The Pyramid of Tirana () is a structure and former

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

located in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

, the capital of

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

. It opened as a museum in 1988 and became a conference center in 1991 following the collapse of Communism. During the 1999 Kosovo War, the building was used as a NATO base. In 2018, a new project was unveiled that would open for Creative Technologies under the name of TUMO Center turning the Pyramid into an IT center for youth with a focus on computer programming, robotics, and start ups.

Background

On 14 October 1988, the structure opened as the Enver Hoxha Museum, originally serving as a museum about the legacy of

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

, the long-time leader of

Communist Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

, who had died three years earlier. The structure was co-designed by Hoxha's daughter Pranvera Hoxha, an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, and her husband Klement Kolaneci, along with

Pirro Vaso Pirro Vaso is an Albanian architect. Born on August 25, 1948 in Tirana, Albania, Vaso is one of the principal architects of the Skanderbeg Museum in Krujë (1982) and of the Pyramid of Tirana (1988). For both of these, Vaso was awarded with the A ...

and Vladimir Bregu. When built, the Pyramid was said to be the most expensive individual structure ever constructed in Albania. The Pyramid has sometimes been sardonically called the "Enver Hoxha

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be con ...

", although this was never its intended use or official appellation.

Post-Communism

Deti_se_klouzaji_po_stenach_Hodzova_mauzolea_v_Tirane

Tirana_pyramid_during_2021_reconstruction

After 1991, following the

collapse of Communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

, the Pyramid ceased its function as a museum and for several years was repurposed as a

conference center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typical ...

and exhibition venue, as well as being rebranded with its current name. During the 1999

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the w ...

, the former museum was used as a base by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and humanitarian organizations. Since 2001, part of the Pyramid has been used as broadcasting center by Albanian media outlets

Top Channel Top Channel is a national commercial television network based in Tirana, Albania, founded by Dritan Hoxha in 2001. In January 2008, Top Channel was awarded national frequency coverage by making it the third such channel in Albania. In 2009, ...

and Top Albania Radio, while the rest of the structure and the paved surrounding area (currently being used as a parking lot and bus station for

minivans Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...

) have experienced

dilapidation Dilapidation is a term meaning a destructive event to a building, but more particularly used in the plural in English law for # the waste committed by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical living # the disrepair for which a tenant is usually liabl ...

and

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and #Defacement, defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owne ...

. Part of Armando Lulaj's film ''It Wears as it Grows'' ( 2011) was shot inside the Pyramid. In 2019, the Pyramid was also used as a filming location for part of a remake of the 1995 cult horror film ''

Castle Freak ''Castle Freak'' is a 1995 American direct-to-video horror film directed by Stuart Gordon. The film stars Jeffrey Combs as John Reilly, an American recovering alcoholic who inherits an Italian castle when a distant relative passes away. John sta ...

''.

Possible demolition

Numerous proposals to demolish the Pyramid and to redevelop the land of the complex for alternative uses have been made, with the most prominent proposal being the potential construction of a new

Albanian parliament The Parliament of Albania ( sq, Kuvendi i Shqipërisë) or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to ...

building on the site. A previous proposal for the site to become a new

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

theater was approved but cancelled shortly after construction work began. The exterior marble tiles covering the structure were removed to a depot outside of Tirana. The proposed demolition of the Pyramid itself became a point of controversy among some leading foreign architects, who have both supported and opposed it. Historian

Ardian Klosi Ardian Klosi (9 July 1957 – 26 April 2012) was an Albanian publicist, albanologist, writer, translator and social activist. He graduated Albanian literature at the University of Tirana in 1981 and received his PhD on German and Comparative ...

initiated a petition against the demolition of the structure, gathering around 6000 signatures. A study published in 2015 but undertaken in 2013 suggests that the majority of citizens of Tirana were against the demolition. It was announced in 2017 that the Pyramid will not be demolished, but refurbished.

Youth IT Center

In 2018, a new project was unveiled that would turn the Pyramid into an IT center for youth called TUMO Tirana, with a focus on computer programming, robotics, and start ups. The project consists in building staircases on the sides of the pyramid, and glass coverage areas for increased natural light.

References

External links