Architecture on the Horizon in Albania
For several years now, Albania has embarked on an ambitious process of urban transformation, with the aim of redefining its identity and projecting itself onto the international stage. This process, accelerated after the 2019 earthquake, has turned the capital, Tirana, into a laboratory of architectural renewal, capable of attracting investment and convening renowned architects.
Some of the most relevant voices in international architecture are already making their mark in the country. MVRDV has completed the Downtown One skyscraper and the transformation of the Tirana Pyramid. BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group won the competition for the Tirana Mosque and Islamic Center, as well as for the new Albanian National Theater. Valerio Olgiati is designing the Namazgja Cultural Center and 3XN has completed the Arena Kombëtare, the Albanian national stadium.
Tirana 2030 Riverside, the masterplan by Stefano Boeri with SON-Group, in collaboration with Mobility In Chain, Studio Laura Gatti, SCE Project, ESA Engineering, and Transsolar, redesigns a significant part of the city from a sustainable perspective. The plan proposes a new urban development model in response to the housing needs that arose after the earthquake and the pandemic.
In this panorama of architectural effervescence, Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura is currently developing three major projects: Barcelona Tower and Papuli Tower in Tirana, and the Red Sol Resort in Dhërmi, the coastal town about 200 km (125 miles) south of Tirana.
The Barcelona Tower, with its 190-meter (625-foot) height, redefines the urban profile of Tirana with a gesture of apparent simplicity: an elegant rotation of the prismatic volume around its vertical axis. This twist, inspired by the fustanella, the traditional Balkan skirt, gives the building a monumental presence and, at the same time, improves its aerodynamic performance.
The Papuli Tower takes up the memory of La Fábrica, the iconic Barcelona headquarters of the Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, where former industrial silos were transformed into workspaces. In this new project, the cylindrical volumes rise up to 190 meters (625 feet), preserving the original industrial imprint and reinterpreting it in a contemporary facade of refined geometry.
The Red Sol Resort in Dhërmi dialogues with some of the studio's most emblematic projects, such as The Red Wall and Walden 7. Located on the Albanian Riviera, the complex is organized on a regular orthogonal grid, which acquires dynamism and plasticity through the variation in height of its volumes. In dialogue with the surrounding mountains, the project manifests itself as a fortress of marked materiality, anchored in the landscape.
