Disappointment

The fact that the jury was composed out of very prestigious professionals did not prevent the New Parliamentary Complex winning project from being just another choice. This project might be economical or functional, I can’t say a lot from the photograph I so at Our Man In Tirana blog, but there is nothing that can be translated in an original choice which would be the vanguard of tomorrow’s generations.

Somehow, the Albanian society has been kidnapped by the pseudo – visionaries, who would do everything possible, to set themselves at the triumphant position, while they still have power in their hands.

There would be no need of rushing toward just another mediocre choice, and should the patience prevail, another option would only show maturity toward a solution of which everybody can proud.

The new city

After independence; WWI, WWII, and the fall of communism, are three major factors that played a crucial role for the modern Albanian society. Tirana has not seen most of the Architectural periods, that have contributed in the societies for most of the Western and some of the Eastern European nations, and makes it more difficult for Albanian Architecture to be a piece of that puzzle. As the nation is trying to break away from the ghosts of the past and looking forward a re-unified identity, there is the risk of compromising or settle for the best imitation of the rest of Europe.

I haven't seen the winner project of the Albanian Parliament Complex, but I only hope that would not be a reminder of something you might have seen somewhere else. Tirana has the chance of setting a new rule in originality. I hope this project is part of that rule.

Deep Purple in Tirana

This has nothing to do with Interior Design. While still in High School during 1987-88, it was impossible to even find an original audio tape with their album in Tirana. Usually, we would record from any foreign Radio or TV shows (forget about copyrights, it was illegal anyway) and then listen to songs like Smoke on the water, while getting together in various underground (nothing explicitly political) events. Old and new songs, they represented what was best out there. It would have never crossed our minds that any of these groups, would be allowed to have one day, Tirana in their tour agenda.

The Building as Canvas

This is an argument that has been consumed in several blogs. The last time it was on Stepping Stones, The Colours of Tirana and the Crazy buildings of Tirana from where I’ve got the photograph.
I was further investigating the case and I came along the article “The Building as Canvas” by Stephen Zacks on Metropolis magazine about Bolles + Wilson, the firm who is the author of this work.

This is an excerpt from the article

We got a brief that included four photographs of the facade, says Peter Wilson, a partner in the Münster-based office. Rather than inventing a pattern, I wanted to work with what was there. The thing one saw straightaway was that there were about fifty air conditioners on the building, so any color scheme would be contradicted unless we made them the theme.

Even though I had argued before about the fact of having an artwork represented in a reality like in the case of the facades of the Tirana buildings as inappropriate, I have to admit, I was totally amazed by the fact that the pattern created by the authors, incorporates all these alien objects attached to the building, in such a wonderful way. It blends changes in time, the good and not so good ones, of these buildings.

Hello everybody

I have been away from Tirana since 1991. I visited the city the last time in May 2000. Since then, the city has seen major changes. I would like to think at this blog as a way of communicating, and sharing ideas about the city between us. I would be glad to post anything regarding the city's architectural changes. In particular, I would also like to discuss, and post anything in regard of Interior Environments and design in Tirana.