Anna Tigranovna Ter-Avetikian was born on 23 October 1908 in Yerevan. She came from a family of architects and city developers who were noted for creating such works as the first drinking water system of Yerevan, the first hospital of the city, as well as other landmarks Her father, Tigran Ter-Avetikian and his brother, Yervand, created the Philharmonic Hall of Yerevan, the City Council building on Shahumyan Square, and other noted works.

After completing her high school studies in 1924, Ter-Avetikian enrolled in the Technical School of Yerevan State University (YSU) to study architecture. In 1926 she started working for Nikoghayos Buniatian and Alexander Tamanian, who designed the master plan of the city of Yerevan and many of its buildings. Her schedule at this time was to go to school in the mornings, in the afternoon work in Buniatian’s workshop, and then work with Tamanian in the evenings. Ter-Avetikian graduated in 1930, becoming the first female architect in Armenia. Shortly thereafter married fellow architect, Konstantin Hovhannisian, who had attended YSU and was also employed with Buniatian and Tamanian.

Together with her husband, she designed the fire and police stations in Yerevan and the “Sasuntsi Tavit” cinema (later destroyed). In 1938, one of her designs won recognition at the Parisian international exhibit of “Woman in art and folk art” and that same year, received the designation Laureate of the All-Union Review of the Technical Creativity of Women Architects (Russian: Лауреат Всесоюзных смотров творчества женщин-архитекторов). Between 1941 and 1943, she served as the Chair of the Armenian Union of Architects. Her design for the filmmaker’s building won the first prize in the 1948 All-Soviet Female Architects’ Competition. The building is also known as Ponchikanots building (referring to the name of a pastry), because it housed one of Yerevan’s first cafés.