Transforming the Pyramid of Tirana into a symbol of resilience and a promise for a better future

The Pyramid of Tirana has undergone numerous transformations since the fall of communism. Once the showpiece of a brutal regime in its last throes, it was repurposed in the late 90s as an event space, nightclub, and TV studio. It even served as NATO headquarters during the war in Kosovo.

Its definitive function was revealed on April 25^th at the Center for Openness and Dialogue. The prestigious Dutch architectural studio MVRDV revealed the design plans for the Pyramid of Tirana in the presence of board members of the Albanian-American Development Foundation, as well as representatives of the local and central government.

MVRDV’s design will radically open up the building, adding boxes containing individual rooms which will be placed inside, upon, and around the existing structure. It will be the new home of TUMO Tirana, the center for creative technologies that offers students an opportunity to learn essential 21st-century skills such as animation, game development, graphic design, filmmaking, music, programming, 3D modeling, and robotics.

The struggle to determine the future of a building at once controversial but also partly reclaimed by the citizens of Tirana has come to an end. The Pyramid of Tirana has the potential to become a “monument of the people” and a symbol of creativity and resilience.