Belgian firm to rebuild Tirana’s main square

TIRANA, Nov 24 – Brussels-based architecture firm 51N4E won the international tender, beating five other finalists in a design competition to supervise the reconstruction of historic Skanderbeg Square in the Albanian capital Tirana.
Spearheaded by firm principals Johan Anrys, Freek Persyn, and Peter Swinnen, the rebuilding of the 1800-square-foot square will cost an estimated 10 million Euros and should be completed by the end of 2009.
An international jury of 11 design experts unanimously approved 51N4E’s master plan, developed in conjunction with Albanian artist Anri Sala, which will convert the circa-1930 square into a traffic-free zone.
Parks and gardens will surround the square’s center, newly elevated by ten feet, while a nine-foot-high, pyramid-shaped structure will be built among a bed of newly planted trees.
“The design demonstrates respect for the city’s history while putting it into perspective,” says Tirana Mayor Edi Rama. “Every Albanian will be able to stand at the top of the pyramid, in a position of absolute power.”
Also making the cut as finalists for the Skanderbeg Square project were Architecture Studio in France, Atena Studio in Italy, Daniel Libeskind in the United States, Josep Lluis Mateo in Spain and MVRDV in Holland.