The Pyramid already has a place within the BIG SEE programme. The Pyramid of Tirana by MVRDV and iRI Architecture received the Grand Prix at the BIG SEE Architecture Awards 2024 and is also included in this year’s Focus Albania editorial series, where it appears alongside eight other projects offering different perspectives on contemporary architectural practice in Albania.

For us, the choice of the Pyramid as the setting for BIG SEE In Tirana creates an interesting connection with this year’s programme. Its transformation and continued use offer a context in which to reflect on how architecture works with existing structures and how buildings can take on different roles over time.

This connection extends to BIG SEE Talks: Finished / Unfinished, the format at the centre of the BIG SEE In events. Invited practices will present one realised project alongside one still in development, bringing different stages of architectural work into the same conversation. The talks will also offer insight into each studio’s wider approach to practice, the questions that shape its work and the thinking behind individual projects. For us, the Pyramid provides a particularly relevant setting for this exchange: a completed project that has itself been shaped by transformation, adaptation and continued use.