The design for the College of Europe's latest campus in Tirana, Albania, is reflective of the country's historical relics as well as the democratic temperament of the larger Albanian populace. Conceived by the architecture, planning and interior design practice Oppenheim Architecture, which is based across Miami, New York and Basel, the Tirana campus upholds the European ideals of unity, cooperation and integration as well as European Union’s motto of 'Unity in Diversity'. This can be viewed as a reflection of the national aspiration for Albania's inclusion within the European Union by 2030. Further, the establishment of the College of Europe in Albania, after its previous campuses in Bruges, Belgium and Natolin, Poland, serves as a symbolic move to include the region within the European “dream of a unified, peaceful and prosperous continent”.

The College of Europe was established upon the initiative of the Hague Congress. While its previous two campuses were housed within historical structures, this third one in Tirana—located within a historically significant student city—is the first one to be specifically designed as a university. This undoubtedly posed a challenge for the architects. While the previous campuses set up within historical quarters easily bore the imprints of the region’s heritage, the Tirana campus demanded that the architects inscribe the campus of the educational institute with an essence that defines the city and the country. At the same time, it presented an opportunity for the architects to design a landmark building that could emulate College of Europe’s ideals, the European Union’s motto, Albania’s rich and disruptive history and Oppenheim Architecture’s philosophy of designing with the ‘Spirit of the Place’.

The resultant design alludes to various prominent markers in Albania. First of these, and perhaps the most prominent, is the central agora, imagined as a porous, concrete dome. Its appearance at once reminds one of the concrete military bunkers that are almost ubiquitously visible across the mountainous terrain of the country. These reinforced concrete structures, built under the rule of the Albanian leader Enver Hoxha, during the mid to late 20th century, serve as reminders of the paranoia that surrounded the region during the Cold War. Having remained a communist state for almost five decades—albeit under the neocolonial influence of Italy—during which the country experienced isolationism, dictatorship and economic and civil repression, these bunkers serve as significant markers of the yesteryear as well as the agitation that led to this regime’s culmination. This centrally located concrete dome, which connects the individual buildings that surround it, houses an auditorium wherein university lectures, diplomatic addresses, artistic performances and cultural events can be held with ease.

Oppenheim Architecture also recognised the importance of people and how the general social life in Tirana and its emblematic student city influences the city’s spatial organisation. In Tirana, one comes across buildings, the ground and first floors of which are almost exclusively occupied by shops, restaurants and social spaces. Hence, these spaces also act as extensions of the city. A zone where the public and private meld seamlessly. One could attribute the presence of commercial units across the city to the erstwhile Ottoman Empire’s pluralistic imprint in the city in the form of bazaars. Their modern interpretation, however, exemplifies the city’s acceptance of (global) designs and systems in vogue.

Beyond the culture of the city, Oppenheim Architecture also examined the history of the site and its contextual spaces. The areas surrounding the Tirana campus of the College of Europe played host to the 1991 student protests demanding economic change and the resignation of the communist government. The most important site for the protests was the Godina LIRIA building within Tirana University, which is located adjacent to the College of Europe. Located near buildings where thousands of students staged demonstrations for regime change, Oppenheim Architecture decided, quite early on, that the campus for the College of Europe would not only offer informal spaces for students and EU delegates but also for the common populace of the city. The spatial configuration of the campus, hence, is designed to promote social, cultural and diplomatic exchange within its many nooks, halls, corridors and unspecified public zones.

This idea of designing free spaces for interaction also ties in with the fundamental value of democracy that is propagated by the EU. Hence, the architects followed a democratic spatial logic. This idea culminated with a central agora and several buildings placed along the edge of the site and oriented towards the central zone.Beat Huesler, OA's Europe Director shares, "The new Tirana campus of the College of Europe represents a fresh architectural departure, as it is the first to be built from scratch rather than drawing from historical buildings like its counterparts in Belgium and Poland. We designed an open, non-grated campus that embodies the vibrant Albanian spirit and way of life while balancing local character with an international essence. The buildings will be constructed from colored concrete with deep loggias, which enable all classrooms, offices, libraries, and communal areas to have floor-to-ceiling windows, thoughtfully shaded to harness natural light while mitigating the intensity of the Mediterranean sun."

At the entrance of the campus, a gateway building hosts the reception, an information centre, a museum, a library and an event space. On the eastern portion of the campus is a building designed to accommodate all necessary spaces for an academic institution such as a cafeteria, classrooms, administration offices and lecture halls. On each floor of this building lies a lobby that doubles as a collective workspace for the dedicated program of the floor. This partially public zone leads to the private classrooms. Next to this building lies a new sports park and on the southern side of the university building is a diplomatic building housing a cafe, offices, meeting rooms and furnished apartments for EU diplomats. The layouts within all the buildings are designed such that visitors move from public zones to semi-public areas and lastly to the more private domains within the structure. This helps promote social interaction, cooperation and integration indoors as well. Further, the integration of loggias on each floor—inspired by their iconic use by students during the protests in the 90s—serve as visual connectors between the different buildings, enhancing connectivity.

To further welcome citizens into this space and to emulate the common street character of Tirana, the architects have conceptualised the ground floor of the buildings as inviting foyers that extend beyond the building outline and onto the site, such that many areas within the site are defined by perforated coverings. These coverings also alternate as green roof terraces that are connected to the adjacent sports park. The sides of the buildings facing the agora are decorated with a generously configured staircase design where people can meet and interact, but also either move upward or downward to explore the rooftops or the covered walkways on the ground floor. The walls of the buildings facing the agora are kept solid and smooth to accommodate full-length murals by local artists.

The democratic character of the campus is enhanced by the agora, which, unlike traditional auditoriums that host seats on one end, comprises concentric seating around a circular stage, evocative of Greek theatres. This not only presents the opportunity for myriad seating arrangements but also enhances the communal experience of the space and sets the stage for a dialogue between the performer and audience if desired.

Project Details

Name: College of Europe - Tirana
Location: Tirana, Albania
Client: Adelina Greca, College of Europe
Architect: Oppenheim Architecture
Local architectural consultant: Atelier 4
Lead architects: Chad Oppenheim, Beat Huesler
Project manager: Alexandre Mecattaf
Project contributors: Janet Vutcheva, Ece Emanetoglu
Site area: 7,700 square metres
Built area: 9,850 square metres
Landscaped area: 5,500 square metres
Status: Unbuilt