The Pyramid of Tirana

MVRDV

In the heart of Albania’s capital city, a new kind of cultural hub opened in October 2023 and is accessible to the public. The Pyramid of Tirana, originally built in 1988 as a museum for communist dictator Enver Hoxha, has been dramatically transformed by MVRDV. Since the fall of the communist regime, the building was used by ever-changing programs that left behind a patchwork of alterations that made the interior cluttered and dark. The majority of Albanians were opposed to demolishing the building, and their desire was honoured when the government announced plans to transform the concrete monolith. For many Albanians the Pyramid is a symbol of victory over the regime, and MVRDV’s design was inspired by the way they had reclaimed the building. After the death of the dictator, the deteriorating structure had long served as a hangout spot for Tirana’s youth, who would climb the sloping beams and - not without risk - slide back down. MVRDV’s design reuses the concrete structure, and the Pyramid of nearly 12,000 m² is now an open sculpture in a new park. The park and sculpture are home to an ensemble of colourful boxes, scattered in and around the original building that house cafés, studios, workshops, start-up offices, incubators, and classrooms where Albanian youth learn various technology subjects for free, initiated by non-profit educational institution TUMO Tirana. Steps have been added to the building’s sloping façades, allowing the people of Albania to literally walk all over the showpiece of the former dictator.