L’ita­liano

From fascist legacy to urban future project: In Tirana the Arena Kombë­tare is a stadium that can do far more than just soccer. Between the historic façade, 100-meter tower and lively urban spaces, archi­tec­ture has become the driving force behind an entire metro­polis.

When Benito Musso­lini occu­pied Albania in 1939, Tirana was little more than a small town. However, the appearance of the city changed funda­men­tally in a very short space of time, largely shaped by the Floren­tine archi­tect Gherardo Bosio. With projects such as the monu­mental boule­vard, today’s Dësh­morët e Kombit, he laid the foun­da­tions for the modern city center. The original national stadium, later named after the Alba­nian resis­tance fighter Qemal Stafa, was also built in this context.

Today, a comple­tely new buil­ding stands on the same site: the Arena Kombë­tare. It is not just a stadium, but a multi­func­tional urban buil­ding block – a symbol of Alba­nia’s archi­tec­tural and urban trans­for­ma­tion.

The design was created by Archea Asso­ciati.

80 years after the cons­truc­tion of the previous stadium, the plan­ners were faced with the work of an archi­tect from their own city of Florence. The stadium from the post-war period was comple­tely demo­lished, with the excep­tion of the monu­mental entrance. The historic façade was preserved and was docu­mented, restored and inte­grated into the new buil­ding stone by stone in an elabo­rate process. This method, known as anasti­losis, combines past and present in a precise and respectful manner.

The stadium follows a theater-like typo­logy with three stands, inspired by classic amphi­thea­ters and stadiums such as “La Bombonera” in Buenos Aires. The spec­ta­tors move as close as possible to the pitch, crea­ting an intense atmo­sphere.

With around 22,000 seats, the new stadium meets inter­na­tional UEFA stan­dards. The real inno­va­tion lies in the concept: instead of a pure sports buil­ding, a lively hybrid of arena, public space and commer­cial infra­struc­ture has been created.

The tower, which is over 100 meters high and houses a hotel, is not only the land­mark of the stadium, but of the entire city. The ensemble is comple­mented by retail, restau­rants, offices and public spaces – a mix of uses that acti­vates the buil­ding all year round.

A key urban deve­lo­p­ment gain lies in the recla­ma­tion of public spaces through spacious squares and recrea­tional areas.

The shape of the buil­ding with its concave curved façades deli­bera­tely opens up to the city and creates new urban spaces with cafés, bars and meeting places. The Arena Kombë­tare is thus part of ever­yday life, and not just on match days.

The buil­ding enve­lope with a façade area of around 30,000 m² is charac­te­rized by red and black elements – a refe­rence to the Alba­nian national colors. Over 3,200 vertical slats struc­ture the façade. Their design was inspired by tradi­tional textiles.

With a total volume of around 80 million euros, the project was completed in just three years. It was largely financed priva­tely, with support from the Alba­nian Foot­ball Asso­cia­tion. In addi­tion to sporting use, the commer­cial func­tions in parti­cular are crucial for long-term opera­tion.

The Arena Kombë­tare provides impetus for the upgrading of a previously negle­cted district and sustain­ably increases its attrac­ti­ve­ness. It is a fine example of how archi­tec­ture, urban deve­lo­p­ment and iden­tity can intert­wine – and how a place of the past can become a driving force for the future.

Archea Asso­ciati
Marco Casa­monti, Laura Andreini, Silvia Fabi, Giovanni Polazzi

FSHF
Rr. Liman Kaba, Nd 5
Hyrja 1
Njësia Admi­nis­tra­tive 5
Kodi Postar 1019
Tirana
Albania

Opening

2019

Photos

Pietro Savor­elli and Asso­ciates
Liridon Cani

Johannes Bühl­be­cker
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