Construction has started on the Pyramid of Tirana, the brutalist monument in the heart of Albania’s capital city. The renovation was designed by MVRDV and will transform the building into a dynamic cultural hub, undoing its previous status as a showpiece of Communist dictator Enver Hoxha.
MVRDV's design will open up the building, of which the concrete structure will be reused, by stripping the work from previous partially completed renovations. Moreover, trees and other greenery will soften the materiality of the space, while boxes containing individual rooms placed in and around the structure, will create a "village of classrooms, studios, cafes, and restaurants."
"Working on a brutalist monument like the Pyramid is a dream," said Winy Maas, founding partner at MVRDV. "It is striking and interesting to see how the country struggled with the future of the building, which on one hand is a controversial chapter in the country's history, and on the other hand has already been partly reclaimed by the residents of Tirana."
2 Comments
Very nice! I hope I can visit it one day.
This is what a robust design culture looks like (in Europe). If only we had that in America, the many Paul Rudolph buildings could be reimagined instead of demolished. But that's what happens when the NYT / NYMag architecture critics are defeatist urbanism hacks looking for side hustles money with the Ford Foundation.
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