REPUBLISHED

Winner announced: three towers of up to 35 storeys at Zyber Hallulli

Erblin Vukaj · Originally published: 29 January 2026

The competition to develop the site of the Zyber Hallulli orphanage ended today with two separate winners: the group led by Rojkind Arquitectos will develop 3 towers of up to 35 storeys, while the group led by Hector Barroso will develop the new orphanage campus and inspectorate offices at the former German Villas.

The decision followed around four hours of discussion, in which the jury concluded that none of the proposals from the 5 finalist groups fully met the requirements successfully, and therefore selected different winners for the different functions.

Five finalists, the same vertical approach

Despite the split awards, the presentations of the five finalist projects showed a clear uniformity of approach: all the studios proposed three to four towers of up to 45 storeys.

Every team treated the former orphanage site as a focus for intensive property development, dominated by building upwards, high density and high-end residential uses, while public spaces remained limited and largely decorative.

The differences between the projects were confined to façades, massing and symbolic language. None departed from the paradigm of intensive vertical development, making the competition more an aesthetic contest than a real debate about alternative uses of public land.

The jury consisted of Prime Minister Edi Rama, the heads of the Albanian Investment Corporation (AIC), the Territorial Development Agency and the National Territorial Planning Agency, and international architects.

The absence of representation from Tirana Municipality was conspicuous. In previous competitions, it had participated directly in decision-making through Mayor Erion Veliaj, currently in pretrial detention as a defendant facing corruption and money-laundering charges.

The absence of local government from a project with a direct urban impact on the capital raises questions about the decision-making formula and the municipality’s role in Tirana’s major developments.

What did the AIC call provide for?

The “duo call for a project proposal and investment”, launched on 15 September 2025, provided for relocating the orphanage and employment service offices from their current site and building a new campus on Gramoz Pashko Street, in the former residential complex for East German diplomats.

Under the terms, the private investor will cover construction of the new orphanage and office buildings, while part of the floor area in the new towers will be allocated for public use.

The competition to develop the site was won by the group led by Rojkind Arquitectos S.C, working with Asab, Son Engineering & Construction and Julian Kasharaj. This group was engaged by Motus, owned by businessman Idajet Ismailaj and a shareholder in Alb-Star, known for building the Arena Kombëtare stadium.

“It is called Kor, like a chorus of many people’s voices,” the Mexican architect said during his presentation of the project, which provides for three towers of 20, 25 and 35 storeys, linked by bridges (shared corridors), and maximum use of the site for parking (around 3,500 m²). Two of the towers are intended for residences, while the proposed suspended façade has distinctive irregular forms.

The new orphanage campus component, meanwhile, was awarded to the group led by Taller Hector Barroso, working with Studio B&L, Doriana Bleta, Agim Seranaj and Ardian Paci. This group was engaged by PROGEEN, owned by businessman Genc Kuçuku, who remains in discussions with AIC to develop the Void Tower project in exchange for building government offices in Tirana’s Komuna e Parisit neighbourhood.

An offer to AIC is expected from among the two investors, after which a decision will be made on which developer will be granted the right to carry out the work under this call.

The other proposing groups included:

• BE-IS (businessman Hamz Islamaj’s company) and CEBRA Arkitekter A/S, with LOFT Architects and Superflex Studio
• Gruppo Koni SRL (businessmen Nik and Sandër Nikolli’s company), including Stefano Boeri Architetti, Gross.Max, AEI Progetti and artist Patrick Tuttofuoco, together with local contractors
• DIAGONAL Projektim & Zbatim (businessman Nikolin Jaka’s company), + ASL shpk with Carrilho da Graca Arquitectos.

Optimistic rhetoric, a troubling record

In his speech before the competition, Prime Minister Edi Rama presented the call as an opportunity to create better conditions for orphaned children and as part of a series of major architectural works that, he said, are turning Albania into a point of reference for international architects and an “open university” for younger generations.

But beyond this rhetoric, AIC’s record in competitions for public properties remains troubling. Across more than 16 calls launched since 2024, no completed final contract has been announced, while in at least one case the investor declared the winner withdrew: AIBA Company, in the Void Tower call.

The call for the National Library, linked to the construction of a tower in the same area, was also cancelled for lack of interest, and no new process is currently open.

In practice, the work of the Corporation and its partner agencies has mainly produced competitions and projects in the form of renderings, with a bill of at least €1.4 million in payments to finalists, but no tangible results on the ground.

Meanwhile, the fact that five different studios arrived at the same urban solution (3 towers!) suggests that the competition’s framework was oriented towards high-rise construction from the outset, as Citizens.al warned at the beginning, leaving little or no room for alternative development models.

In this sense, the Zyber Hallulli competition does not open a debate about the public interest. It further entrenches the practice of treating public land primarily as an opportunity to maximise construction, while its social function and urban impact remain secondary concerns, even being moved as far as possible from the capital’s main streets.