Austrian firm to erect independence monument

TIRANA, Sept. 26 – Austria’s Valenta has been announced the winner of an international tender to erect an Albanian independence monument based on a design project selected last summer. Rubens Shima, the director of the National Arts Gallery in Tirana, says the Independence Monument which will be placed in the Rinia park next to the central boulevard will be ready by November 28, when Albania marks its 100th anniversary of independence. The monument’s construction cost is estimated at Euro 355,000 excluding the Euro 35,000 reward for the two winning artists and the foundation costs.
“The evaluation committee decided to select Austrian company Valenta which has similar arts and architecture important works in its CV. A 6.4- meter tall version of the monument has been selected compared to the initial 8 metre tall monument,”
The independence monument has been designed by two Munich-based architects, Kosovo’s Visar Obrija and Germany’s Kai Roman Kiklas, who were inspired by the Albanian traditional house. To express the idea of independence, the authors bring an open building composed of two parts of a cube with one half holding the roof and the remaining one the platform. This structure has been perceived with length, width and height that allows people to freely walk through. In the inner sides of the monument, there will be laser drawn elements such as the “Declaration of Independence’ the national symbol of the double headed eagle and human portraits. The open building symbolizes the independence of the Albanian nation, the jump from isolation to freedom and the look into the future.
Some 81 design projects to erect a monument dedicated to Albania centenary independence were submitted by dozens of Albanian and international artists.
Tirana will also feature statues dedicated to some of the most Albanian prominent figures such as independence leader Ismail Qemali, King Zog, and patriot Hasan Prishtina.
Earlier this year, a logo designed by Zeni Ballashi, a Kosovo based ethnic Albanian from Macedonia, was selected to accompany all events Albania is hosting this year as part of the 100th independence anniversary. The winning logo features a double-headed eagle as a jubilee flame resembling to a trophy.