A New Look at Tirana
>
Albania’s controversial Tirana Pyramid – a former monument to the country’s communist leader – will finally be repurposed after years of decay. MVRDV has officially unveiled designs to transform the pyramidal structure into a large green technology education center. The pyramid will be opened up to the surroundings and filled with natural light and greenery, ultimately making the interior more welcoming to the public.
Situated in the centre of Tirana, the former Enver Hoxha Museum designed in the 1980s by a group of architects including the then president’s daughter Pranvera Hoxha and her husband Klement Kolneci. Throughout the years it has also served as a temporary base for NATO during the War in Kosovo, a nightclub and as an event space. In recent years there were plans to transform the structure into a national theatre. These plans never materialized meaning the building has been left to decay for more than a decade.
It never left the public attention and was a centre point in numerous protest and a background for demonstrations. The pyramid has a unique silhouette and a strong presence in the urban environment. Despite the generous use of glass on its façade the building appears to be hermetically sealed and inaccessible. The attempt to transform the interior clogged the atrium and created even more obstacles for one to experience the space.
The project of MVRDV aims to give the building back to the public. By opening the ground floor from all sides, the structure becomes transparent. By making the façade roof accessible and scalable a new perspective to the city appears and by flooding the interior of the space with green the object becomes one with its surroundings.
MVRDV
