6.5 Articulation of Volume, Mass and Form in Hotel “Turizmi

axis etc., while there is only one exceptional hotel in Kukes which is placed outside the city, in the end of a picturesque axis.

6.5 Articulation of Volume, Mass and Form in Hotel “Turizmi

The other significant analysis considered for this level is related with the image of the hotel regarding the form and volume. Through the process of identifying the variables and similarities in the component of form, there are identified the following models by assessing the configuration of the ground floor and the above ground volume:

Since the presentation of the Vitruvius concept regarding the primary characteristics of architecture, Firmitas (Structure, Solidity), Utilitas (The function), Venustas (Aesthetics, Beauty), several architects and scholars have studied the correlation between these components by trying to identify the order or narration between them. Notations like “Form follows Function” (Louis Sullivan), “Form and Function should be one, joined in a spiritual union” (Frank Lloyd Wright), or “Form follows beauty” (Oscar Niemeyer), leads us to the recognition of “Form” as the central part of the architectural conception, specifically in a context where architecture is used as a mean to transmit or pump external factors or ideas.

According to (Ching, 2014, p. 34), “Form is an inclusive term that has several meanings. it may refer to an external appearance that can be recognized […] a particular condition in which something acts or manifest itself […] the manner of arranging and coordinating the elements and parts of a composition so as to produce a coherent image”.

The High Rise Tower with Platform, seem to be a replication of the prominent architectural manifestations of Hotel Journalist and Hotel Marjan, which are installed in a platform in the ground floor, even though the regime rejected modernism forcibly.

Nine hotels in Albania have adapted variations of this model, where the platform is combined as a solid volume with the higher one. Another variation consists on having the platform extended from aside, without including the whole rising volume, while there are cases where the upper volume is perceived as being suspended and not entirely supported in the platform

The Mono Volume (Type B) is the simplest form of the architectural shape of the communist hotels. While its manifested generally through plain facades, this model also allows variations in the façade by creating contrast and variations, rarely including curved surfaces.

The ‘L” Block, “T” Block and “U” Block can be considered more evolved variations of the Mono Volume, which by adding side volumes, sometimes differentiated in elevation and approaching these shapes, create a derivative form of the Mono Volume

The Complex Block is considered the most developed module which is a combination of more than two volumes, extended horizontally or vertically to achieve a more complex structure.

There are very few exclusions from these models, which are recognized during this research as Distinctive, which does not fall in any abovementioned category (fig.59).

Figure 67: Diagrams of the Representative Types of Volumes for Hotel Turizmi. Source: Author