6.7.3 Arberia Hotel, Tirana, 1972

6.7.3 Arberia Hotel, Tirana, 1972

During the 1970’s with the usage of the system of Column and Beam and prefabricated items solved the majority of construction difficulties, which lefts space for the improvement of the conditions and quality of construction in public buildings.

The building was designed by S. Pashallari and has six floors and is divided in two parts. The platform which is distributed through the two longitudinal façades of the building, on the façade facing the main boulevard “Zogu I”, protrudes towards the road, by displaying the main entrance, in the northern corner. The platform offers a great transparency through the high glass windows, while in the other 5 floors, the horizontality of the structure is fragmented through the repetition of the windows and unpretentious elements.

Figure 72: Hotel Arberia, Tirane. Source: (Thomai, Nepravishta, & Boriçi, 2019)

The Ground Floor is dedicated to the services, with the circulation nucleus of stairs and elevators in the middle of the space. In the private area of rooms, the linear corridor distributing the rooms in the two side. Like in most hotels of the time, half of the rooms

and respectively those facing the main boulevard, can be considered fully equipped while the others have shared facilities integrated.

The façade is enclosed with scratched granular plaster with the original color of the brick for major part of the building. The façade contains prefabricated decorative vertical elements, which create a dynamic rhythm for the façade. The colors of the façade alters from the natural nuances of a brick, to the yellow granulated stone finishing and the white color combined.

Arberia is now the headquarters for the Ministry of Justice in Albania. The horizontal linearity and the tangibility o-f the main façade has been totally covered by a massive concrete - glass combination, which creates 3d trunk-pyramids on the edges of the windows. The platform has also undergone the major change of converting the façade to an inclined concrete and closed structure which serves as a canvas for the institution inscriptions and symbols.

Figure 73: Hotel Arberia, Tirane. Actually, Ministry of Defense. Source: wikimapia.org Figure 74: Hotel Arberia, Tirane. Actually, Ministry of Defense. Source: drejtesia.gov.al