Downtown One | Tirana

Tirana was already famous in the previous decade about wanting to make the city livable with small things like the colorfully painted house walls or simple street art projects even in straitened times. No wonder if they are happy to see an 8-bit façade rising above Tirana with 140 meters.

Downtown One is the work of the Dutch MVRDV, and will be approximately 30 meters higher than the previous record holder: Tirana International Hotel. The building constructed along Lana stream and Bajram Curri avenue will face right at Skanderbeg square.

It is very interesting that the pixilated façade will draw the 8-bit map of Albania, so you will be able to describe the location of your apartment well visible from the city with the names of the counties, districts and settlements of the country. The bottom half of the 37-storey tower with a total floor space of 77,000 square meters will give home to offices and stores, while apartments will be built on the upper part above the 18th story.

There are several other contemporary architecture projects of interest going on in the capital of Albania (the same as in Budapest and other parts of the region) – we promise to write about these, too, soon.

• design
• east