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marviinmelton · 7 years ago

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This infamous communist-era pyramid is being reborn as a tech hub

There are two main ways that people usually treat the crumbling monuments of eastern European communism: Either they destroy them or they preserved them intact, adding context to turn them into reminders of the terrors they brought upon hundreds of millions of humans, similar to the preservation of concentration camps in Germany and Poland.

But the Dutch architectural firm MVRDV is proposing a third approach to this ongoing process of reckoning with the remnants of Soviet regimes–in this case, for the Pyramid in Tirana in Albania’s capital city.

[Photo: Diego Delso/CC-BY-SA/Wiki Commons]

The 127,000-square-foot pyramid–pictured above in its current vandalized state–opened its doors on October 14, 1988. It was built in honor of Albanian dictator Enver Halil Hoxha, who commissioned the museum’s design to his daughter Panvera Hoxha and her husband Klement Kolaneci, working with architects Pirro Vaso and Vladimir Bregu. The finished pyramid looked a bit like a Soviet reimagination of an Aztec pyramid–an all-too-appropriate visual reference, given the tens of thousands of people who were sacrificed for “crimes” against Hoxha’s dictatorship that made the country the poorest state in Europe. Hoxha died in 1985 without seeing the completion of his megalomaniac monument, which Albanians jokingly renamed the “Enver Hoxha Mausoleum“–showing that humor is one way to combat tyranny (well, humor and tanks).

When communism collapsed in 1991, the monument was converted into a conference center and christened with a new name: the Pyramid of Tirana. When the Kosovo war broke out in 1999, NATO and some humanitarian organizations turned it into a base of operations. According to Archinect, the pyramid was even turned into a nightclub for a time. Finally, it became a broadcasting center for an Albanian TV channel in 2001.

[Image: MVRDV]

Over the years, many have proposed razing the crumbling building and turning it into the site of the new Albanian parliament or converting the building for a new use. Others have called for an opera house on the site, and work actually began on it, but the project was ultimately canceled. Historians and architects have debated what to do with the building for years–and in the end, it was preserved against demolition.

This week, MVRDV presented its design for a complete overhaul of the structure, converting it into a tech education center that the firm says will be complete in June, 2019. “It is a symbol for many Albanians,” MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas says in a statement. “For the older generation, it is a memory to the cultural events during communist times, for the recent generation it became the place to celebrate the new era.”

[Image: MVRDV]

The Dutch firm plans to open the structure on all its sides, making it lighter and filling its gigantic atrium with trees and spaces for co-working. The architects will also turn the structural beams that make up the pyramid’s shape into safe staircases so people can walk all the way to the top to see the city landscape. “We create an inhabited monument,” Maas continues–a memorial to those who suffered but also a functional space for a new generation.

“The concrete beams will be used for sightseeing, temporary events and will also be populated with pop-up structures of sorts, such as pavilions, platforms and settlements,” the firm describes on its website. “The aim here is to give the building back to the city and its inhabitants by transforming the current façade, giving roof access, and presenting a new perspective to the city from above.”

[Image: MVRDV]

Turing the building into a place of renaissance while allowing citizens to stomp on the symbol of past oppression seems like an apt adaptive reuse project to me.

This infamous communist-era pyramid is being reborn as a tech hub published first on https://petrotekb.tumblr.com/

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orchid-vc · 6 years ago

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THE PYRAMID OF TIRANA

ARCHITECTURE, CONSTRUCTION & FUNCTIONALITY: The Pyramid was lately reconstructed and appears freshly painted in the exterior, while serving as a fitting industrial space for pop-up concerts and events. The construction itself is not solely monumental regarding the flexible functionality of it through years. Planning and construction wise, the first modern architecture, avant-garde object took around three years to finalise completely by four Albanian architects: Hoxha’s daughter Pranvera Hoxha, her husband Klement Kolaneci, Pirro Vaso and Vladimir Bregu. Surrounding the object with liberties, which during Hoxha’s dictatorship were unheard of symbolised the first approach to capitalism by importing so for the first time materials from the United States. The structure was originally all covered by marble tiles on the facade, tiles which were removed during the anarchic and chaotic period of Civil War in the period of 1996-1998. Also, the first model of the pyramid held on top a red star, well-known symbol that represented Communism, which also was removed soon after its completion. Regarding its first interior the Pyramid was quite luxurious and multi-functional, where floors were designed representing an amphitheatre atmosphere and look. Inspecting the shape reveals to one quite obviously that the construction does not represent the exact shape of a geometrical pyramid, but consists more on unexpected facades coming out of different points, representing so a pyramid shape only on the front view. It was build aiming to coexist with the surrounding functionalist communist architecture of the time and blend with the landscape of mount Dajti on the back.

HISTORY: On 14 October 1988, the structure opened as the Enver Hoxha Museum, originally serving as a museum about the legacy of Enver Hoxha, the long-time leader of Communist Albania, who followed the ideals of Stalinism even years after the Russian dictator died. The pyramid was designed by 4 Albanian architects Enver Hoxha’s daughter: Pranvera Hoxha, her husband: Klement Kolaneci, Pirro Vaso and Vladimir Bregu. The museum retained its function until 1991, during the Student Revolution that brought the fall of the Communism regime for good. At the time the Pyramid went through a series of radical changes in the overall look, its function and role. 1991-1997 - The pyramid played a social role as a place where people would gather on its stairs at all times to enjoy the sun, kids would play and climb it all the way to the top and then slide all the way down the structure, etc. However in 1997 what once used to be the white marble surface, post communism became a metaphorical representation and reflection of the condition of not only the city itself but the overall country. In 1999 - the Pyramid took on more of a humanitarian function as NATO set up their headquarters for the duration of the war in Kosovo. In 2001 - the primary TV channel (TOP Channel) set up temporary headquarters inside the Pyramid. Since then, the Pyramid has held multiple nightclubs, cafes, protests, public gatherings, exhibitions, auctions & fares, or just as a cultural spot for the youth to gather around the structure on the evenings. However in 2011 a demolition was scheduled, but it was heavily protested publicly, therefore the structure still stands. As people walk past the Pyramid on daily commutes to work it is still revered as a representation of a history not to be ignored or forgotten. CURRENTLY: There have been multiple proposals, some even approved but later abandoned, regarding the role of the Pyramid nowadays. Since the idea of a final demolition of the structure caused controversy and it was not embraced by the majority, multiple petitions were signed against it, by forcing the government to abandon that idea, leading to the announcement of a decision in 2017 stating that the Pyramid will not be demolished but refurbished.

Finally in 2018,

Youth IT Center

In 2018, a new project was unveiled that would turn the Pyramid into a IT center for youth with a focus on computer programming, robotics, and start ups. The project consists in building staircases on the sides of the pyramid, and glass coverage areas for increased natural light.

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