Human-Centric Architecture: Discussions by Galaxy Group of Companies and PechaKucha Organizers

Do people design spaces, or does space design the people. How do we transform space into meaningful place? And how different is this human-centric approach from what we popularly perceive as architecture?  These and other topics brought some 250 individuals, who are interested in architecture, to a PechaKucha night at Komitas Museum-Institute, to listen to 10 presenters and special guests. The event was organized together with Galaxy Group of Companies, as part of the company’s social responsibility programs.

“Today’s event is all about meaningful and responsible citizenship. Today, when business transforms and the ensuring of progress through one’s own business alone is no longer sufficient, a commitment to creating public value becomes increasingly important. Architecture is a key area for our companies, and the rethinking of architecture or human-centric architecture are significant topics for us. Discussing such topics is extremely important from the point of view of responsible citizenship,” said Aram Khachatryan, the co-founder of Galaxy Group of Companies, in his speech.

PechaKucha covered a variety of topics, from the Hollywood stereotypes about modern architecture to green architecture, from reshaping of public spaces to projects related to humans and spaces. The speakers at PechaKucha night were: Ashot Snkhchyan, snkh studio co-founder, Arusik Zeynalyan, Gradarak NGO co-founder, Anush Kocharyan, culture journalist, Karen Berberyan and Armen Hakobyan, Tarberak architectural studio co-founders, Nairi Khachadourian, curator and educator, Lusine Ghushchyan, Galaxy construction project manager, Areg Keshishyan, Skillshop founder, Ari Hadjian, architect at Corporación América, Lilit Midoyan, UNDP in Armenia Public Spaces Project coordinator, and Miqayel Voskanyan, musician, composer and Oberton music studio co-founder. 

“The beauty of PechaKucha nights is that anyone can share his/her work, talk about the subjects he/she likes or is concerned about. I am happy that we were able to put together a wonderful group of local and international speakers who contribute through their daily work to the development of public and private spaces, inspire us with innovative architectural solutions and their vision of urban development,” said Marianna Vardanyan, the organizer of PechaKucha Yerevan.

The architectural PechaKucha was different also in terms of its special discussion format. There was a special discussion on the role of architecture and the human relationships stemming from it. During the discussion, the participants heard from the special guests: Marius Gomola, managing director of HOTCO, Stuart Rough, Broadway Malyan group chairman, Susanna Shamakyan, vice-president on partnerships, public policy and programs of FAST Foundation, Edgar Karapetyan, deputy CEO on strategy and business development of Galaxy Group of Companies, and Artak Knyazyan, co-founder and CEO of Archangel Architectural Studio.

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PechaKucha Nights are highly informal and great fun gathering, where people get together and share their ideas and insights on different topics. Every speaker shows 20 images, in 20 seconds each. Images change automatically and the speaker has to convey his/her ideas without falling behind. PechaKucha started in Tokyo in 2003 and now takes places in more than 1,200 cities worldwide, including in Yerevan since 2010. The night on architecture was the 32nd PechaKucha night. The PechaKucha license representative in Yerevan is the co-founder of Proper company, Marianna Vardanyan.

Galaxy Group of Companies was founded in 1999, in Armenia. Over the past 20 years, it has created more than 15 companies in Armenia, Georgia and Belarus. The success of all of its companies is due to innovation and improvement in their respective fields. Galaxy Group of Companies currently employs more than 3,000 people. Social responsibility programs in education, innovation and social improvement make up 5 percent of the company’s operations.