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Skyscraper

Like all growing cities Tirana is expanding upwards. For the most part, the new buildings are unimaginative boxes of steel, glass and concrete. Even those attempts at breaking away from the predictable have only resulted in buildings that are either ugly - the Twin Towers - or really ugly - the Sheraton. Only the recently opened European Trade Center represents an improvement.

Over the months I have watched as another new building has gradually taken shape in the city. On one level it is yet another utilitarian office block, with the usual look - slabs of glass and concrete - and from a distance it is entirely unremarkable.

Up close, though, it is much more striking. The architects have achieved this effect by adding wings or fins - I'm not sure what to call them - in different colours around the outside of the building. The closer you get, and the more you have to look up, the more striking the effect becomes.

It's a nice idea, and it's good to see more imaginative developments beginning to appear.








Comments

Miss Kim said…
That's extraordinarily cool!
Ll.T. said…
A real one or just a plan for a skyscraper?
Anonymous said…
I like the realistic clouds of Tirana dust whirling around the building.
Anonymous said…
Thanks a lot for the photos Ourman from Skyscrapercity forum member.
The detail and angles are excellent and the quality is superb as well.
olli said…
Llukan, as you can see from the expanded post this one is for real.

Why those particular colours? I don't know, but they work together quite well.

Your welcome Skyscraper city.
Ll.T. said…
Thanks for the extra pics Alwyn, for a sec I really thought it was just a plan for a building.

I think the colours aren't too bad, I've seen worse in Tirana :)
belisarivs said…
thnx for the excellent images. the tower has colors because the facade designer (Bolles+Wilson) decided so and they look great. Illiricum from skyscrapercity forums.
ITS said…
So what that it's "African" colors?

I agree that the colors work well together. Not everything must be red and black, or black and white.

I am really impressed with this building. Kudos to the architects.
Anonymous said…
Yes,
i agree with Our Man in Tirana, most of the new buildings are so ugly! This one maybe shows that a trend for the better is starting. hopefully.
My absolute favourite buildings in Tirana are:
Piramida,
the National Bank,
the Palace of Culture and Opera (a modern take on classical Greek columns. straight, simple, clean and orderly),
the Academy,the ministries, University of Tirana, the National Museum with the amazing mosaic,
the Palace of Congresses (my father was in the team of engineers and architects to build it. It might be the strongest bulding in Albania. The ministry put so much money into it at the time building it with 2000x times more the strength of an ordinary structure),
Scanderbeg's Museum-Castle in Kruja
etc.
The new buldings after 1990 were build quickly on spaces where parks used to be. They are so ugly! I would never live in them because they are unsafe! The tall bulding where RAffaisen is, in front of the old Millenium cinema, was considered dangerous to live in by engineers, but somehow bribes made their way!
Anonymous said…
Pyramid and the kongress House, and above all Sheraton hotel, are the most ugliest big buildings in Tirana.
Anonymous said…
who doesn't like pyramid or the congress hall is anti-Albanian and is totally jealous and has absolutely no understanding in architecture!!!!

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