This has to be at the extreme end of architectural statements.
The Dutch architectural practice MVRDV was commissioned by investors ANA and VI&VI to design this surreal looking building in Albania.
Construction is underway and the structure will rise to eighty five metres and will incorporate an abstract facial profile of Skanderbeg, Albania’s national hero. The building will be a landmark in Skanderbeg Square, the centre of Albania’s capital, Tirana.
The architectural design uses balconies which wrap around the building on every level, to present curved protrusions forming Skanderbeg’s facial profile including his aquiline nose, ears and beard.
The balconies’ glass balustrades will feature a gradient finish, ranging from a milk-white to a clear appearance thus providing the building with an ethereal, marble-like finish. Lighting built into the underside of the balconies will further highlight Skanderbeg’s head at night.
The building will contain a ground level of commercial space and four levels of offices above together with twenty floors of residential apartments which will effectively occupy Skanderberg’s effigy,
Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu (1405 – 1468) was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century.
MVRDV is a Rotterdam, Netherlands based architecture and urban design practice founded in 1993. The name is an acronym for the founding members: Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, and Nathalie de Vries.
Rejigit is hopeful that this particular architectural style is not widely replicated. Local populations can do without being permanently reminded of vainglorious property developers. The likes of Trump Tower could take on an entirely new realisation.