Five international architecture firms are taking part in the competition: Barozzi Veiga from Spain, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group from Denmark, Cobe from Denmark, l’AUC from France, and JDSA – Julien De Smedt Architects from France.

Rama said that, for projects of particular importance to urban development, Albania is seeking the expertise of professionals with distinguished careers in urban planning, architectural design and construction.

“Today, we are here to rethink the development of a site where a park was initially created, and a building was later constructed within it,” Rama said.

The Prime Minister referred to the history of the building known as “Taiwan”, recalling the transformations it has undergone over the years, from its construction during the communist period to subsequent developments.

According to Rama, the redevelopment of the site should accommodate the needs of a Tirana that has changed significantly over the past several decades.

“Today, we are here once again for another redevelopment of this building, which needs to be transformed to address the needs and ambitions of a city that today is no longer what it was either in the 1950s, when Rinia Park was created, or later in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the Taiwan building was constructed,” he said.

Rama stressed that the project is a private-sector development on privately owned property, but that, given its location in the heart of Rinia Park, it will also have an impact on the surrounding area.

“It is a project located in the heart of the park, within the boundaries of privately owned land, where the existing building now needs to be rebuilt. At the same time, however, the development will have a significant impact on the surrounding area,” Rama said.

He said that, precisely because of this wider impact, an international competition had been held to generate a broad range of options for the building’s redesign and redevelopment.

“By considering a wide range of options for how Taiwan should be redesigned and redeveloped, and by drawing on the expertise of the architects involved in this challenge, we hope to make the best possible choice for the future of the property and for the capital as a whole,” Rama said.

The five shortlisted designs will compete to shape the future architectural concept of the “Tirana Fountain Tower”, as part of a process to determine how the site in central Tirana will be transformed.

/sm/