Urban design in Tirana City

The project, prepared in close cooperation with the municipal authorities, drew on European town-planning experience combined with in-depth knowledge of Tirana. Indeed, the design of the new city center required a comprehensive understanding of the Albanian capital.

The purpose of this urban planning project was to create an urban reference framework (mobility infrastructure) designed as a landscape in the center of Tirana and enabling the local authorities to develop a coherent and long-term urban renewal policy. The project addresses the city at all scales, from the overall coherence of the capital’s structuring avenue down to block or neighborhood plaza level.The layout of new buildings will be defined in relation to the existing buildings and the road system to be developed. Historic buildings and high-quality recent buildings have been preserved. The others are being gradually replaced, ensuring the relocation of their residents.The construction of new roads has been a priority, defining thus new city blocks of smaller size. The narrow paths running through the blocks have been converted into pedestrian alleys, opening new sightlines and creating visual breakthroughs.The aim is to design a pattern of full/empty spaces and high/low buildings that lets natural light filter down to street level. This implies that the height of the buildings must be regulated, and that public spaces will be extensively planted with vegetation.