Soviet Brutalist Architecture That Works: Yerevan's The Cascades

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting: The Cascades

Yerevan's The Cascades, which is where the bus-van tour began, is a masterpiece of Soviet-style Brutalist architecture. What is, or what are -- depending on whether "The Cascades" is one thing or several things -- Yerevan's The Cascades. It is an absolutely massive staircase connecting the residential neighborhoods above the city to the central downtown core. Now, in the post-Soviet era, the massive staircase has been transformed, reconfigured, or decorated -- choose your verb -- with the addition of museum's worth of public art.

It starts with the Alexander Tamanian Statue at the "gateway" to The Cascades.

But there is more art, of varying quality, on display past Mr. Tamanian when you are walking toward the massive staircase.

For me, the star attraction of the art display are the three large (and fat) statues by Colombian artist Fernando Botero. While Mr. Botero himself was somewhat trim (he passed away in 2023), he is known for depicting very rotund figures whether in sculpture, drawing, or painting. Fat people. Fat cats. Fat fruits and vegetables. Even his rendering of Jesus on the Cross shows a rotund Jesus.

I would not have expected to find Boteros in Yerevan, especially since the fat fullness of the statuary contrasts with the deprivation of the Soviet Era when The Cascades were built, but sometimes we find things where we least expect them to be.

Like I never expected to see this.

The bird may be fat, but I don't believe he (or she) (I was not told the preferred pronouns) is a Botero. But definitely in line with the Botero theme.

Time to ascend.

Fortunately, one does not have to walk the stairs of the giant staircase (at least not until the last flight of stairs to reach the summit). There is an escalator inside.

At each "floor" -- or landing if you want to use staircase terminology, there is a lookout area where you can walk out and check your progress on the ascent. Fountains at the first such "landing":

And artistic renderings of trees, I presume.

Perspective:

That will give you a sense the amount of territory covered by each interval in the ascent, from landing to landing.

Finally, at the top of where you ascent by escalator is this fountain.

The swimmer/diver motif works well for a fountain high above the rest of the city.

At this point, if you want to reach the summit, you have to climb stairs. No more escalator.

Is this at the summit worth the climb?

Well, if you only had to walk up one flight of stairs and not the whole massive staircase, then I would say "yes." The pillar does betray the Soviet origins of this massive example of the Brutalist school of architecture.

My legs were wearing out after the long day of bus-van touring, so it was time to descend. On the descent, I noticed this:

That is actually one massive sneaker. It's not just that somebody lost a shoe on the climb. I'm estimating three or four feet in length. Just another example of the apparent Armenian shoe fetish about which I learned on this trip.

And here is an elephant trunk emerging from a small hut:

The elephant looks like it is sporting a happy expression. Obviously the elephant is not bothered by the claustrophobia.

Dusk is settling in.

Time to get back to the hotel for the evening.

Unless you want to play in a fountain. They're functioning again all over the city after taking Tuesday off.