TIRANA, Feb. 17 – Tirana’s Municipality project to build 17 new schools which will solve population growth and the trend of teaching in two shifts was made public this weekend, with Italian architect Stefano Boeri saying the new buildings will also serve as open cultural centers.
Local media reported construction will begin this year, with an updated concept of schools in terms of their infrastructure and the social services they offer in mind.
The schools will be reportedly built in every administrative unit in bigger need of facilities due to higher population density.
It was additionally reported a space for all citizens to have access to in the evenings will be provided in addition to proper heating system, abundant green spaces and a number of classes and labs for students.
In an interview for local media, Boeri said the new schools will remain open throughout the day and will contain cultural and sports facilities that could compare them to cultural centres.
“We were inspired by the idea of an open school, which will provide a safe environment for children, but which will be open for the entire neighborhood in the evening, for the youth that wants music, culture, for those wanting to study after work and for the pensioners who need a meeting place.
In a comparison between building schools and planting trees, Boeri valued Tirana’s mayor Erion Veliaj for understanding their similarity.
“He has understood that building a school and thinking about trees is the same thing, because it means planting the future,” Boeri said.
The new school buildings were part of Veliaj’s 2015 campaign goals, which promised a solution to the big number of students lowering education quality in classrooms as well as to the 27-year-long discomfort of teaching in two shifts.
The project foresees the construction of elementary schools in addition to high schools, which will be built with incorporated gardens in their premises.
