“Comment is free, but facts are sacred.” — C. P. Scott, 1921.
“A private masterplan”: Demolition and towers behind the National Museum
Erblin Vukaj · Originally published: 8 April 2025
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More than 17,000 m2 of land in central Tirana, currently occupied by around 35 buildings, including four apartment blocks of up to 9 storeys and the public buildings of the Metropol Theatre and the municipality’s “Info-Point”, are expected to be cleared to make way for a plan for towers.
This emerged on Monday during the international competition for the so-called Tirana City Centre Masterplan, an architectural contest intended to redesign one of the areas most coveted by developers: the central space behind the National Historical Museum, alongside Zogu I Boulevard, known as the former Circus site (demolished in 2021 after the land was returned to its owners).
The area lies between the private “Albanian University” (formerly UFO) and “Sinan Tafaj” high school. It is a space densely packed with old houses, apartment blocks and buildings serving cultural and educational purposes.
The proposal by the French practice l’AUC was declared the winner. It proposed four towers for commercial, residential and hotel use, one more than 150 metres high, alongside a civic building (Palazzo Civico) with halls for performances, exhibitions, theatre and cinema.
The jury, comprising foreign architects such as Xaveer De Geyter and Bjarne Mastenbroek, along with Albanian planning and political officials, including Prime Minister Edi Rama, praised the “sculptural and poetic approach” of l’AUC’s idea.
In the end, however, the jury suggested that the French practice rethink its strategy to produce a more realistic plan with lower construction costs. It was advised to work with other architects to achieve this.
As the 3D models presented the so-called “City Centre Masterplan” as another “step forward” for the capital, citizens were given no explanation of how the process had reached this stage. No media outlet or public institution provided details on this point.
No official masterplan document had been made public before the jury’s decision. Nor has anything been published about agreements between the public authorities and private entities in the area.
There is no social impact report, no evidence of consultation with residents, and no announcement of what will happen to them or to the current functions of the buildings proposed for demolition.
Other practices also took part in the competition: Marco Casamonti’s Archea, Nieto Sobejano, Groupwork, Go Hasegawa, Cobe and others. All presented similar visions of towers with high development density.
At this point, the masterplan adds still more high-rise buildings to the city centre’s skyline, which already has at least eight tall buildings around it.
“Development without citizens”
The competition was promoted by Veliaj Construction, the company of Astrit Veliaj, an entrepreneur known for his work in dentistry, private education and construction. Veliaj has erected large neoclassical buildings in Durrës, Berat, Fier and Tirana, not without opposition.
He has a past in politics with the Democratic Party, for which he also served as an MP.
The participation of well-known international practices raised expectations of a project with real architectural merit. But without transparency and public involvement, even the best competition risks becoming a means of legitimising a development conceived without the community.
It was unclear to the public on what authority the entrepreneur Veliaj had held the competition. What role will he have in developing l’AUC’s vision, what role will the municipality have, and what is the public expected to gain from this area beyond new premises for the Metropol Theatre and the Info-Point?
This project is just one of dozens of rapid urban developments taking place in the capital, from the concrete towers in the centre to the northern terminal, where it is unclear whether construction is proceeding lawfully.
In these cases, urban planning appears to have shifted from an institutional, public process to private ventures working with central and local government.
The absence of transparency, citizen participation and long-term plans for the city’s social development has become the norm. Tirana is not growing: it is shrinking for the majority and expanding for the minority.
