Honorary Artist of Armenia Haghtanak Shahumyan praised the dismantling of the constructions in the vicinity of the Opera house in Yerevan as part of a program to restore the green zone around the building. “The city should definitely restore its view. Number of construction projects have been implemented that were against the urban development plan and architectural principles,” Shahumyan told Panorama.am in an interview
Shahumyan reminded that the park surrounding the Opera house was untouched and treated as an element of a historical and cultural environment. He reminded that in the 70s due to the flow of the visitors the city authorities decided to install toilets in the park but and the architects suggesting using underground public toilets not to violate the architectural environment.

As to the mansards on the buildings throughout Yerevan and the Yerevan Mayor’s pledge to restore the initial view of the buildings, the artist said: “There are definitely constructions that are strange and should be reconsidered, especially those that had been done in violation of the law. However, there might be constructions that had passed all legal procedures with financial means invested. The matter of those constructions should be addressed separately without any rapid and emotional solutions,” Shahumyan said.