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Yerevan Architecture and Research Domain (YARD) is an educational foundation based in Yerevan, Armenia, aiming to become an independent, extended architectural education program and open school dedicated to design, research, and theory.
It brings together local and international educators within an experimental, student-driven model. YARD positions architecture as a cultural, social, and environmental practice and seeks to transform how it is taught, understood, and produced in Armenia by creating an open, interdisciplinary, and globally connected educational platform.
ABOUT:
OCTOBER 12-16, 2026 - YEREVAN, ARMENIA
Kees Christiaanse
Kees Christiaanse studied architecture and urban planning at TU Delft. He joined the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in 1980 and became a partner in 1983. In 1989, he founded KCAP Architects&Planners in Rotterdam and later co-founded ASTOC Architects and Planners in Cologne.
His work focuses on complex urban environments and the development of urban processes, with particular expertise in university campuses and the revitalisation of former industrial, railway and harbour areas. He has supervised major urban developments internationally.
Honours include the 2016 RIBA International Fellowship, ARC17 Oeuvre Award, and ULI Leadership Award 2018. Former Professor and Chair of the Urban Planning Institute at ETH Zurich (2003–2018).
YARD is pleased to announce Into the Frame, an intensive urban design workshop in Yerevan led by architect and urbanist Kees Christiaanse.
The workshop explores how fragmented urban territories can be connected, transformed, and reimagined as part of a larger urban framework.
THE WORKSHOP
20 participants will work in small groups across a selected fragment of Yerevan, continuously relating their ideas to a shared physical model at 1:1000 or 1:500 scale.
Following Kees Christiaanse’s “simultaneous chess” method, participants will work across multiple scales, developing analysis and spatial propositions in parallel within Yerevan’s complex urban fabric of brownfields, infrastructure, fragmented neighbourhoods and inherited structures.
The shared model, maps, drawings and sections will be the primary design instruments.
THREE FUTURES:
Participants will explore three scenarios:
TREND - What happens if current tendencies continue?
EXTREME - What happens when existing conditions are pushed to their limits?
NORMATIVE - What could a desirable future look like?
Through these scenarios, participants will identify opportunities, conflicts and possible directions for transformation.
WHAT WE WILL EXPLORE:
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Blue-green networks and ecological connections,
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Public-private transitions,
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Neighbourhoods and new centralities,
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Resilient and porous streets,
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Mixed-use environments,
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Living and making,
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Heritage, traces and urban memory.
THE OUTCOME:
Yerevan’s complex urban condition calls for testing rather than predetermined answers. Into the Frame isolates a fragment of the city and treats it as a testing ground - a territory to be read, challenged and reworked through different scenarios.
The resulting proposals become a way to discuss possible forms of transformation, not as a fixed masterplan, but as an open urban framework for Yerevan.
THE CORE QUESTION:
Can a fragment of Yerevan become a testing ground for new approaches to the city’s transformation?
INTO THE FRAME: WORKSHOP 1
WORKSHOP BRIEF
From Fragments to an Urban Framework
ARCHITECT, URBANIST, EDUCATOR
WORKSHOP TERMS:
Dates: 12–16 October 2026
Location: YARD School, Yerevan
Duration: 5 days- full-time
Language: English
Participants: 25–30 participants
LEVEL: STUDENTS & PROFESSIONALS
EQUIPMENT: PARTICIPANTS ARE REQUIRED TO BRING THEIR OWN LAPTOPS & SOFTWARE
The workshop is open to:
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Architecture & URBAN PLANNING students
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Recent architecture graduates
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Young PROFESSIONALS
WHO CAN APPLY:
THE WORKSHOP FEE IS 75,000 AMD
The fee includes:
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Participation in the full workshop programme
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Lectures and discussions with the tutor
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Studio sessions and reviews
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Access to YARD's workshop space
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Model materials
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Lunch
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Certificate
SCHOLARSHIPS & DISCOUNTS:
YARD offers a limited number of scholarships and tuition discounts, awarded based on portfolio review
PARTICIPATION FEE:
THE SPACE:
A NEW SCHOOL IN A HISTORIC SETTING:
YARD is located within the Yerevan Champagne Wine Factory, a historic industrial complex dating back to 1939.
The space is being transformed into an experimental educational environment for architecture - combining studio space, workshops, research and public events.
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