The Albania Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale presents a comprehensive exploration of how the country's built environment reflects its turbulent political, cultural, and social transformations throughout history. Curated by Anneke Abhelakh, the exhibition titled "Building Architecture Culture" demonstrates how Albania's architectural landscape bears the visible marks of successive periods of Ottoman rule, Italian occupation, communist isolation, and post-socialist transformation.
The pavilion's exhibition unfolds through three interconnected narratives that examine architecture's dual role in both responding to and actively shaping collective memory, public space, and civic engagement. This multifaceted approach frames Albania's architectural evolution through past, present, and future perspectives, offering visitors a nuanced understanding of how political regimes have literally reshaped the country's urban fabric.
The historical narrative focuses on two pivotal sites in Tirana that exemplify Albania's architectural transformation. Skanderbeg Square, which has long served as a stage for political authority, has undergone multiple spatial and symbolic transformations under different regimes. From its original Austro-Hungarian and Italian incarnations to its monumental expansion during the communist era, the square has consistently reflected the political ideology of its rulers. The 2017 redesign by architectural firm 51N4E marked a significant shift, pedestrianizing the area with locally sourced materials and introducing green zones that transformed the space from a symbol of state power into a venue for public engagement and democratic expression.
Equally significant is the Pyramid of Tirana, originally constructed in 1988 as a monument to honor dictator Enver Hoxha. This brutalist concrete structure has undergone perhaps the most dramatic transformation in contemporary Albanian architecture. MVRDV's innovative redesign has converted this former symbol of authoritarianism into a vibrant youth and technology center. The renovation preserved the building's distinctive concrete shell while opening it to the city as a dynamic space for learning and creativity, effectively reclaiming a monument to dictatorship for democratic purposes.
The present-day narrative is captured through "The Albanian Calls," a feature-length video essay created by Anneke Abhelakh and Konstanty Konopinski. This compelling documentary originated from research conducted for "The Albanian Files" and weaves together Zoom conversations with over 30 international architects currently working in Albania. The film provides intimate insights into the unique opportunities and challenges of practicing architecture within Albania's distinct cultural and political context, interspersed with archival footage from the Albanian National Film Archive that provides historical context.
The video essay examines crucial questions about the agency of architects in post-communist societies, the complex interplay between public and private space, and architecture's evolving role in shaping contemporary national identity. Through candid conversations with practitioners from around the world, the film reveals how international architects navigate Albania's complex legacy while contributing to its architectural future.
The exhibition's forward-looking component showcases architectural proposals from 56 international offices that have engaged with Albania's urban and territorial landscape. These works are presented through innovative stereoscopic viewers, creating an immersive experience that traces a direct lineage back to early collaborations between Tirana's municipal government and the prestigious Berlage Institute in the 2000s, guided by the intellectual influence of architect Elia Zenghelis.
The contributing practices represent a remarkable collection of internationally renowned firms, including Álvaro Siza, Aires Mateus, BIG, Herzog & de Meuron, MVRDV, OMA, OODA, and CasanovaHernandez. These diverse architectural voices offer perspectives that span both local sensitivity and international expertise, positioning architecture as simultaneously a formal and ideological act rooted in speculative urbanism and political awareness.
Beyond the physical exhibition, the Albania Pavilion hosts an extensive public program designed to extend the Biennale's conversations to broader audiences. Through podcasts, panel discussions, and public forums, the program addresses critical themes including professional agency in post-dictatorial societies, the evolving meaning of freedom in contemporary Albania, and the complex dynamics between local and foreign architects working in the country.
The pavilion's comprehensive approach situates architecture firmly within its political, historical, and cultural frameworks, offering both a critical reflection on Albania's complex past and an imaginative space for envisioning its architectural future. Open to visitors until November 23, the exhibition contributes to the broader discourse of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, which features over 300 contributions from more than 750 participants alongside 65 national pavilions exploring themes of architectural transformation and cultural identity in the contemporary world.
