The Pyramid of Tirana, once a museum honouring Dictator Enver Hoxha, now serves as a vibrant cultural centre in a park setting. Transformed into an open sculpture, it hosts colourful boxes containing cafes, studios, and free technology education spaces for Albanian youth. Initially a museum in 1988, it later served as a radio station, nightclub, and NATO base during the Kosovo War. Despite controversy over its fate, a 2017 decision led to its renovation. The new design, inspired by Albanians reclaiming the structure after Hoxha’s regime, preserves its history while meeting sustainable goals, demonstrating the potential for reusing brutalist architecture.
By Anthony King (c)