Milan-based architecture firm Stefano Boeri Architetti (SBA), UNLAB, and Dutch firm Inter.National.Design (IND) have won the tender promoted by The Ministry of Urban Development aiming to develop a new vision and a new general plan for Tirana.
According to Farnesina, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the winning project which is expected to be completed within the next five months, includes “setting up an integrated database of the territory, developing the city’s territorial strategy, a metabolic analysis, a development plan, project implementation rules and an environmental impact study.”
In an interview with Top Channel, Boeri talked about his impressions of Tirana during his visits to the capital, his urban plan, his visions to transform Tirana into a worthy European capital, and how he sees Tirana in 2030.
“What’s extraordinary about Tirana is that it is like a museum of the 900’s. Walking in the city streets one can see the influence of cultures across the planet. There are places where there is a strong influence of the European culture, the Italian one, places influenced by the Soviet Union, places influenced by Asia during the times of AlbaniaChina relations, and contemporary architecture that indicates Albania’s link to the world. That is why I find the international dimension of Tirana today very interesting and valuable,” Boeri said for Top Channel.
According to him, Tirana has a very important role in a geopolitical system that is not only connected with the Mediterranean, but with Europe as a whole. “I think that the future of Tirana, what we have called ‘Tirana 2030’, will be a project developed by the Government and the Municipality that will give this city a very important role in the coming years,” Boeri added.
The new urban plan, which will focus on maintaining a balance between the city, nature, and agriculture, will be composed of three parts. The first part includes a general model that will show Tirana in 2030. The second part includes a list of clear and strong principles and rules that will allow everyone to understand what to do, where to go, and how to intervene,while the third part will be an atlas of transformation projects that will highlight the areas that need the most work.
Some of the most well known buildings in Tirana such as The Academy of Arts, Qemal Stafa Stadium, Dajti hotel, the Palace of Brigades, etc. were all designed by Gherardio Bosio, an Italian architect. “The presence of European architectural parts in Tirana shows that the city has been part of a more open world in the past century. This continues today and I am very happy to be part of this history,” Boeri concluded.
In December 2015 Boeri’s Vertical Forest was awarded by The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and promoted by the Illinois Institute of Technology of Chicago as the Best Tall Building Worldwide for 2015.
“After winning the International Highrise Award in Frankfurt in the 2014, the world award of the CTBUH in Chicago is the confirmation that the Vertical Forest has become an international icon of contemporary architecture. I am happy for Milano, a city that today finds in the Vertical Forest a symbol of its reinvention, and for Italian culture and architecture, these confirm a great moment of innovation,” Boeri said.
According to him, the Vertical Forest, which combines architecture with nature, can also be implemented in Tirana in the future.
