The then private residences showcased in this monograph have been designed in by Garegin Yeghoyan (Professor of the International Academy of Architecture) and are testimony to the International Style set within the context of ancient Armenian architecture. These buildings can be seen as analogous to islands of contemporary architecture amidst an ocean of bland structure. They may be viewed against a backdrop of the natural environment and the 'structured chaos' of the vernacular fabric. Garegin Yeghoyan thus draws on the long tradition of Armenian architecture, which bears the hallmark of the simplicity and homogeneity offered by the rock-type known as tuff, with all its nuances of colour. This surface of natural stone constituting the ultimate Armenian building material offers an antithesis to modernist forms in concrete and metal and thus embodies the unique feature of this architecture.