RIVER RESIDENCE

2019 -

Tirana

Albania

River Residence is the gateway to a new neighbourhood in Tirana that will house about 200 homes in a total of about 25,000 square metres of construction. Part of a larger project, it fits into its assigned lot in a precise way, offering a square-shaped plan, underlining the importance of its positioning as an articulation between the countryside and the city’s road structures and the new neighbourhood. It is a 12-storey building with an open courtyard to receive the sun, and thanks to its generous openings, to ensure the natural ventilation of the large green courtyard.

It is a difficult project to describe without falling into expressions of enthusiasm because its image blends the fantastic pleasure of offering new families a fabulous castle where everyone lives in one of its towers and the idea that the whole building is like a big tree housing warm nests. Its precise geometric structure that gives it a strong and decisive presence is the result of a careful elaboration of the plans, designed for the comfort of the inhabitants. Despite its size, it is a building that was designed from the inside out, from the intimate space of the family to the urban space of the extended family. The air of a proudly standing manor house is curiously perceived as a familiar and welcoming presence because, thanks to its articulated and elegant forms, it infuses a great sense of lightness and joy.

The play of light and shadows decorate a volume full of surprises that is designed to continually amaze us and change expression with every movement that allows us to shift our point of view. It is a white building but at the same time full of color. The expression of the rigor of the openings collaborates in giving a sense of tranquility and balance to the richness of its forms that seem to dance in the city. The large arches of the first two floors with public functions also dance and evoke the pleasure of the soft and at the same time austere and elegant forms of our Mediterranean character. Forms that awaken mnemonic images of a great civilization, without being mimicked but rather interpreted anew, in favour of people’s feelings.

Architecture can and should positively influence moods through its direct communication with the senses. Every line we draw can and should have a reason we can share in building our living space.