Knowledge and enhancement of architectural and archaeological heritage. The Palace of GLA in Tirana

This study relates two research fields developed by the Faculty of Architecture of Bari: the first one began since 2006, focused on the knowledge and enhancement of modern Italian architecture in Albania, and the second one characterized by the synergy between the disciplines of interior design, museology and museography applied to the topic of the archaeological museum. The study-case is the Palazzo della Gioventù del Littorio Albanese (GLA), a building designed by the Florentine architect Gherardo Bosio in 1939 for the monumental centre of Tirana, which includes nowadays a variety of activities (Archaeological Museum, gym, library and Rector’s office of the Polytechnic of Tirana). A multidisciplinary Laboratory Degree carried out at the Faculty of Architecture of Bari during the a.y. 2012-2013, examined the original features, the transformations over time, and the potentiality of the Palace. The Laboratory developed a project of architectural requalification, partial re-functioning and expansion of this building, strengthening the cultural vocation and thereby contributing indirectly to the enhancement of the urban context. In particular, the Laboratory studied the existing Archaeological Museum, proposing a renewed ordering of the archaeological finds, and elaborated a project of enhancing the interior spaces, rationalization of the exhibition itinerary and renovation of the exhibition systems. It also developed a hypothesis of restriction in order to accommodate cultural activities annexed to the museum. The expansion of the museum has grown at the level of the basement of the building, with volumes not visible on the outside, preserving the original features of the architectural form. The possibility of requalification of the Palace of GLA as a museum centre fits into the framework of the development of the museum network, of which the Museum of Tirana could be a fulcrum able to offer a summary of the archaeological heritage of Albania.