‘Albania is a young democracy. Home to three million people, the country sits at the heart of the Mediterranean. Its geography has long shaped cultural exchanges and the built environment.
From Ottoman rule to Italian occupation, from communist isolation to post-socialist transformation, each era has left a visible mark on the built environment. Located between the Adriatic and Ionian seas and bordering Greece, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Montenegro, Albania has long absorbed a rich mix of religious, cultural, and architectural influences—Islamic, Orthodox, Catholic, and secular.
Following the collapse of the dictatorial regime in 1992, a rupture with the past emerged as people rebelled against public spaces and regime-era buildings. Edi Rama, Tirana’s mayor from 2000 to 2011 and now Prime Minister, described this re-appropriation as a reclaiming of individualism: “It was a space to be regained by people deprived of private property and self-expression. The first ten years were about reclaiming private space and abandoning public space. Returning to individualism was very traumatic.”
Three decades later, Albania remains in transition—culturally, socially, and architecturally. This ongoing renewal has placed architecture at the center of national discourse.
The pavilion shows the past, the present and the future of the architectural landscape in three parts, through film, a timeline and the stereoscopic viewers showing the visitors projections of the future.
Skanderbeg Square, once a ceremonial space under the communist regime, has been reimagined in recent years as an open, democratic plaza—stripped of nationalist monuments and surfaced with stones from across the country. The Pyramid of Tirana, originally a museum to dictator Enver Hoxha, is now being transformed into a youth and technology center. These central public sites capture how Albania’s architecture navigates its complex past while embracing future possibilities.’
— Anneke Abhelakh, Building Architecture Culture (2025)
Commissioner: Blendi Gonxhja, Minister of Economy, Culture and Innovation
Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation Team: Lira Pipa, Adelina Greca, Odeta Rrapi, Anisa Pollo, Benida Kraja, Sonila Kora
Curator: Anneke Abhelakh
Project Manager: Alessandra Biscaro
Curatorial Assistance: Eva Marie Pobeda Ferrand
Graphic Design: Linda van Deursen
Spatial Design: Samuela Hidri & Guust Selhorst
Coordination Public Program: Adonel Myzyri & Andi Arifaj
Communication: Wolfgang Hockenjos
Film: Konstanty Konopinski & Anneke Abhelakh
Installation: VERLATO + ZORDAN architetti associati Green Spin Srl
Translations: Giacomo Raffaelli, Anjia Stroka
Printer: ALBDESIGN, Serigrafia CORES
Sponsors: This exhibition and public program have been made possiblewith the generous support of many anonymous sponsors, without whom the pavilion would have not been realized.
Technical Partners: Alpeta Agrotourism & Winery, AQSHF (Arkivi Qendror Shtetëror i Filmit / Albanian National Film Archive)
Mediators: Lisamaria Bellini, Mattia Biserni, Beatrice Buttari, Anita Favaro, Eva Malacchini, Carlotta Savio, Gloria Sfoggia, Klara Krzemkowska
Website: Edlir Velaj
From Ottoman rule to Italian occupation, from communist isolation to post-socialist transformation, each era has left a visible mark on the built environment. Located between the Adriatic and Ionian seas and bordering Greece, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Montenegro, Albania has long absorbed a rich mix of religious, cultural, and architectural influences—Islamic, Orthodox, Catholic, and secular.
Following the collapse of the dictatorial regime in 1992, a rupture with the past emerged as people rebelled against public spaces and regime-era buildings. Edi Rama, Tirana’s mayor from 2000 to 2011 and now Prime Minister, described this re-appropriation as a reclaiming of individualism: “It was a space to be regained by people deprived of private property and self-expression. The first ten years were about reclaiming private space and abandoning public space. Returning to individualism was very traumatic.”
Three decades later, Albania remains in transition—culturally, socially, and architecturally. This ongoing renewal has placed architecture at the center of national discourse.
The pavilion shows the past, the present and the future of the architectural landscape in three parts, through film, a timeline and the stereoscopic viewers showing the visitors projections of the future.
Skanderbeg Square, once a ceremonial space under the communist regime, has been reimagined in recent years as an open, democratic plaza—stripped of nationalist monuments and surfaced with stones from across the country. The Pyramid of Tirana, originally a museum to dictator Enver Hoxha, is now being transformed into a youth and technology center. These central public sites capture how Albania’s architecture navigates its complex past while embracing future possibilities.’
— Anneke Abhelakh, Building Architecture Culture (2025)
Commissioner: Blendi Gonxhja, Minister of Economy, Culture and Innovation
Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation Team: Lira Pipa, Adelina Greca, Odeta Rrapi, Anisa Pollo, Benida Kraja, Sonila Kora
Curator: Anneke Abhelakh
Project Manager: Alessandra Biscaro
Curatorial Assistance: Eva Marie Pobeda Ferrand
Graphic Design: Linda van Deursen
Spatial Design: Samuela Hidri & Guust Selhorst
Coordination Public Program: Adonel Myzyri & Andi Arifaj
Communication: Wolfgang Hockenjos
Film: Konstanty Konopinski & Anneke Abhelakh
Installation: VERLATO + ZORDAN architetti associati Green Spin Srl
Translations: Giacomo Raffaelli, Anjia Stroka
Printer: ALBDESIGN, Serigrafia CORES
Sponsors: This exhibition and public program have been made possiblewith the generous support of many anonymous sponsors, without whom the pavilion would have not been realized.
Technical Partners: Alpeta Agrotourism & Winery, AQSHF (Arkivi Qendror Shtetëror i Filmit / Albanian National Film Archive)
Mediators: Lisamaria Bellini, Mattia Biserni, Beatrice Buttari, Anita Favaro, Eva Malacchini, Carlotta Savio, Gloria Sfoggia, Klara Krzemkowska
Website: Edlir Velaj
