Lake Area to receive face lift from Dutch studio

TIRANA, July 31 – Dutch architectural studio MVRDV will plan the urban development of Tirana’s Artificial Lake area , said Mayor Edi Rama at the presentation of the drafts proposed by the four competing studios.
“Unanimously, the jury chose the idea proposed by MVRDV studio as the one with the most potential in developing [the area],” Rama added. Rama referred to the urban development of the Lake area as a “strategic moment for the future Tirana.” “The area will become a new hot spot of Tirana, while the [winning] project manages to harmonize public interest with that of private enterpreneurship,” Rama added.
The winning draft is not definitive and it will be improved, said Rama. The jury chose the Dutch project because it prioritized and accentuated the green recreational areas of the Lake zone.
MVRDV has already planned a residential building situated at the edge of the Lake of Tirana. The project received the permit from the City Hall the first week of July. Additionally, the studio has planned another building in the center of Tirana. The project is a shopping center and it received the City’s permit, too.
The other three architectural studios that competed with the Dutch MVRDV were Spanish Carlos Ferrater, British David Chipperfield Architects, and British Bolles+Wilson. (Tirana Times Staff)