The World-Architects organization recently named St. Sarkis Armenian Church in Carrollton, Texas, the best building in the United States for 2022.
ArmenPress reported that the church got the highest votes in a World-Architects poll.
The group of professional architects noted the church's ties to Armenian culture and people that go back thousands of years and span hundreds of miles throughout the globe.
US Building of the Year 2022
According to World-Architects, the design of St. Sarkis Armenian Church reflects the importance of history and tradition in the Armenian Orthodox Church.
It said the church's design takes its inspiration from the 7th-century St. Hripsime Church close to Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. The group added that the design honors the 1.5 million Armenian genocide victims.
The report said the genocide occurred in 1915, uprooting many church members' ancestors from their homeland.
World-Architects said the victims are represented by the Armenian "tree of life" made up of 1.5 million circular icons, each different from the others.
"It is an honor to have the Saint Sarkis Armenian Church receive this acknowledgement, an honor that I share with the full project team and with all of those who voted for the project, most especially those throughout the Armenian Diaspora for whom this building has a special significance," ArmenPress quoted architect David Hotson saying.
Hotson added that the St. Sarkis Armenian Church blends a 14-century connection to the architecture of the world's oldest Christian nation with a modern sense of space and cutting-edge building techniques. This created an impressive complex that towers over the expansive Texas plain.
Hotson hopes more Americans will learn about the ongoing persecution of Armenian Christians in Nagorno-Karabakh by bringing attention to the church. He also hoped it would highlight the history of the world's oldest Christian nation.
About World-Architects
According to its website, World-Architects is a premium network of contemporary architects and building experts built on a membership model.
The group also promotes the idea that exceptional architecture is important.
The website said World-Architects is ‘an international team of experts and curators who are always seeking innovative ways for architects and building professionals to actively promote discussion in architecture.’
About St. Sarkis Armenian Church
The newly consecrated St. Sarkis Armenian Church held its first Sunday service on April 24, 2022. It became the traditional day for remembering the 1915 Armenian Genocide victims.
According to its website, the St. Sarkis Armenian Church has become the community hub for many Armenian families that make their homes in the North Texas region and parts of Oklahoma.
It boasts an active young adult organization responsible for bringing the ACYOA Sports Weekend to Dallas in 2004. It added that the Armenian Women's Guild is an active group that has contributed to many initiatives over the years, including the Oct. 24 annual ArmeniaFest, a celebration of Armenian cuisine and culture.
It added that before the consecration of St. Sarkis in Carrollton, the church's founders were a vibrant community actively planning for its future expansion.
Church founders also wanted an atmosphere where its members could teach their children about their ancestry and raise them close to their fundamental Armenian Christian faith.
The town's leaders later began to contemplate the construction of a cultural hall, which would naturally include a sizable kitchen and several classrooms.
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