Albania is now witnessing an influx of ambitious projects, many by world-renowned international architects, that begin to redefine the skylines of Tirana and beyond. Albania’s Prime Minister, and former Tirana mayor, Edi Rama, has even pointed out that ‘Albania produces more architecture than the rest of Europe,’ a claim that reflects a construction frenzy that has made architecture one of the most visible symbols of change in the country.

designboom discusses this creative boom with key figures shaping Albania’s transformation, including Stefano Boeri, MVRDV’s Winy Maas, Christian Kerez, Beat Huesler of Oppenheim Architecture, and the team at Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, to explore how global architecture is helping redraw the cultural and urban landscape of the country.

Pyramid of Tirana by MVRDV (read more here) | image © Ossip van Duivenbode

how leadership, planning, and global talent reshape a country

A former artist, Rama prioritized urban revitalization since his mayoral tenure in the early 2000s. He famously beautified drab facades with vibrant colors and cleared illegal structures, setting the stage for larger transformations. After becoming prime minister, Rama launched the Tirana of the New Generation initiative in 2014, personally inviting 32 international architects to reimagine the capital. Around the same time, Tirana’s government commissioned Italian architect and urban planner Stefano Boeri to craft the Tirana 2030 Master Plan, envisioning sustainable growth, vertical development, and a massive ‘orbital forest.’ Boeri describes the city as ‘the most interesting and up-to-date, and therefore the most controversial and debatable, museum of contemporary architecture in the world,’ arguing that the sheer number and speed of projects have turned Tirana into an urban school of architecture in real time. ‘Our studio Stefano Boeri Architetti, which, in addition to the 2030 Master Plan, has already completed six buildings for Tirana and is building and designing another six, is therefore now fully involved, both as a student and as a teacher, in this International Urban School of Architecture,’ he tells us.

Swiss architect Christian Kerez compares the rapid transformation of the country to early-2000s China, noting, ‘You feel an energy and vitality, which is not abstract, but you can feel in the daily life.’ What sets Albania apart, he shares with designboom, is that the transformation is curated from the top: ‘It is curated by the highest governmental official, the prime minister, Edi Rama. He is personally supervising the architectural projects for all large and exposed plots.’

Today, a mix of completed landmarks, active construction sites, and visionary proposals illustrates Albania’s unique creative surge. From repurposed communist monuments to futuristic towers and ‘vertical villages,’ these projects showcase a country in architectural flux. 

Red Sol Resort by Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

Built Landmarks

MVRDV’s transformation of the former Pyramid of Tirana into a vibrant youth cultural center is one of the most symbolic of Albania’s design renaissance. The brutalist landmark was preserved and reactivated with colorful, climbable structures that house tech classrooms and public gathering spaces, a clear nod to the power of adaptive reuse. Winy Maas, co-founder of the international architecture and urbanism office, reflects on this reinvention as a gesture of pride and contextual storytelling. ‘With the Pyramid of Tirana, we monumentalized the history of the building and its changed relationship with Tirana’s citizens,’ he reflects. Topped out in 2020, Downtown One, also by MVRDV, soars with cantilevered balconies shaped into a pixel map of the country – a literal vertical Albania. ‘Our projects near Skanderbeg Square make direct references to Albania’s history and geography – Downtown One with its map, the Skanderbeg Building with the statue of the former hero,’ Maas tells us.

Elsewhere in the city, built projects reveal how this architectural shift extends into public space, everyday life, and symbolic form. Stefano Boeri’s Blloku Cube introduces a compact yet highly visible intervention in Tirana’s once-restricted district, using iridescent surfaces and transparency to signal the transformation of the area into a hub for the creative economy. At the civic scale, 51N4E’s redesign of Skanderbeg Square performs a more radical act by removing traffic altogether, reshaping the city’s central plaza into a pedestrian landscape where architecture recedes in favor of collective use, ceremony, and urban calm.

This logic of hybridity carries through Archea Associati’s Air Albania Stadium, where sport, commerce, and hospitality are compressed into a single composition. Nearby, Studio Libeskind’s Magnet Residences extend symbolic thinking into the domestic realm, abstracting the Albanian eagle into curving residential forms organized around shared green spaces.

Stefano Boeri’s Blloku Cube (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

Approved & Under Construction

A generation of next-wave architecture is rising across Tirana and beyond. BIG’s design for the new National Theatre broke ground in 2022 and introduces a dramatic bowtie-shaped cultural facility that anchors a new arts quarter. OODA’s Hora Vertikale rethinks the tower as a vertical neighborhood, stacking 13 modular volumes into a staggered, plant-covered form. Mount Tirana, designed by CEBRA, abstracts the silhouette of Albania’s mountains into a jagged vertical profile that could one day become the country’s tallest structure. 

Steven Holl’s Expo Albania reimagines a conventional convention center as a sculptural pair of signature buildings linked by landscape and light. Oppenheim Architecture, deeply embedded in Albania’s urban evolution, is advancing the New Boulevard Tower and the Vlora Beach Tower. ‘Albania’s creative boom carries a remarkable openness, a moment where the spirit of place is being rediscovered while the country transforms at great speed. What compels us as international practitioners is the chance to learn from context and to build with the land not on the land, embracing honesty in materials and the quiet power already present,’ notes Beat Huesler, director of the team at Oppenheim Architecture Europe. ‘Our work there seeks a kind of silent monumentality, architecture that responds to this energy with humility and clarity, allowing the landscape and culture to lead.”

Christian Kerez emphasizes that realizing these designs requires long-term commitment. ‘It is easy to make a rendering and very hard and difficult to build,’ he says. ‘We always follow closely the steps from concept design to site supervision.’ This level of dedication led him to open an office in Albania, where he now spends half his time.

New Boulevard Tower by Oppenheim Architecture (read more here) | rendering by MIR

Visionary Proposals

Some of the most speculative and exhilarating designs remain on the drawing board. MVRDV’s Grand Ballroom, a spherical sports arena wrapped in apartments, challenges the typology of stadiums by merging culture, housing, and entertainment into one orbital gesture. For Maas, it is another part of Tirana’s urban narrative: ‘The Grand Ballroom acts as another part of the Tirana collection, showing the city’s ambitions and creating another landmark.’

Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, whose recent and forthcoming work spans the Albanian Riviera and the capital, engages both topography and skyline without imposing a singular formal language. The studio frames its Albanian projects as site-specific responses to radically different landscapes, from steep coastal cliffs to dense urban contexts. ‘The landscapes of Albania are all completely different,’ the architects note, ‘so naturally each project is approached in a completely different manner. We want to find the unique spirit of a place, and in Albania we have been given the freedom to do this.’ This attitude underpins a body of work that resists iconic repetition in favor of contextual continuity. ‘There has always been the temptation for an architect to plant their flag over the landscape,’ the team tells designboom. ‘We don’t approach architecture in this way. We aim for buildings that are of their context and actively looking to improve it, whether that’s bettering access, encouraging wildlife, or providing social space for the community.’

Boeri describes these proposals as part of Tirana’s unique urban ecosystem. ‘Ideas are transformed into urban artifacts with unexpected speed. Mineral artifacts, traversed by everyday life.’ he shares with us.

MVRDV’s Grand Ballroom (read more here) | image © Antonio Luca Coco, Angelo La Delfa, Luana La Martina, Jaroslaw Jeda, Stefano Fiaschi, Ciprian Buzdugan

building identity in real time

Almost every architect designboom spoke with pointed to the role of Edi Rama as an unprecedented figure in contemporary development. As Christian Kerez observes, ‘What is different from any country I know about this process of transformation is that it is curated by the highest governmental official (…) He is personally supervising the architectural projects for all large and exposed plots.’ For many, this direct involvement has helped turn architectural competitions and urban policy into a live cultural project. Bofill Taller de Arquitectura describes the boom as ‘a moment of rebirth’ enabled by Rama’s leadership, a system that ‘allows and values creative freedom.’

Winy Maas highlights how Albania offers national identity expressed through architecture. ‘Instead of producing safe, boring buildings that make every city look the same, Albania is incentivising creative innovation,’ he tells designboom. But he also sees deeper implications. The creative boom, he argues, is not just about buildings but about pride and cultural presence within Europe. ‘How does a country like Albania maintain its individual identity in a Union that features so many wealthier, larger, more populous nations? Architecture is one way.’ he tells designboom. Stefano Boeri, too, frames Albania as a model for international practice: ‘Tirana and Albania are now a real-time laboratory for the most advanced ideas in contemporary architecture… a true School where architecture can be simultaneously learned and taught.’

SIMA Tower by Christian Kerez

campus for the College of Europe by Oppenheim Architecture (read more here) | all renders © MIR

Bjarke Ingels Group’s Faith Park (read more here) | visualization © Beauty and the Bit

Steven Holl Architects’ Expo Albania (read more here) | render by the architects

Hora Vertikale by OODA (read more here) | image © Plomp

Papuli Tower by Bofill Taller de Arquitectura

Mount Tirana by CEBRA (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

CHYBIK + KRISTOF (CHK)’s ODA Tirana (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

Veterinary Hospital in Tirana by Davide Macullo Architects (read more here) | image courtesy of the architects

Tirana’s Selman Stërmasi Stadium revitalization by OMA (read more here) | image courtesy of OMA

Valona Hills I-Cones by Davide Macullo Architects

Archi-Tectonics’ Festival City (read more here) | visualizations © Archi-Tectonics

Tirana 2030 by Stefano Boeri

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Berdenesh Hills by NOA in Saranda, Albania, is a residential and hospitality development set along the southern Mediterranean coastline, where hillside terrain and sea views guide the project’s architectural logic.

The project occupies a sloping site within a quieter rural landscape outside Saranda. Approaching the area, the road traces low hills marked by scrub vegetation and exposed stone, with the sea appearing intermittently before opening fully toward the horizon.

NOA distributes the program across a group of terraced volumes that step with the topography. The ensemble reads as a compact development, shaped by the slope and oriented toward long views across the water and the distant outline of the Greek island of Corfu.

visualizations © Aleksey Mokhov (unless otherwise stated)

a clustered neighborhood for a new ‘citadel’

In designing its Berdenesh Hills project, the architects at NOA keep in mind the context of Southern Albania, which carries a layered architectural history. Here, remnants of castles and fortified settlements are scattered across the landscape. These structures often occupy elevated positions, their forms shaped by defensive logic as well as by the terrain.

The new development draws from this legacy through the idea of a contemporary citadel, interpreted as a clustered neighborhood rather than a closed perimeter.

Buildings are arranged around a central piazza that acts as the social and spatial core of the project. From this shared space, paths extend outward toward homes and gardened terraces. Meanwhile, the perimeter remains visually porous to maintain views of the surroundings.

Berdenesh Hills occupies a sloping Mediterranean site along the coast of southern Albania

the stepped architecture of berdenesh hills

The architecture of NOA’s Berdenesh Hills relies on stepped roof planes and varying building heights to mirror the slope of the site along the coast of Albania. Volumes rise and fall in section, creating a rhythm that feels closely tied to the terrain. From above, the roofs form an articulated surface that blends into the hillside, while from below, the terraces emphasize horizontality without dominating the view.

Facades are finished in warm, earthy plaster tones that echo the colors of the surrounding soil and rock. Subtle projections and recesses animate the surfaces by catching light differently throughout the day. This modulation reduces the visual weight often associated with multi level residential construction in Saranda.

the project organizes housing and hospitality as a compact hillside development

private terraces for sweeping sea views

Outdoor space plays a central role across the development. Each apartment includes a private terrace, designed as an extension of the interior living area. Along the edges of the buildings, these terraces widen, offering large exterior rooms oriented toward the sea. Parapets are lowered and detailed with slender metal elements to maintain open sightlines from inside the apartments.

At the center of Berdenesh Hills, the main square unfolds across multiple terraced levels, accommodating circulation, gathering, and a small community pavilion. A Mediterranean park weaves through the site, planted with species adapted to the coastal climate. Together, these shared spaces reinforce a sense of collective life while preserving privacy within individual dwellings.

Preliminary design approval has been secured and construction is planned to begin in 2026.

terraced volumes follow the terrain and preserve long views toward the sea

a central piazza structures movement and shared life across the site

private terraces extend living spaces outdoors | visualization © NOA

warm plaster facades respond to light, stone, and plantlife

the architecture draws from historic fortified landscapes

project info:

name: Berdenesh Hills

architect: NOA | @we.are.noa

location: Berdenesh, Saranda, Albania

local architect: Atelier 4 | @atelier4studio

status: preliminary design approval

visualizations: © Aleksey Mokhov, © NOA

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Set within a large agricultural garden in a coastal village near Lezhë, Albania, Red House by Pacarizi Studio explores how a single-family dwelling can respond to changing social structures, climatic conditions, and local building cultures. Designed by Gezim Pacarizi, the 350-square-meter home is organized around an open, partially covered courtyard with a pool at its center. The project approaches domestic architecture as a sequence of perceptual experiences shaped by light, movement, and framing, an idea articulated by the architects themselves. ‘What you see through a window can be a landscape, a tree, or architecture itself,’ they note.

Its basic structure is concrete, while the exterior walls are made of local hollow bricks. Thermal insulation is produced using a mixture of straw, sand, and lime, bound with casein, a milk protein traditionally used in natural building techniques. This same mixture is applied as plaster across the surfaces, with cement replaced entirely by casein. Red iron oxide is added directly into the material, giving the building its distinctive reddish-pink tone. The color becomes part of the material itself, intended to age without the need for repainting.

all images by Gezim Pacarizi

red house is shaped by light, time, and perception

Pacarizi Studio places the courtyard at the heart of the Red House. All major living spaces open toward this central void, transforming it into a living room on warmer days. The courtyard becomes a place for circulation, rest, observation, and gathering, mediating between the home and its surrounding orchard of olive, pomegranate, and orange trees. From here, a grand stair continues the spatial sequence upward to the roof, opening long views toward both the immediate garden and distant landscapes.

Windows reveal fragments of the house, a stair, a wall, another opening. The building becomes its own visual subject, creating layered perspectives that change throughout the day. As light shifts, surfaces deepen or flatten, shadows stretch or dissolve, and reflections appear across water and plaster. Nothing remains visually fixed. The experience of space is defined by this continuous transformation, echoing the Prizren-based architects’ reflection: ‘Nothing is ever the same because light, like water, is constantly changing, you can never bathe in the same water twice.’

wrapped around a square courtyard

Low-tech sustainability through material intelligence

Single-family houses make up more than half of Albania’s building stock. Migration, aging populations, and shifting patterns of work and mobility have redefined how these houses are occupied. Pacarizi Studio positions Red House as a response to this transformation, proposing a domestic architecture that can adapt to fluctuating patterns of use while remaining rooted in local climatic and material realities.

Lime was produced locally, and casein was sourced from nearby farms. Floors are finished in local pinkish marble and wood. The construction process generates almost no waste, relying on simplified detailing and local labor teams. Sustainability here is not framed as a matter of building culture, working with what is available, minimizing dependency on imported systems, and prioritizing long-term durability. Large fixed windows frame views and bring in daylight, while smaller operable openings regulate natural ventilation. Thick walls help stabilize interior temperatures, and the courtyard acts as a climatic buffer, collecting cool air at night and shading the surrounding rooms during the day. 

the red-toned exterior volume opens onto the surrounding orchard

a grand stair unfolds along the courtyard edge

thick walls and deep reveals create shaded thresholds between interior and exterior spaces

a pool acting as the core of the courtyard

the pool reflects the surrounding volumes

square apertures punctuate the facade

the stepped platform transforms the courtyard into a theatrical, inhabitable landscape

the central stair functions as both circulation and social seating, facing the pool

covered outdoor areas mediate between interior rooms and the agricultural garden beyond

interior circulation unfolds through a series of framed views across the courtyard

living spaces are defined by thick walls, deep window reveals, and filtered daylight

project info:

name: Red House

architect: Pacarizi Studio | @gezimpacarizi_architect

lead architect: Gezim Pacarizi

location: Lezhë, Albania

site area: 2,000 square meters

total gross floor area: 350 square meters

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MVRDV’s Grand Ballroom proposes a spherical arena of colossal scale for Tirana, Albania. Designed to replace the Asllan Rusi sports palace, the project brings together a 6,000-seat venue, hotel, apartments, and retail in a single continuous form. The sphere, over 100 meters (330 feet) in diameter, rises from a compact urban site between the city center and the airport road, appearing at once grounded and weightless.

The building’s circular volume folds gently into the landscape. Around its perimeter, open plazas and outdoor courts extend the public life of the arena. At ground level, shallow steps and shaded terraces guide visitors toward a sunken ring of cafés and shops, where the building meets the earth. The approach is choreographed through shifts in scale and level that reveal the building’s interior structure piece by piece.

visualizations © Antonio Luca Coco, Angelo La Delfa, Luana La Martina, Jaroslaw Jeda, Stefano Fiaschi, Ciprian Buzdugan

the grand ballroom as a spherical stack

The architects at MVRDV organize the Grand Ballroom’s programming as a stack of horizontal strata that build upward from public to private. The arena occupies the central tier — a luminous bowl enclosed by sweeping curves of seating and light-filtering structural ribs. Above, two floors of hotel rooms are suspended between the stands and the roof, their windows offering direct views into the court below. A glazed oculus at the arena’s center maintains a visual link between guests and athletes, which turn the ceiling into a shared point of focus.

Higher still, apartments are embedded within the double-shell structure of the sphere. Their circulation threads through a vast semi-outdoor dome that serves as a communal garden for residents. Mature trees, walkways, and shaded seating areas create a second landscape within the building as an inversion of the arena below. The cutouts that puncture the shell allow air and light to move freely through the interior.

MVRDV unveils a spherical mixed use arena in Tirana, Albania

inside MVRDV’s new monument for tirana

The material palette is expected to emphasize the building’s sculptural continuity — metallic panels and glass reflecting the changing Albanian light, while the internal gardens introduce warmth and softness. Seen from a distance, the Grand Ballroom reads as a luminous hemisphere rising above its context; up close, its surface reveals apertures, balconies, and recesses that respond to the rhythms of everyday use.

For founding partner Winy Maas, the project’s spherical form draws on references ranging from Boullée’s Cenotaph for Newton to Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes — monumental and iconic structures that embody collective aspiration through geometry. In Tirana, this lineage becomes a living arena for sport and community. As Mass explains, it will become a beacon and ‘a place to play, meet, and celebrate,’ Maas explains.

the 100 meter-wide sphere rises between the airport road and city center

the Grand Ballroom combines sport, housing, and hospitality in one structure

hotel rooms overlook the court through a central oculus

apartments are set within a double shell forming a shared garden dome

the arena sits at the heart of the structure with retail and cafés at ground level

cutouts in the sphere bring light and ventilation to the residential interior

project info:

name: Grand Ballroom

architects: MVRDV | @mvrdv

location: Tirana, Albania

client: Trema Tech shpk., Likado BV, Albanian Capital Group shpk, BCN Investments BV

status: competition winner

visualizations: © Antonio Luca Coco, Angelo La Delfa, Luana La Martina, Jaroslaw Jeda, Stefano Fiaschi, Ciprian Buzdugan

founding partner in charge: Winy Maas

partner: Bertrand Schippan

design team: Stavros Gargaretas, Catherine Drieux, Piotr Janus, Americo Iannazzone,

Angel Sanchez Navarro, Ana Melgarejo Lopez, Sylvain Totaro, Lola Elisa Cauneac, Miguel

del Campo Grijalbo, Stanisław Rochala

strategy and development: Maria Stamati

co-architect: UDV

artist: Hellidon Xhixha

structural engineer, cost estimator: DERBI-E

consultant: Ramboll

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This proposed Oricon Tower introduces a new landmark for Tirana, Albania conceived through the collaboration of Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura and Porto-based OODA. Designed as a gateway to the Albanian capital, the fifty-story tower stands at the threshold between the city’s historic grid and its expanding western edge, where infrastructure, housing, and commerce meet.

From the outset, the project is guided by proportion, structure, and material. Souto de Moura’s disciplined approach to form meets OODA’s generational emphasis on adaptability and urban engagement, resulting in a work that feels both grounded and forward-looking. The tower aligns with the rhythm of the avenue while anchoring the skyline with a quiet authority that stems from its geometry rather than its scale.

visualization © Plomp

Urban Presence and Context

Positioned beside the Bond Tower in Tirana, Albania, Oricon Tower by OODA and Eduardo Souto de Moura establishes a dialogue with its surroundings through calibrated massing and a deliberate treatment of the base. The lower levels form a porous interface with the street, opening toward the city through glazed facades and deep recesses that temper light and define thresholds. This base gives way to a vertical composition where repetition, shadow, and reflection lend a measured continuity to the facade.

Its placement along the primary axis connecting the airport to the city center underscores its role as an urban threshold. Rather than presenting a single facade to the city, the building modulates its expression according to orientation, solid toward the approach from the airport, more permeable toward the inner city. This allows the structure to mediate between movement and arrival.

visualization © Plomp

Material and Structure

The architectural identity of Albania’s Oricon Tower by Eduardo Souto de Moura and OODA emerges from its material construction. Concrete, marble, and glass are handled with restraint, emphasizing continuity and texture over surface effect. These materials reference regional building traditions while supporting the tower’s structural clarity: vertical load-bearing elements frame broad spans that open the interiors to natural light and long views.

Detailing is purposeful throughout. Marble panels articulate the tower’s middle section, lending weight and permanence, while lighter glazing at the upper levels enhances transparency and luminosity for the hotel floors. The building’s structure — refined through close coordination between architects and engineers — balances expressive simplicity with technical rigor, ensuring stability without excess.

visualization © Plomp

Interior Organization and Experience

The functional gradient of the Oricon Tower mirrors the city’s layered activity. Shops and offices occupy the base, giving the ground plane a civic presence and extending the commercial energy of Dritan Hoxha Avenue. Mid-level apartments are arranged around the central core, with layouts that prioritize privacy and views toward the surrounding mountains.

The upper levels house a hotel and a restaurant that crowns the building. Here, the spatial character shifts from compressed circulation spaces to open volumes, where daylight and panorama define the atmosphere. Circulation remains direct and efficient, an aspect integral to Souto de Moura’s practice, and is supported by the core that links the separate lobbies for residential, commercial, and hospitality uses.

The design of the Oricon Tower rests on the principle that architecture and construction are inseparable. Each decision, from facade modulation to structural span, reflects the logic of how the building stands and breathes within its environment. The collaboration between Eduardo Souto de Moura and OODA synthesizes experience and experimentation into a coherent statement.

visualization © Plomp

visualization © OODA

visualization © OODA

visualization © OODA

visualization © OODA

project info:

name: Oricon Tower

architect: OODA | @oodaarchitecture, Eduardo Souto de Moura

local architect: Artech Studio | @artech_al

visualizations: © OODA, © Plomp | @plo.mp

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Bjarke Ingels Group has been selected to design Faith Park, a 200,000-square-meter public park planned for the hillsides outside Tirana, Albania. Conceived as a landscape of coexistence, the masterplan brings together architecture, landscape, and spirituality in a single continuous terrain that connects the valley floor to the mountain’s crest.

The design unfolds as a ‘genealogical tree of faith,’ with pathways that diverge from a shared point in the valley and ascend through gardens, olive groves, and forested slopes. Along these routes, nine pavilions appear within the terrain, each devoted to a distinct spiritual tradition. Their placement and form follow the natural contours of the hillside and create a spatial rhythm that alternates between enclosure and openness, or reflection and movement.

At the entrance to the park, the Museum of Remembrance gathers nine rammed-earth volumes around a central garden. The material’s earthen texture sets the tone for the experience centered on the physical presence of the land itself.

Bjarke Ingels Group to design Faith Park on the hillsides outside Tirana | visualizations © Beauty and the Bit

bjarke ingels group’s symbolic Material palette

Each pavilion of Tirana’s Faith Park is designed by the architects at Bjarke Ingels Group to be constructed in a material that draws on the geographic and cultural lineage of the tradition it represents: Jerusalem limestone for Judaism, colored Italian marble for Christianity, white sandstone mosaic for Islam, and an array of granite, onyx, marble, and river-polished stone for the Dharmic and East Asian traditions.

As visitors progress through the park, the sequence of materials becomes a tactile archive, with each surface holding its own weight and color.

The architecture does not interrupt the landscape. Instead, it appears to grow out of it, merging built form and terrain into a single field. Gardens and paths are arranged to follow natural gradients, while native vegetation like olive, cypress, and pine emphasizes the site as part of a Mediterranean context.

nine pavilions dedicated to different spiritual traditions emerge along the sloping terrain

design for a growing tirana

Bjarke Ingels Group’s Faith Park joins a series of ambitious public projects in Tirana, and throughout Albania beyond. Over the past decade, the country has undergone a gradual transformation led by international and local architects alike, from Archi-Tectonics’ Festival City, Oppenheim Architecture’s colorful Vlore Beach Urban Development, Studio Libeskind’s Magnet Residence, and Bofill Taller de Arquitectura’s Red Sol Resort.

Extending this approach into the highlands, the project embraces the landscape as a civic realm rather than a boundary. BIG, together with a team comprising SON Architects and Edoardo Tresoldi, designs the park to welcome visitors of all backgrounds, bringing spaces for walking and gathering.

Bjarke Ingels describes the project as ‘a livable, inhabitable evolutionary tree of faith mapped onto the natural topography of a mountain, connecting the valley to the summit, the earth to the heavens, and rooted in respect for nature.’ The statement reflects a design philosophy that views ecological awareness as an essential form of reverence.

each pavilion is built from materials that reflect its faith and geographic origin

the Museum of Remembrance marks the entrance with nine rammed-earth volumes surrounding a garden

paths and vegetation follow the natural contours of the Albanian hillside

the 200,000 square meter landscape connects the valley to the mountain crest

project info:

name: Faith Park

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) | @big_builds

location: Tirana, Albania

visualizations: © Beauty and the Bit | @thisisbtb

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Archi-Tectonics unveils Festival City, a 180,000 square-meter mixed-use masterplan designed for Tirana, Albania. Conceived within Stefano Boeri’s Tirana 2030 vision, the project reimagines urban growth by combining density, ecology, and community life in the residential neighborhood of Laprakë.

Festival City rethinks the conventional city block by weaving residences, retail, and public amenities into an ecosystem of built and open space. At its core, the plan prioritizes green infrastructure, ensuring that densification enhances rather than erodes the quality of urban life.

visualizations © Archi-Tectonics

bringing urban density to tirana

Located between Tirana’s center and the airport, Laprakë is a neighborhood positioned for growth. Archi-Tectonics’ design strengthens this context by introducing three residential towers of 26 to 31 stories along the main road, tapering the massing as it approaches the smaller-scale surroundings. This strategy allows the development to connect smoothly with its context, balancing metropolitan scale with neighborhood intimacy.

At ground level, the plan introduces tree-lined boulevards, playgrounds, and plazas that knit the new complex into the existing fabric. ‘Festival City is designed to integrate rather than impose,’ notes Winka Dubbeldam, Founding Partner of the studio. ‘We see density as a tool for urban and ecological benefit.’

Festival City is a 180,000 square-meter mixed-use masterplan in Tirana, Albania

returning outdoor space to the community

By concentrating programming within its towers, the masterplan by Archi-Tectonics makes available a large amount of open space at the ground level. These areas are returned to the community as planted courtyards, gardens, and green terraces that support biodiversity. The project frames these spaces as active commons, with the intent on bringing residents quiet, shaded retreats.

This approach embodies a form of re-wilding within the city, positioning Festival City as a landscape-driven development rather than a purely architectural insertion. The courtyards are designed as microclimates which contribute to cleaner air and cooler conditions during the summer months.

the development introduces three towers between 26 and 31 stories

The project also draws on familiar Albanian typologies, where housing is layered above active retail space. In Festival City, commercial programs are embedded throughout the bases of the blocks to ensure an active sidewalk life. Green courtyards connect directly to these uses, bringing residents and visitors into shared civic life.

Sustainability is expressed through both spatial and technical strategies. Archi-Tectonics applies ‘sponge city’ principles — an urban planning concept for water solutions — to integrate permeable surfaces, rain gardens, and green roofs which will regulate water and support ecosystems. Facade treatments combine shading fins with pixelated glass and stone, reducing solar gain and improving energy performance.

massing tapers to meet the smaller scale of the Laprakë neighborhood

the design incorporates ‘sponge city’ principles, green roofs, and permeable surfaces

the plan frees ground space for parks, playgrounds, and planted courtyards

green areas improve biodiversity and create shaded microclimates for residents

Archi-Tectonics designs the project as part of Stefano Boeri’s Tirana 2030 vision

project info:

name: Festival City

architect: Archi-Tectonics NYC LLC | @architectonics2129

location: Laprakë, Tirana, Albania

client: Concord Development Group
status: in permit phase
area: 180,000 square meters (1,937,500 square feet)

principal in charge: Winka Dubbeldam
Archi-Tectonics team: Justin Korhammer, Merrick Castillo, Stan Zhang, Santiago Herrera, Ying Chen
general contractor: Concord Investment Group
landscape architect: Dirtworks NYC
local consultants: Edil Al Group

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Oppenheim Architecture designs a signature villa along the cliffs of Jalë Bay in Albania, as part of a collection of four residences embedded within the larger Jalë Bay Development. Perched between mountain and sea, the project demonstrates the studio’s philosophy of creating architecture that is inseparable from its site.

Guided by the principles of ‘spirit of place, silent monumentality, and the essential,’ the design is imagined as a direct response to the raw, coastal landscape. The villa emerges from the hillside as a carved concrete form, its geometry drawn from the language of caves and ancient stone structures.

Other Albanian projects by Oppenheim Architecture include the Vlore Beach Urban Development with its all-red beach tower, the New Boulevard Tower in Tirana, and the Panorama Hilltop Retreat.

visualizations © MIR

oppenheim Architecture’s Dialogue with place

Rather than appearing as an object placed on the terrain, Oppenheim Architecture’s villa in Albania reads as a continuation of the surrounding geology. Cast-in-place concrete walls, etched with geometric reliefs inspired by traditional Albanian embroidery, establish a material connection to both history and topography. The rough permanence of the cliffside is complemented by the precision of the constructed form.

The arrival sequence reinforces this sense of integration. The design team carves a descending entry, where excavated earth and constructed surfaces overlap. The entry stair, hewn into the slope, forms a compressed threshold before releasing into open views, framing the Ionian horizon.

the Signature Villa in Albania is embedded into the cliffs of Jalë Bay

interiors to frame the cliffs of albania

Inside the villa, the design by Oppenheim Architecture maintains a consistent dialogue with the cliffy setting of coastal Albania. Openings are positioned to capture both expansive sea views and the textured rock walls of the excavation. Light is treated as a spatial element, shifting across surfaces over the course of the day. Furnishings and finishes are restrained, allowing framed views to become the primary visual focus.

A cantilevered pool extends from the cliff edge, acting as a linear plane that reflects both sky and sea. This gesture reinforces the villa’s position at the meeting point of vertical rock and horizontal water.

The interiors balance the structural weight of concrete with softer, tactile elements. Light fabrics, textured plaster, and crafted details bring a sense of intimacy to the otherwise monolithic form. Shutters filter light, creating patterns that shift with the sun and blur the threshold between interior and exterior spaces.

a cantilevered pool creates a visual link between mountain and water

Oppenheim Architecture designs the villa as an extension of the landscape

the arrival sequence is shaped as a carved descent through the hillside

cast-in-place concrete walls feature patterns inspired by Albanian embroidery

the villa embodies Oppenheim Architecture’s philosophy of silent monumentality

interiors frame views of the Ionian Sea and exposed rock walls

project info:

name: OA Signature Villa

design architect: Oppenheim Architecture | @oppenheimarchitecture

location: Jalë Beach, Albania

built area: 400 square meters

completion: expected 2026

visualizations: © MIR | @mir.no

architect of record: MA Studio & Partners

client: Millennium Group

principles in charge: Chad Oppenheim, Beat Huesler
design lead: Rasem Kamal
project contributors: Natacha Viveiros, Victoire Brem, Olha Tymczuk, Kseniia Ponomar
interior design: Marinana Charters, Dina Muti

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Lake Views, a 135,000 sqm masterplan by JA Joubert Architecture, introduces a new lakefront district in Tirana, Albania. Positioned between the city’s central park and the Olympic swimming complex, the project redefines the typical urban block through a sloped, view-oriented massing strategy that integrates residential, commercial, and public programs.

The project was the result of a privately organized competition won in 2016. It responds to a conventional program with housing positioned above three floors of services and underground parking, by shifting from a repetitive block typology to a sculpted architectural form that follows the terrain. Each unit is angled to maximize exposure to views of the adjacent lake, the city skyline, and the surrounding mountains. This approach ensures that all residences are outward-facing, eliminating rear-facing units. End units feature full-width terraces with integrated planters, providing shading and enhancing indoor-outdoor continuity. The stepped and folded building volumes are designed to optimize natural light, air circulation, and spatial privacy. The development comprises 100,000 sqm above ground and 35,000 sqm below grade, constructed using reinforced concrete and designed to meet seismic class 8 standards in response to local tectonic activity.

all images by Leonit I Brahimi

JA Joubert Architecture Uses Modular Structural Grid

A modular 3.5-meter structural grid, consistent in both plan and section, guides the building system, enabling variation in unit configuration and facade articulation. At ground level, a network of sunken terraces, green corridors, and pedestrian routes fosters a walkable environment. These public spaces provide residents and visitors with access to calm, shaded areas that serve as social infrastructure while remaining buffered from surrounding traffic.

With Lake Views, JA Joubert Architecture Studio aims to contribute to Tirana’s evolving architectural landscape, aligning with national strategies aimed at improving urban quality and resilience through contemporary design. The project reflects a broader shift toward mixed-use, view-optimized housing that supports both private living and civic engagement.

Lake Views introduces a new lakefront district in Tirana

positioned between Tirana’s park and Olympic complex

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by JA Joubert Architecture (@ja_joubertarchitecture)

public space integrated as social infrastructure

a sloped district shaped for optimal lake views

a response to Albania’s evolving urban strategy

each unit is oriented toward the skyline and mountains

a folded massing strategy redefines the urban block

terraced volumes follow the natural terrain

full-width balconies with integrated planters provide shade

stepped forms optimize light, privacy, and airflow

outdoor spaces connect with interior living

units vary in size and layout within a unified system

green corridors and sunken terraces activate the ground level

project info:

name: Lake Views

architects: JA Joubert Architecture | @ja_joubertarchitecture
design team: Marc Joubert, Marianne Miguel, Paul Kroese, Alessandro Guida
location: Tirana, Albania

site area: 9 ha

built area: 135,000 sqm (100,000 sqm above grade / 35,000 sqm below grade)

client & contractor: Gener2

photographer: Leonit I Brahimi | @leonitibrahimi

animation: slmnmedia

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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OMA’s Mangalem 21 occupies a steep site in eastern Tirana, Albania, shaped by a 27-meter elevation change from top to bottom — roughly the height of a nine-story building. Framed by communist-era housing blocks to the north and informal developments to the south, the residential masterplan responds to this layered context with a rhythmic and vibrant sequence of buildings and courtyards. Developed with Kontakt, the complex adopts a checkerboard layout that balances urban density with green, communal space.

The entire ground level is pedestrian-only, with parking and vehicular access placed below ground. This frees up 70% of the surface area for public plazas, gardens, and circulation, resulting in a calm and accessible urban setting. As the slope steps down, buildings are arranged so that each looks over the one below, allowing for open views and sunlight across the site.

all images courtesy of Kontakt

oma’s tirana masterplan introduces porosity into the grid

At the architectural scale, Mangalem 21’s design transforms the regular grid into a more spatially active fabric. Tangent corners and overlapping volumes are articulated through three new typologies: the straddle core, where circulation is shared between buildings; the straddle apartment, which spans two structures; and the kissing corner, where two volumes meet. These configurations introduce porosity and variation across what might otherwise be a rigid plan.

A carefully curated color palette further animates the development’s façades. Referencing Tirana’s 2000s city-wide mural initiative led by then-mayor Edi Rama, international practice OMA introduces color through standardised openings, shifting patterns, and selective accents across walls, window frames, and shutters. The resulting visual language is diverse yet cohesive. With the stepped arrangement revealing multiple elevations at once, rooftops are treated as fifth facades — visible from above and woven into the spatial rhythm. Together, these elements aim to establish a new model of urban living in Tirana that integrates high density with visual diversity, open space, and a flexible architectural framework that evolves with its residents’ needs. The project builds a walkable, inhabited landscape that ties individual experience to a collective urban form.

Mangalem 21’s facades emerging from the urban edge

colorful residential blocks

the residential masterplan responds to its layered context with a rhythmic sequence of buildings and courtyards

the interplay between vibrant facades, arcades, and planted courtyards

the design references Tirana’s 2000s city-wide mural initiative led by then-mayor Edi Rama

framed by communist-era housing blocks to the north and informal developments to the south

project info:

name: Mangalem 21
architect: OMA | @oma.eu, Kontakt

location: Tirana, Albania

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: Ravail Khan | designboom

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