Ideas generated from research and thesis work, [Projecting] Albania] - Faculty of Architecture, Engineering and Design

Short abstract by the dean of FAED, Dr. Antonino Di Raimo "Architecture as the discipline devoted to transform the reality" is our main philosophy at the Faculty of Architecture, Engineering and Design at POLIS University. Teaching Architecture and Design within a specific reality Iike that of Albania can only be understood if one is able to think about "the crises as opportunities" in order to raise challenges of design activittes and identify potential views rather than the solution. This work therefore, rather than being a catalogue, is a complete documentation of the whole Diploma Thesis in Architecture and Design, developed by several students generations graduated at POLIS since its foundation, under the auspices of a meaningful contribution to the territorial, urban, architectural and design dimensions of Albania. Having this document available, will serve as the basis to draft and guide the Faculty’s priorities over the next years and make better decision about POLIS's vision in urban design, architecture and applied design trying to match the specific Albanian context with the broader Mediterranean and European region development. A closer look at the presented works reveals some crucial criteria that have been adopted and fully characterize POLIS University's approach. At this point it can be regarded as a guide for the reader to go through the abundance of approaches and topics been developed by graduates as their final assignment/ task. The first thing that might impress the reader is the intense diversity of the topics. The presented works have some common traits, which can be seen as emerging POLIS methodology shaped during last years, when POLIS is graduatly establishing a unique profile in education within the region. These traits basically consider architecture and design as links with a broader reality encompassing urban and landscape matter. As such, the extreme diversity in the presented works, regarding topics and quality, is based on some basic concepts which can be useful to be recalled in the pursuit of the reader's understanding as urban densification versus urban sprawl, revitalization of the infrastructure and their dialectic role with the urban morphology, program of activities versus typology, living nature versus generic green, autonomy and revaluation of the proper value of architecture language.