NAASR Vartan Gregorian Armenian Center

The new headquarters of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) in Belmont, MA is a milestone in the preservation of Armenian culture for future generations. Funded almost entirely by community donations, the Vartan Gregorian Armenian Center houses a celebrated rare book library and provides a stage to connect with the worldwide diaspora.

The Center is essential to serving NAASR’s mission of preserving Armenian heritage—ever more vital after the 1915 genocide and subsequent waves of emigration—and connecting to the public through lectures, symposia, and the NAASR bookstore.

Traditional aspects of the culture—crafts, language, religious architecture—are reinterpreted through a modern use of steel and glass, stone and wood, and ornament and pattern. The result is a building that captures the forward-looking intent of NAASR’s mission, speaking to the community’s ability to adapt as well as preserve.

Visitors are welcomed by a dark walnut front door, hand-carved in Armenia by artist Mels Yeghiazaryan and gifted to the center by Armenian American philanthropists. This unique entrance invites visitors to open the door to learning and community—a modern building reaching back to the homeland.

18 cast-stone relief panels grace the sides of the new building. The design team blended 3D parametric design, hand-drawn sketches, and digital fabrication techniques to create a panel that interprets traditional Armenian carving through modern materials. The patterns are inspired by a 12th century walnut carved door from the Church of Saint Karapet in Mush, Armenia.

The Armenian diaspora’s passion for safeguarding its heritage posed a design challenge: How to safely store NAASR’s ever-expanding collection of donated books, maps, artwork, and rare collections? To solve this, the team designed two high-density storage rooms that give scholars easy access to the entire collection.

A climate- and humidity-controlled archive houses NAASR’s oldest and most treasured items, some dating to the 17th century. SMMA’s engineers devised a sophisticated pre-action system to guard against fire and water damage. The team’s work was praised by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts, with the project earning an Engineering Excellence Bronze Award.

“I feel deeply grateful to have worked with such a dedicated, knowledgeable, and gifted team at SMMA. The worldwide response has been overwhelmingly positive. People are amazed to see the beautiful features and welcoming design of our magnificent building and feel that NAASR has truly become a global center for advancing Armenian Studies.”

Sarah Ignatius, former NAASR Executive Director

“Every day, when I walk past the Eternity Sculpture and stone bench and open our carved front door and enter the soaring atrium, the building seems like a miracle.”

Sarah Ignatius, former NAASR Executive Director