Docomomo International regrets to inform that the National Theatre of Albania in Tirana has been demolished by the opportunistic politics of the government of Albania.
The National Theatre of Albania was exposed as an Architecture in Danger where Docomomo International opened a worldwide alert regarding threatened Modern Movement heritage in Tirana, Albania. In the Architectuul‘s Forgotten Masterpieces – FOMA number 35, Saimir Kristo discussed how the municipality of Tirana and socialist governments tried to demolish and replace the theatre with new high rise profitable developments: “This is not just the fall of a building designed by Giulio Berte in 1939, part of the architectural and Cultural heritage of Albania but the repeated act of the fall of democracy in Albania after the destruction of the historic houses of Tirana, the destruction of the National Stadium, and the collective memory and history of Albania“.
The Albanian authorities have announced the demolition and the construction of a new complex already in 2018 as the government and the municipality of Tirana claim the building is degraded, of poor quality and cannot be properly maintained. There were also open plans how a new building will be constructed on the design of global design firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).
As a call for solidarity from the international art world with the citizens, activists, and artists of Albania in condemning the actions of the government of Edi Rama, please sign An Open Letter to the International Art Community: Stop Artwashing Edi Rama’s Politics.
Docomomo International appreciates all the efforts and commitement shown to protect the National Theatre of Albania.
The previous campaign to preserve the building can be found here.