Tirana keeps adding surprises to its urban makeover, and the latest is one of the boldest yet: a cloud-like building that hovers above Rinia Park in the city centre. Danish firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) won an international competition to design the new Tirana Fountain Plaza, beating shortlisted studios including Cobe, Barozzi Veiga, l'AUC and JDSA.
The project replaces the ageing Tajvani complex on the site. Rather than building another tower on the old footprint, BIG's plan extends the park upwards and around the new structure. The mixed-use complex floats on just two curved glass columns, with a forest of slender pillars creating the visual illusion of a building held aloft. Founder Bjarke Ingels describes it as a cloud of homes casting a cooling shadow over the public space below, while freeing up more parkland than exists today.
Inside, the building mixes offices, residences, a hotel, and cultural facilities anyone can use, including an open-access library and a covered auditorium. Outside, gardens, plazas and water features will link the park to the Lana River, and the historic fountain on site gets kept. One flourish stands out: an upside-down fountain, where water falls from above like a summer shower rather than spouting from the ground.
Water management is central to the design. A closed-loop system will capture and reuse rainwater for irrigation, reduce flood risk and cool the park's microclimate. The existing Taiwan Pool, a local landmark, survives and becomes part of that system.
It all sits within Tirana 2030, the capital's master plan built around themes like biodiversity, mobility and tourism. BIG is already busy elsewhere in the city: the bow-tie-shaped National Theatre of Albania is under construction with 9,300 square metres of cultural space, and Faith Park, a 200,000-square-metre interfaith complex with nine pavilions and a Museum of Remembrance, is planned in the hills outside town.
For travellers, this is another reason to put Tirana on the list now rather than later. The Albanian capital has spent the past decade transforming itself with colourful buildings, a car-free centre and a lively cafe scene, all at prices that still undercut most of Europe. Watching this project rise over Rinia Park, right by the Skanderbeg Square area, will be a good excuse to visit twice: once for the Albania of today, and again once the cloud lands.
