Student City Tirana

/ PNI_2001

what is a student city?

it is first and foremost a city.

a city is blocks: private accommodation, offices,
apartments, student residences
A city also has public spaces: streets, piazzas, parks
A city is a palimpsest: accumulated layers and histories
(it is rarely a tabula rasa) ; existing structures and
topographies are therefore the basis and starting
point for this masterplan

existing student residences retained as basis for the new densification

new additions define individual residential

colleges each with its internal garden

symbiotic combination of existing + new = student city as blocks

blocks = college : a residential unit based on the oxford /
cambridge university model

10 colleges

10 colleges

10

college 4

10 colleges

college 1

college 2

The zone north of the new street is a family precinct, for students with partner and kids. It has a childrens library, a medical
centre, playgrounds and corner shops
college 5

college 3

145

145
140
150
155

5k

150

FURNAC

5k
5k
5k

140

MEDICAL

6k
5k
6k
5k

6k

2k

POL

2k

2k
2k

1.5k

4k

4k

EPICENTR
E

5k
5k

N
DE
AR

5k

1.5k

CINEMA

5k
17k

5k

2k

HT

5k

IO
N

1k

5k
k

10

5k

5k

17k

2k

2k

2k

LADIES GAR
DEN

5k

4k

ILDING

2k

PH

ILO
LO
GY

AT

150

FREEDOM
BU

HIS

13k

ST

2k

GIN
Z
2k A NIG

140

145

5k
4k

2k

5k

4k
4k

2k

TO
RY
+

9k

4k

RE

150
11

5k

FI

5k

145

4k
5k

LL
CO

15k

7k

5k

E
EG

4k

5k

9k

145
5k

6k

FOOTPATH

AY AXIS

CENTRE

ADE

6k

6k

WORK/PL

CHILDR
ENS
LIBRAR
Y 5k

ICE

COLONN

6k

5k

16k

LIBRARY

5k

30 RESTUR
ANTS +
COFFEE
SHOPS

6k

155

3k

FAMILY

FA

CU

SPORT

2k

18k

2k

LT

Y
EC

ON
OM
IC

2k

FA

CU

LT

150

19k

SPORT

CLUB

2k

2k

145

18k

4k

19k

4k

150

155
155

downtown college

lemon orchard
college

college 8

Valley college

gardening college

145

10 colleges

1,2,3 existing buildings to be extended as colleges

10 colleges

existing

NEW

colleges student room plan principle I

BOLLES + WILSON
1:500

colleges facade principle

NEW & EXISTING

10 colleges
NEW

existing

existing

NEW

NEW

existing

existing

NEW

NEW & EXISTING

WILSON

datum tower
standard plan

colleges student room plan principle II

NEW & EXISTING

garden college
Existing balconied buildings to the east of the student city: These due to their
location and topography combine to form the largest of the colleges:
the gardening college.
Here the inter courtyards slope to the south and offer the potential for intensive horticulture. Students who volunteer to live in this monastic
situation would garden to pay for their accomodation and to develop a
holistic environmental understanding.
Produce would be either eaten by college 6 residents or sold to other
students in the kazbar of ideas. Barter trade would be encouraged e.g.
tomatoes for geo-informatic tutorials.

garden college

11 towers
200 m above sea level

Datum towers to achieve the required number of 10.000 student places.

11 residential towers are introduced. Their upper level is at 200 m above sea level.
This forms a datum and makes the towers registers of topographical variation.

11 towers

+ 1 +5
plan with 8 individual rooms

+ 6 +16
plan with 7 individual rooms
coloured wall to individualize tower

Plan at top student common rooms

11 towers

Datum towers from student city entrance.

11 towers

Datum tower 1
70 students

Datum tower 2
70 students
Datum tower 3
70 students

Datum tower 11
85 students

Datum tower 4
85 students
Datum tower 5
90 students

Datum towers 6,7,8

150 students

Datum tower 9
80 students
Datum tower 10
80 students

GINZA
The zone behind the faculties of economics + history / philology is not
replanned - its densification is that of a self ordering system - a student
bar and entertainment quarter.
The model for this zone is Ginza in Tokyo - a neon bright nighttime zone. In
the students clubs and bars of the Ginza quarter students can hang-out
and relax from a studious day in the library and discuss politics,
aesthetics or the latest film.

GINZA

GINZA

GINZA

Today

GINZA

Tomorrow

145

work/play axis

FURNACE

5k
5k

150

155

150

5k

FAMILY
5k

CHILDRENS

5k

work/play axis

Cinema

30 RESTURANTS +
COFFEE SHOPS

6k

6k

6k

6k

6k

155

5k
16k

6k

5k

5k

5k

15k

17k

4k

5k

5k

2k

GIN
ZA
NIG
2k
H

2k

140

5k

k
13

5k

k
10

5k

2k

HIS

ULT

FAC

150

17k

5k

4k
18k

FREEDOM BUILDING

SPORT CLUB

2k

2k
ICS

145

4k

SPORT

2k

ECO
NOM

4k

2k

2k

5k

LADIES GARDEN

2k

2k

FAC

5k

150

4k

2k

OG
Y

5k

1.5k

CINEMA

4k

5k

LOL

145
11

19k

2k

ULT

18k

2k

4k

19k

4k

ST

AT

IO
N

150

9k

5k

PHI

GA

EPICENTRE

WORK/PLAY AXIS

7k

TOR
Y+

EN

5k

L
CO

RD

9k

5k

FIR
E

G
LE

4k

1.5k

FOOTPATH

5k

LIBRARY

2k

6k

5k

4k

4k

2k
COLONNADE

5k

POLICE

2k

2k

140

6k

5k

LIBRARY
5k
MEDICAL CENTRE

library

3k

150

Two anchoring mega forms locate the central

axis of the student city. To the west (roundabout +
entrance) is the 'S-City-Library'. To the east an answering marker - the student city cinema centre.
Between the two is a landscaped promenade - the
work/play axis.
This is for relaxing, studying in the shape of a tree,
ping-pong, chess or just hanging out.

CINEMA 6
WC

library anchor

BOLLES + WILSON
SCALE 1:500

Cinema anchor

BOLLES + WILSON
SCALE 1:500

work/play axis

work / Play axis looking east

work/play axis
...looking west

cinema
ladies gardeN

work/play axis

epicentre

kazbar of ideas

epicentre

kazbar of ideas

epicentre / kazbar of ideas

Student city epicentre with new colonnade to the 30 restaurant building

and framed by the blue 'kazbar of ideas' for discussion, information stands, performances and festivals.

LANDSCAPING

work/play promenade: a landscaped walkway

with pools, activity stations and sitting alcoves

ladies garden: a zone for chatting, knitting,

gossiping unmolested from dudes

COLLEGE GARDENS

FOOTBALL

BICYCLE LOOP
lemon grove: the lemon grove is an aromatic relaxation field for picknicks, young
couples and exercising. It is also the start
of the student city internal bicycle loop

oak tree row: connects cultural epicentre

to sport fields and contains exercise stations
SPORT CLUB
SPORT FIELDS

LANDSCAPING

oak tree row: connects cultural epicentre to sport fields

POLIC
E

LANDSCAPING

lemon grove LooKing toward sport fields

landart PROPOSAL
Nonsphere XVII: Student City Specularium
By Luis Berros-Negrn
As a continuation to the specularia within my Nonsphere series, I propose
the Tirana University Student City Specularium as an environmental installation to compliment the master plan proposed by Bolles-Wilson architects for the Student City Competition in Tirana, Albania.
Albania embodies the environmental, economic, and social challenges
faced by accelerated climate change. It is a matter of general interest to
restructure and construct recourses that strengthen the agricultural
legacy, food security, and the alternative energy and knowledge sources that will best prepare Albania for the decades to come.
This is an ambitious prospect, one that questions the strategy of bio-chemical and genetic engineering as well as the convention of industrial
fossil-fuel-based greenhouse constructions, all current tools of food
security in climate change).
To address this, the Student City Specularium will take the form of a large-scale trellis that skirts the periphery of the Grove Tower?. This
tri-partite trellis will be a high canopy (ca.6m) that will not only serve
as an infrastructure for growing crawler vine plants (from grapes, to
beans, to ipomeas, etc.), but also house on its surface a system of solar
and polycarbonate panels, and a water harvesting network. This elevated
canopy will be a year-round landscape and atmosphere for free-flowing
activities for the public, and also a shelter from excessive sun and precipitation. It will also become a gardening and agricultural space that will
provide additional harvesting of energy and water. This accumulated
energy is in turn displayed and made-available (say for charging phones
and computers) so that the students and public can have a greater appreciation about the challenges and limits of alternative energy, while the
accumulated water is used for irrigation, self-maintaining the gardening
and student farming.
Its enclosure is to be thought of as an industrial greenhouse landscape
open to the public that considers the parametric strategies that are part
of my previous projects, where its structural materiality will be mostly
made of timber elements, ultimately suggesting a forest within a forest in
the post-natural world.

Student City Tirana

library

colleges

epicentre+kazbar of ideas

9.800 student accommodations + 600 family apartments

145

145
150
155

5k

150

FURNAC

5k
5k
5k

140

MEDICAL

6k
5k
6k
5k

6k

2k

POL

2k

2k
2k

1.5k

4k

4k

EPICENTR
E

5k
5k

DE
AR

5k

1.5k

CINEMA

5k
17k

5k

2k

HT

5k

2k

LADIES GAR
DEN

5k

4k

ILDING

2k

PH

ILO
LO
GY

10

17k

2k

2k

FA

CU

SPORT

2k

18k

2k

LT

Y
EC

ON
OM
IC

2k

FA

150

CU

LT

19k

SPORT

CLUB

2k

2k

145

18k

4k

19k

150

4k

155

GINZA

lemon grove

155

cinema

ST

AT

garden college

IO
N

1k

5k

150

FREEDOM
BU

HIS

13k

145

5k
4k

GIN
Z
2k A NIG

140

2k

2k

5k

4k
4k

2k

TO
RY
+

9k

4k

RE

150
11

5k

FI

5k

145

4k
5k

LL
CO

15k

7k

5k

E
EG

4k

5k

9k

145
5k

6k

FOOTPATH

AY AXIS

CENTRE

ADE

6k

6k

WORK/PL

CHILDR
ENS
LIBRAR
Y 5k

ICE

COLONN

6k

5k

16k

LIBRARY

5k

30 RESTUR
ANTS +
COFFEE
SHOPS

6k

155

3k

FAMILY

5k

5k