6.3 Hotel “Turizmi” – a Typology “about Performance”

6.3 Hotel “Turizmi” – a Typology “about Performance”

Hotels of the cities, in communist Albania, like in many other countries represent a key component of the urban centers, the primary function of which can be considered the accommodation, while simultaneously referring themselves as a landmark and generally also the peak skyline of the cities. Being an active actor on the arena of the ideologic tourism, the hotels of communism were curated for the foreigners, while preserving the indoctrinated image. This image of the New and touristic Albania was evident in the first contacts with the cities, in postcards, touristic guides post stamps, even though tourism was not an interest for the industrial Socialist Albania.

Figure 64: a) The "Turizmi" Hotel, Gjirokaster. Source: Albturist 1969, pg. 138 b) Post Stamp with the visualization of Hotel Apollonia Fier c) Post Stamp with the visualization of Hotel Adriatik Durres

After the overall structure of the accommodation typologies and functions, the research is oriented towards the typology of Hotel Turizmi.

The selection of the city hotel has the following arguments:

- Significant part of the communist architectural heritage of almost every Albanian city and the biggest number of touristic establishments.

- An indicator on the enhancement of tourism. Restoring and rehabilitating this typology can contribute to the expansion of touristic focal points throughout the territory of Albania

- Being a type of building represented by one unit, alters and facilitate the process of analyzation and synthetizing

- Choosing only one functional typology sets the ground for generating a more comprehensive and factionary methodology which can serve as a model for other variety of typologies.

Criteria for selection:

• The hotel is still functioning as a hotel. The hotels which have transformed their function have been subject of restoration processes which has transformed several parts of the object and having changed their function in the favor of public institutions are considered ineligible for architectonic restorations, at least in the time span of few decades • The hotel has no major interventions or damagesin the façade and structure • Is part of the city which has touristic interest or is part of touristic strategies with potential • Volume, Mass of the Type • Time of Construction. Constructed during the Rational Period (1959-1974)