Making Space for Possibility
Much of architecture’s meaning emerges gradually, through the ways it becomes part of everyday life. It enters a street, a landscape, a neighbourhood, a memory. Across the projects gathered in this edition of Focus Albania, architecture repeatedly reaches beyond the the building itself and into the life around it.
In Tirana, Platinum Residence responds through a composition of distinct volumes, while Corner 379 looks for clarity and order within a layered urban setting. Angela Merkel School extends the idea of a school towards shared civic space, while Partizani High School brings an existing structure into a new phase of use while maintaining a connection with its past. The Pyramid of Tirana works with a building already deeply embedded in the city’s memory and opens it to new forms of public use.
Beyond the capital, architecture enters into different kinds of relationships. Red Hill follows the conditions of its hillside setting, while Mountain of Houses draws from the topography, materials and building traditions of Valbona. Naraç Church establishes its presence through the scale of the village, local materials, landscape and light. Avanel Signature Hotel, in turn, engages with light and horizon as part of its spatial experience.
The accompanying interviews reveal different practices and positions, yet several concerns recur. The architects speak about the relationship between contemporary architecture and local identity, about the role of public and shared space, about working with existing buildings and local knowledge, and about the responsibility that comes with placing something new within an existing environment. Several describe architecture as something whose consequences inevitably reach beyond the client, the programme or the boundaries of an individual site.
Focus Albania brings together nine practices working at different scales and under very different conditions. The selection offers nine ways of looking beyond the building itself: towards the relationships it creates, the surroundings it becomes part of, and the life that continues around it.
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Each BIG SEE Focus presents a curated selection of the best recent architectural and design projects from a selected country, completed or launched in the past year. This selection reveals depth of thinking, sensitivity to context, and the capacity to shift perspectives. Focus is not just a showcase, but a curatorial responsibility to highlight works that propose ideas, engage cultural complexity with clarity, and offer more than aesthetics.
Featured projects
Platinum Residence
A7 Design Studio
Red Hill
ANK Architecture
Naraç Church
ArkPro Studio Albania
Corner 379
ARTECH Studio
Angela Merkel School
Commonsense Studio
Partizani High School
Loft Architects
The Pyramid of Tirana
iRI Architecture & MVRDV
Mountain of Houses
Tharm Architects
Avanel Signature Hotel
Zifle Architects
Making Space for Possibility
Much of architecture’s meaning emerges gradually, through the ways it becomes part of everyday life. It enters a street, a landscape, a neighbourhood, a memory. Across the projects gathered in this edition of Focus Albania, architecture repeatedly reaches beyond the the building itself and into the life around it.
In Tirana, Platinum Residence responds through a composition of distinct volumes, while Corner 379 looks for clarity and order within a layered urban setting. Angela Merkel School extends the idea of a school towards shared civic space, while Partizani High School brings an existing structure into a new phase of use while maintaining a connection with its past. The Pyramid of Tirana works with a building already deeply embedded in the city’s memory and opens it to new forms of public use.
Beyond the capital, architecture enters into different kinds of relationships. Red Hill follows the conditions of its hillside setting, while Mountain of Houses draws from the topography, materials and building traditions of Valbona. Naraç Church establishes its presence through the scale of the village, local materials, landscape and light. Avanel Signature Hotel, in turn, engages with light and horizon as part of its spatial experience.
The accompanying interviews reveal different practices and positions, yet several concerns recur. The architects speak about the relationship between contemporary architecture and local identity, about the role of public and shared space, about working with existing buildings and local knowledge, and about the responsibility that comes with placing something new within an existing environment. Several describe architecture as something whose consequences inevitably reach beyond the client, the programme or the boundaries of an individual site.
Focus Albania brings together nine practices working at different scales and under very different conditions. The selection offers nine ways of looking beyond the building itself: towards the relationships it creates, the surroundings it becomes part of, and the life that continues around it.
—
Each BIG SEE Focus presents a curated selection of the best recent architectural and design projects from a selected country, completed or launched in the past year. This selection reveals depth of thinking, sensitivity to context, and the capacity to shift perspectives. Focus is not just a showcase, but a curatorial responsibility to highlight works that propose ideas, engage cultural complexity with clarity, and offer more than aesthetics.
Selection
Selection
Editor
Tanja Završki,
Curator & Editor
for Architecture
M: +386 64 293 441
E: tanja@bigsee.eu