BIG wins Tirana's Fountain Plaza competition with a building raised above a park

Bjarke Ingels Group has won the international competition for Fountain Plaza Tirana, and the idea at its heart is simple: lift the building off the ground and give the ground back to the city. A dense field of thin, cane-like columns holds the upper volumes aloft, so people can walk straight through the footprint and the park carries on underneath.

Up top, a translucent 'cloud' facade keeps the mass looking light against the thicket of supports, while rounded terraces step back in places to let daylight reach a covered public auditorium and planting at ground level. Below, an open-access library and community facilities are meant to make the space beneath an active place rather than leftover shade. The jury singled out this openness, calling it one of the most generous park experiences among the entries.

The scheme also looks past its own edges. According to the jury, it considers pedestrianising the neighbouring traffic road and extending the park, and it treats the adjacent canal as a working part of the landscape, tied to the site's microclimate, though the technical detail hasn't been set out.

This is a competition win, with no timeline in the piece. One for anyone following how Tirana's public spaces are changing.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 12 October 2026. Read the original

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