Eckersley O’Callaghan are the structural and facade engineers for a ground-breaking new technology, applied science and engineering education hub in Yerevan, Armenia, featuring a bold building design with two 35m long cantilevers giving dramatic views over a valley.

The new TUMO Convergence Center building in Yerevan, Armenia will provide a bold new home for a technology, applied science and engineering education hub, connecting higher education with industry. The nearly 200m long rectangular tube-like structure boasts 30m cantilevers projecting over the Hrazdan River Gorge on each end, providing spectacular views of the capital and Mount Aragats.

We are carrying out the structural and facade engineering for the project, having developed the concept design and are now seeing it through to completion alongside MVRDV and the Client.

The building comprises an outer shell reinforced concrete enclosure. Its long elevations will be dominated by dramatic trusses with triangular patters. Cantilever ends will form “the Great Hall” high-ceiling open-space areas creating a flexible space for events such as conferences and presentations with the inspiring valley backdrop beyond.

Flexible modular internal structures are being proposed within the column-free building’s outer shell, as lightweight secondary steel frames. These will house teaching facilities, meeting rooms and offices, and also provide an ad hoc auditorium style seating area built into the stepped arrangement of the internal structures towards the Great Hall.

The latest design proposes the main longitudinal trusses in reinforced concrete, working together with shear walls that connect ground floor and roof slab diaphragms to provide lateral stability. The concrete trusses are supported by a central basement box partially excavated into the hillside, forming the substructure. The internal structures are also supported by the basement vertically but are laterally independent, stabilised by eccentrically braced bays to maximise ductility in a seismic event.

Location
Yerevan, Armenia

Client
TUMO

Architect
MVRDV