Today, March 10th, the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies has revealed the architectural design of the EU TUMO Convergence Center for Engineering and Applied Science.

The EU TUMO Convergence Center is a unique STEM hub in Yerevan, focused on sparking innovation. It is where academia and industry come together and where Armenia connects to the world. Designed by the world-renowned Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, the Convergence Center’s flagship building will be an innovative horizontal skyscraper. Only six stories tall but stretched over 200 meters at the edge of the Hrazdan Gorge, the building occupies 17,000 square meters. It is made up of 300 modular spaces arranged inside a giant hall that creates a unique interior ecosystem. This building within a building represents a highly energy efficient solution that blends the indoor with the open air. The project was presented at the EU TUMO Convergence Center pavilion at the DigiTec Expo in Yerevan.

“The goal of the Convergence Center project is to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that will accelerate the growth of high tech, engineering and applied sciences in Armenia. We need to close the gap between academia and industry. And we need to give students and young professionals access to the kind of hands-on training that will empower them to start new ventures and energize existing ones, taking them to the next level.” says Pegor Papazian, Chief Development Officer at the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies.

The center will be made up of three mutually reinforcing components:

Learning and research programs: TUMO Labs is a free of charge platform where university students and young professionals work on R&D projects on behalf of academia and local and international technology companies.

Conference and exhibition spaces: The center will include conference halls, event venues, coworking areas, and training facilities to meet the diverse needs of both individuals and enterprises. These spaces will host large-scale events such as conferences and conventions.

Working and retail facilities: Designed as a modular system that can accommodate both small firms and larger tenants, the Convergence Center offices provide the flexibility and room for growth that most technology companies need. At ground level, the center makes room for cafes, restaurants, gyms, stores, and other retail outlets.

Plans for the €25 million STEM ecosystem co-funded by the European Union were initially revealed in 2019, and TUMO organized an international architectural competition. After a spirited competition full of bold and innovative design proposals, the jury selected the Dutch MVRDV studio to design the new center. In the same year, TUMO Labs, one of the core components of the project, was launched to expand the scope of TUMO’s program, providing young people with the chance to acquire knowledge and practical skills in the fields of technology, applied science, and engineering.

The construction of the center will begin in 2023. This flagship facility is part of a larger plan that will include the current TUMO building, multiple technology companies and educational programs, as well as the site of the upcoming Halabyan metro station.