Albanian Architecture

The Republic of Kosovo will present Transcendent Locality at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, exploring the significant role migration plays in the social development of Kosovo. The pavilion also dives into the migratory process and its different phases, including returning home after migration: temporary, seasonal, or permanent. However, at its core, it celebrates the connections to the Homeland and its relationship to the Host Land. The Pavilion poses that trans locality, connected to more than one place simultaneously, has become a prevalent model of life. In fact, maintaining the connections between the Host land and Homeland should become a form of communication, transfer of knowledge, information, and material and immaterial goods.

Master plans, or large-scale urban planning projects, are one of the main tools for shaping and structuring land use and development to ensure that the built environment is coherent and functional. The interventions vary in scope and approach. While some projects are extending the buildable area by creating floating neighborhoods off the coast of Florida, others are reusing the existing spaces and heritage to reimagine the future of their communities.

As the new year begins, we look forward to the most exciting projects planned to open in 2023. The world's second-tallest tower is currently under construction in Malaysia; Egypt is almost ready to open its largest archeological museum, while MVRDV is currently renovating a large-scale brutalist landmark in Albania. Featuring internationally renown architectural offices such as Snøhetta, OMA, Studio Gang, Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG, along with the latest winner of the Pritzker Prize, Francis Kéré, the following selection presents projects from all around the world. They also range in scale and program, from international airports to sculptural arts galleries or museum expansions.

The Butrint Management Foundation (BMF) has revealed the four teams that will design the new visitor center for Butrint National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Albania’s Ionian coastline. Kengo Kuma & Associates, Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects, Philippe PROST / AAPP, and William Matthews Associates were selected to create concept designs for the 1,000m² visitor hub at the country’s most iconic cultural destination, home to artifacts and structures dating from the Iron Age up until the Middle Ages. The proposals will be judged in 2023, and the new visitor center is due to completion in 2025.

This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights projects submitted by established firms. From a museum dedicated to Jewish history to a high-speed railway hub and a university student center, the following selection showcases a variety of concepts, design approaches, and programs developed by global architecture offices.

Danish architecture office CEBRA won the competition to design a new landmark in the capital of Albania, Tirana. While located in the heart of the city, the project takes inspiration from the natural landscape surrounding the city, thus celebrating Albania's national identity and cultural heritage. The project proposes a 185-meters multifunctional tower containing housing, commercial facilities, a boutique hotel, a business area with offices and parking facilities, and all the necessary amenities like restaurants and cafes.

MVRDV has begun construction on Skanderbeg Building, officially known as Tirana’s Rock, a mixed-use project that is sculpted into the shape of Albania’s national hero. The building is wrapped in curved balconies that form the shape of Skanderbeg's head, serving as an iconic landmark at the Skanderbeg Square in the center of Tirana. Once complete, the project will be one the world’s largest buildings that doubles as a figurative sculpture, celebrating the country’s cultural history while giving the Albanian capital a unique identity.

Stefano Boeri Architetti and SON Architects are announced as winners of the tender organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) for the conservation, presentation, enhancement, and planning for the Archaeological Excavations of the Roman Amphitheatre, the Byzantine Forum, and Roman Baths in the historic center of Durrës. In support of the long-term vision for the city of Durrës, the winners will also be responsible for designing a series of urban pathways with the aim of reconnecting the main historical attractions with the waterfront and the city’s port.

As part of the new Tirana 2030 master plan, Stefano Boeri Architetti has created a new model for schools, transforming them into a place for people of all ages, open every hour of the day and every day of the year. The newly-inaugurated project in Tirana serves as a "new epicenter for life in urban neighborhoods", used by students during the day as a school campus and by the whole community on weekends and public holidays as recreational and meeting places, as well as potential places for shelter during emergencies.

Oppenheim Architecture have unveiled the design of the Jali Hotel and Residences, a new luxury complex on Albania's southern coast. The project will nestle in the site's picturesque landscape and seaside, and provide visitors and residents with a public square, recreational amenities, and access to a vibrant beachside club that pay homage to traditional Albanian coastal structures.