal set of the attributes that make it a church - a bell tower, a narthex, a baptismal font, a stage for services and a sacristy.
The building was erected from large-sized stones, laid according to the traditional Midis technology. The concrete used in the vaults and ceilings was left uncoated and unplastered with traces of wooden formwork.
The entire perimeter of the main volume is surrounded by the “Enlightenment” motive frieze. The bas-reliefs are made by sculptors Harutyun Karapetyan and Melik Shakhnazaryan.