Komunikim- Shtypi
Tirana Urban Youth Competition
About
Around the old houses’ neighbourhood of Pazar i Ri belonging to the Begeja family (one of their ancestor was mayor of Tirana after the independence) and relatives. In this area which survived the rapid densification of the centre during the 30 last years, the challenge is to conceive a project addressing the needs of: sustainable development, high environmental quality, valorisation of heritage and socio-economic use. Thus, the competition aims at: (a) providing a multidisciplinary project to the municipality of Tirana in order to stimulate local urban planning policies; (b) enabling transfer of knowledge in terms of urban planning as well as high environmental quality.
Imagine a substainable future for Tirana center
What?
This competition aims to bring forth proposals for a sustainable urban development for a very central part of Tirana that hosts several historical buildings while introducing a high spatial quality for the area as well as preserving and promoting the cultural heritage.
When?
The project submission takes place in two steps. Firstly, project documents must be submitted digitally.
In a second stage, all teams are invited for a short online presentation to the international jury.
Check important dates here
Who?
The TUYC is open to any team consisting of students, one or more of them being graduated from a bachelor or licence’s degree. A team is composed of two, three, four, or up to five students.
All disciplines and fields of expertise having a relation with urban development are welcome in the competition: urban planning, architecture, art, geography, economics, environment, landscape design, tourism, engineering, sociology, etc.
Multidisciplinary teams are strongly encouraged but not compulsory.
Goals and Ambitions
This competition aims to bring forth proposals for a sustainable urban development for a very central part of Tirana (close to Pazari i Ri) that hosts several historical buildings (like the Begeja family house, while introducing a high spatial quality for the area (which is increasingly hard to find in Tirana), as well as preserving and valorising the cultural heritage.
The specific competition objectives are as follows:
1. Revive one of the earliest neighbourhoods of Tirana, which faces deterioration and a constant pressure for high rise developments. It needs to be reconceptualised in accordance with the city of today. This competition will generate potential scenarios to transform this area into an important and attractive pole with a mix of services (traditional and contemporary). It can host bars, hotels, traditional restaurants and fusion cuisine, handcraft shops, exhibition spaces for visual arts and a series of other services.
2. Preserve a part of the history of the city. The proposals must identify the existing buildings and their values, and specify the preservation methods: full or partial, interior or exterior. Attention to the inherited character should be paid to the surroundings as well, yards, fences, greenery, wells, etc.
3. Rekindle the interest of the local inhabitants for the real value of their properties. The old Tirana families that possess a property of enormous historical, cultural and even anthropological values, intertwined with the genesis of the capital city, must be supported to capture its economic value as well. These benefits can be more sustainable than its redevelopment with high rise housing, especially while tourism thrives and with it the request for authentic experiences.
4. Treat this built environment as a dynamic space that is open to change. Change is imperative and serves the aforementioned objectives but also responds to the needs of the land owners for additional space for housing or commercial use. This is why in this competition we expect proposals for new buildings that respect the scale and character of the historical buildings. Careful attention should be paid so that the new buildings do not visually conflict with the old ones but also refrain from being their anachronic replicas.
5. Enhance the connectivity with the rest of the city, while strengthening a typical feature for the organic city – the porosity. The proposals should aim to bring back the permeability of the area by introducing itineraries that connect the area to the many surrounding amenities – Skanderbeg Square, Pazari i Ri, Medreseja, etc.
For more information, please click here: https://tiranurbcomp.com/
