The launch of Tirana Architecture Week

THE LAUNCH OF THE ARCHITECTURE TRIENNIAL IN TIRANA:

TIRANA ARCHITECTURE WEEKS (TAW):

For the first time Tirana Municipality and POLIS University organize this joint event of international impact

The Mayor Basha and 5 EU Embassies confirm their support.

“Architecture Week” is a global phenomenon, and Albania is one of the few countries in Europe which are not as yet made part of this prestigious network of architecture and urban development. This initiative of POLIS University received full support of the Mayor, Mr. Lulzim Basha right from the start. The preparatory stage has already started in early January and since then a two - months - schedule of activities was set up comprised of a rich menu of public and professional events to be organized during September- October of this year.   

As the architect Besnik Aliaj, the Rector of POLIS University highlighted in the opening ceremony  :

‘Tirana Architecture Weeks will put Tirana in the European and global cultural map. There are foreseen 8-9 weeks of intensive international exchange of know-how in the disciplines of architecture and urban planning, with the broad participation of the citizens, communities and professionals.’   

The organizers are fully confident that the event will serve to enhance public  interest in architecture and in the city on one hand and enrich the cultural, artistic life of the city and the cultural tourism on the other.   

The Mayor Basha emphasized that ‘ This is event goes beyond national boundaries and puts Tirana in front of an international debate on the way a city should develop. This rich variety of reputable international architects and urban planners will be a contribution to the future development of Tirana. It reconfirms once again a development model, which different from the past starts with planning and proceeds with a well-structured implementation process, avoiding the chaos and abuse.  There are voices – he stressed – that claim that plans only are not enough – we need to see implementation on the ground . My response to such voices is: good projects can only be built based on good planning. Tirana Architecture Weeks is a treasure of ideas that will be exploited in its very best for this public purpose’

During presentation, four local and foreign curators introduced main components of Tirana Architecture Weeks, namely: Architecture Events; Design Events; Public Events and International Workshops. TAW will include 2 international conferences and competitions, 10 international exhibitions, 6 international workshops and over 10 public events that will try to “provoke” the city , stimulating   inter-reaction and communication amidst community and local authorities.  

The curators also highlighted that TAW foresees the engagement of direct lectures or exhibitions of worldwide famous architects, designers and planners, such as: Massimiliano Fuksas (Italy); OMA Studio, KCAP Studio, Mecanoo Studio, Winy Maas, West 8,  Kaas Oosterhuis (Holland); Peter Zumthor, Herzog & de Meuron (Switzerland); Arturo Vittori, Antonino Saggio, Antonello Stella (Italy); Marc Armengaud (France);  Sadar+Vuga (Slovenia); Jason Payne (USA); Carlos Morales (Mexico); Juan Lopez Cano (Spain), Kengo Kuma (Japan); Ekim Tan (Turkey), as well as the architecture schools of Ferrara and La Sapienza (Italy), Bauhaus and Cottbus (Germany), TU-Vienna (Austria), Pristina (Kosova), Belgrade (Serbia), Skopje (Macedonia), Larnaka (Cyprus), Delft dhe Erasmus (Holland) etc, etc. There are also several NGO-s joining such initiative, such as Co-PLAN (Albania), Expeditio (Montenegro), CDS (Macedonia) and Architecture & Vision (Italy).

In their greeting speeches the high diplomats  invited to TAW  launching event , highly appreciated the joint initiative of U_POLIS and Tirana Municipality confirming the  support of the institutions they represent. They  referred to this activity as a very important event that will surely impact Tirana and its citizens and contribute for a new image of Albania.

In his word, the Rector of POLIS University officially expressed his gratitude to the Dutch Embassy in Albania for its support as main sponsor of the activity. Similarly the Italian Ambassador Mr. Massimo Gaiani expressed the enthusiasm of his Embassy to cooperate with an institution that not only provides a very special physical environment, but also an intellectual environment for professionals not only from Albania, but also from the Balkans and beyond.  He referred to POLIS as “a leading example to follow!”. The cooperation opportunities are numerous – he said – highlighting “Made in Italy Design” exhibition and the possibility to integrate the feasibility study for the multimodal station of Tirana Municipality with the “Mobilicity” competition, organized on this very station within TAW.

The German Ambassador Ms. Müller-Holtkemper during her speech highlighted the influence that architecture and design exerts on our daily lives, and how crucial it is to make sure that such impact is a positive one. Therefore, the importance of the role that architecture and design play, is not only in the focus of TAW, but also that of the “German October”,  an annual event organized by the German Embassy.  She said that ‘ …the activities of TAW and German October naturally converge with each other and we will closely cooperate for an optimal combination of the two events’   

Another important supporter of TAW is the Swiss Embassy in Tirana. Mr. Altin Memi, made reference to the three years project  named “Revival of City Squares in Balkan Cities” financed by Swiss Cultural Program ( SCP), which has so far resulted very successful with a series of activities held in Tirana, Durrësi, Kotorri and Skopja. Final outputs will  be presented during TAW. He also emphasized the initiative to bring to Tirana some exhibitions of the most eminent Swiss architects, as Peter Zumthor dhe Herzog & de Meuron, Dina & Dina, etc.

The Austrian Consul, Ms. Sigrid Kodym on her part confirmed the support towards POLIS and Marubi Academy that, under the framework of TAW, are going to join efforts to organize the 7^th season of “Human Rights Film Festival”, which this year will have a special focus on environmental issues. Mr. Kujtim Çashku, the Head of Marubi Academy  expressed his full commitment and confidence for a successful cooperation. He underlined that such a cooperation and support from EU Embassies confirms that in the public debate on higher education, people should bear in mind that beside problems there  are also important achievements and good models that need support and stimulation.  

In order to provide full transparency, detailed information and better communication with the public, the organizers have opened the official website of TAW: www.tiranaarchitectureweek.com