“Through careful research into the history and culture of Tirana and its emblematic student city, OA recognized that beyond Tirana’s beautiful materials, colors, and textures, it is the people, and more generally social life that stands at the center of the city’s spatial organization,” the firm continued.
“A Democratic Spatial Logic”
The College of Europe was founded after World War II in 1949. Its mission has always been educating “an elite of young executives” that go on to work for various European diplomatic institutions. European prime ministers, presidents, ambassadors, minsters of defense, mayors, lawyers, and others have all graduated from there.
Like its counterpart in Natolin, Poland, established shortly after the Berlin Wall collapsed, College of Europe’s new branch in Tirana is meant to help guide Albania on its “journey toward democracy,” designers at OA said.
“Democracy being a fundamental value of the EU, OA sought to organize the new campus following a democratic spatial logic,” OA elaborated in its artist statement. “The choice of materials, colors, surface treatment and facade articulation stems from the merging of the outcome of our research into Tirana’s architectural landscape, Albanian history and culture and the College of Europe’s governing ideology.”
A sculptural staircase was painted red to recall the vernacular architecture. (MIR/Courtesy Oppenheim Architecture)
The circular agora takes cues from Greco-Roman theaters, designers said. (MIR/Courtesy Oppenheim Architecture)
Oppenheim Architecture’s contribution to Tirana’s built environment comes amid a construction wave in Albania’s capital. In April, Steven Holl Architects and Polish artist Agnieszka Kurant released renderings of a new expo center in Tirana.
This followed a design from 514NE that redesigned Skanderbeg Square and a controversial project from BIG to replace the Albanian National Theater. In 2021, MVRDV announced its plans to convert a 20th-century monument into a reinvigorated cultural hub called The Pyramid of Tirana.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=6705c951cbb24ec98e606546e0120323&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archpaper.com%2F2024%2F10%2Foppenheim-architecture-campus-college-europe-tirana%2F&c=1996540466383702752&mkt=de-de
Author :
Publish date : 2024-10-08 13:02:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
