Fountain Plaza Tirana 2026: BIG wins floating plaza design
Bjarke Ingels Group wins the Fountain Plaza Tirana competition in Albania with an elevated architectural design above a public park.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) wins the Fountain Plaza Tirana design competition in Albania.
- The proposal lifts the building volumes above a public park using slender columns.
- Ground level features an open library, community facilities, and a covered auditorium.
- The jury praised the scheme for its generous park experience and pedestrian integration.
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has won the international design competition for Fountain Plaza Tirana with a proposal that elevates the building above a park-like public realm in Tirana, Albania. The project combines elevated building volumes, a translucent facade, and a network of slender columns to create an architecture that remains open to the landscape, with competition support from AKPT and Atelier Albania.
The proposal rests on the idea that the building and landscape should operate as one. A dense field of slender, cane-like columns lifts the structure above ground level, leaving space for public activity and allowing pedestrians to move through the footprint. The jury particularly praised this permeability, describing the scheme as one of the most generous park experiences among the competition entries.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The upper floors are set back to bring natural light into the covered auditorium and make room for planting. Vegetation and public spaces extend beneath and around the building, while the structure provides shade and shelter. Its translucent facade contrasts with the slender supporting columns, giving the building a light, layered appearance.
The Fountain Plaza Tirana project highlights modern urban architecture trends that prioritize returning green spaces to the public rather than maximizing private footprints. Elevating structures on slender columns is a widely adopted contemporary design strategy to enhance pedestrian flow, maintain microclimatic airflow, and seamlessly blend civic infrastructure with natural environments in growing metropolitan areas.
An open-access library and integrated community facilities are intended to make the ground level an active social destination rather than a residual space beneath a large building. The covered auditorium adds another public program, creating an area for collective gatherings within the elevated structure. This emphasis on shared space also informs the relationship of the project with its wider urban context.
According to the jury, BIG’s proposal considers the possibility of pedestrianizing the adjacent traffic road and extending the park toward neighboring areas. The design also integrates the adjacent canal as an active component, linking the waterway to the environmental and microclimatic conditions of the site, crafted by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in Tirana, Albania.
Source: designboom
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