Yerevan is full of neat little treats from the Soviet era. Something you see throughout the nation as well is a lot of unique shapes and designs on the sides of regular buildings, even more beautiful on the areas of more importance from back when the nation was under the Soviet Union. Factories, administrative buildings, houses of culture, all of these would typically feature some sort of cultural imagery. I'm not entirely sure about the history of the shapes in Armenia, though. There are a lot of lines, squares, and other unique shapes that are seen throughout. From rugs to the walls. I think it has some religious symbolism to it, as well as being something that simply just looks very beautiful.
The symbolism usually referring to Christianity and the cycle of life, from what I've seen. Though you wouldn't really notice this at a glance. It would be quite a stretch to come to such a conclusion without talking to others about it. And in some areas, those cultural references can be a bit more direct. Things that speak to you and you instantly know what the building was designed for. Take this Soviet era chess building for example: the side of it displaying various chess pieces, though at the same time utilising the cultural of Armenia and its more traditional clothing. This chess building still functions to this day, hosting a lot of clubs. One of the rare instances of such a cultural location that has managed to stand the collapse of the USSR and also maintain its original identity.
Often enough such environments are repurposed somehow. Turned into shops or little markets that sell cheap crap. Something that many families relied on when the times were much more tough. And when the funding ran out, as did the cultural hubs. Chess is a major part of this world, especially for Armenians, so I'm not too surprised that this building isn't in total decay and managed to stick around over the decades. Though it resides in an usual location: on the main motorway on the outskirts of the city, still central given the small size of Yerevan, but more within one of the few parks. And here you still see the history despite the changing times.
By the road you see many tired old faces passing by. Many going into the park or sitting at the benches. Sometimes you see an old Soviet Lada driving off into the horizon like in this instance. I always love seeing these cars, like toy cars from a Pixar film more than anything else. Very boxed and unique to the modern style of cars. And incredibly common the more you step out of Yerevan and into the smaller towns, where the culture is strong and the traditions more so. Where even the youth still find interest in such relics of a bygone era. I haven't been able to do much photography lately, but I'm really inspired to continue discovering such locations, even if I've walked down such streets many times in the past, somehow missing their most interesting features.