The Government and Municipality of Tirana aim to "rehabilitate" the swimming pools at the Artificial Lake dam, known as the Aquadrome or Aquapark.
The design competition, opened for the second time, is passing without information on whether it has aroused interest. Meanwhile, the area is surrounded by tower projects, which excessively condition the development of the only public space left there.
The competition for the Aquadrome favors the towers
On September 15, 2025, the government and the Municipality of Tirana opened an architectural competition for the redesign of the Aquadrom area – one of the most coveted spaces for construction near the Artificial Lake dam. A previous competition – opened in March 2025 – failed.
According to official announcements, the competition – which, according to the calendar, concluded the second phase of submission of proposals on January 6 – aims to “rehabilitate the Tirana Aquapark” and integrate it with the surrounding environment, through “a contemporary approach to landscape, sports and recreation.”
The paper calls for high-quality developments for the 6 swimming pools, the sports complex and the surrounding areas, to which a sauna is also added.
But behind this "cultural and ecological" initiative lies another urban battle for control of the most valuable area below the Artificial Lake dam - where new tower projects have already sprouted.
According to the terms of the competition, the selected studios must propose a multifunctional center with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, sports areas, green public spaces, as well as commercial services.
But the project should connect to the Lake Park, the Zoo and Botanical Gardens, and the Olympic Park, creating a "continuous green network" around the perimeter of the dam.
On paper, the idea seems inspiring. But this is the institutional version of a process already familiar in Tirana, which begins with “rehabilitation” and ends either with “vertical constructions” or spaces given to or favored by private individuals.
The aquadrome was built in the late 1980s as part of the Dinamo multi-sports complex, which occupied an area of about 80,000 m2 below the dam. The area deteriorated during the transition and private use.
After being separated from the Dinamo club in 1999, during the war in Kosovo, the Aquadrom became the main reception center for Albanians fleeing persecution by Serbian paramilitaries.
In the early 2000s, the complex was reconstructed and rented out for about 20 years.
Today, the Aquadrome is all that remains of the former sports complex. More than half of the land has been given to private individuals for tower complexes, which extend the site all the way to its entrance.
Tower Siege: Main Projects
Just a few meters away from the competition area, the "Tirana Lake" project is being developed, proposed by Italian architect Marco Casamonti for the Armaar group (owned by entrepreneur Armand Lilo), which envisages five 17-story towers with residential and commercial functions.
Lilo is known as an investor in major tower projects such as "Eyes of Tirana", "United Towers", "Corner" and a number of residential complexes in Tirana, Durrës, Himara and most recently in Pogradec.
Phase II of the "Tirana Lake" project also took over the municipality's land that served as a public parking lot.
At the other two ends, the 7 17-story spiral-shaped “Lake View” towers of the Gener 2 group (owned by entrepreneurs Bashkim, Astrit and Ahmet Ulaj) have already been erected.
"Gener 2" was the company that sponsored the 2008 master plan competition for the area below the dam, which the winning studio - the Dutch MVRDV - called "Tirana Rocks".
A master plan that envisaged around a quarter of a million square meters of construction ready to begin within 2010 at a cost of around 600 million euros, and which was approved and presented with pomp by the then Mayor of Tirana, Edi Rama.
Two decades later, that MVRDV Cuban concept, collapsed in disarray beneath the lake's dam, has changed, but the massive volume of construction in the area has not, and is even expected to increase further.
On the corner, on the land of the Marin Barleti University building, two other 30- and 35-story towers are expected to be built, known as "Vistas Lake" by the Vistas group (owned by entrepreneur Adriatik Dudaj) and "Lake Diamond Tower" advertised by "Texas Development" (owned by architect entrepreneurs Andi and Olsi Efthimi).
This development is a typical example of how Tirana's urban planning is being guided by the demands of builders and no longer by public needs.
The land below the dam, once untouchable for construction, is today surrounded by approved permits for high-rise construction.
In this perspective, the chain of investments in the area has erased the boundary with "public space".
According to the competition documents for the Aquadrome, the area is considered “ecologically sensitive.” But nowhere is it explained how it will be guaranteed that the winning project will not turn into another construction development, justified with the phrases “recreation,” “sports space,” or “innovation.”
Recent winning projects in sports areas and spaces, such as the "Asllan Rusi" Sports Palace, have shown that for the government and the Municipality of Tirana, a sports palace can also be a 20-story residential building.
Transparency, the missing question in every competition
The Aquadrom competition is being presented as an international competition. It is said to have a professional jury – although it has not yet been announced who will be part of it – and a 100,000 euro prize for the 5 finalists.
But beyond aesthetic terms, several key questions remain unanswered: Who will be the final authority that will develop the winning project: the Municipality of Tirana or the government through the Albanian Investment Corporation?
In the case of the Corporation, experience has shown that the government does not invest in construction, on the contrary. In all its calls, the government has offered public spaces as incentives to build towers or to participate in new construction.
At this point, it is not known who will finance the implementation of the project and what form the investment will take, will it be a partnership with the private sector or a concession.
It is worth noting that when the Aquadrome was returned to the municipality in 2020, Mayor Erion Veliaj said that he would “develop it better than the private sector.” But on April 19, 2023, the municipality leased it again for 20 years – although only a portion of the 1,284 m2 complex.
The floor price for the monthly rent was 180 thousand lek (1,800 euros), which sparked reactions from the opposition for a corruption affair.
According to an audit by the Supreme State Audit Office, the calculation of the minimum rent level "was made with the value of residential buildings and not commercial buildings."
Thus, the Aquadrome is being sold as urban redevelopment. But the surrounding reality shows the logic of a city that is losing its last public spaces under the rhetoric of "greening" and "sports."
The question that remains is whether this rehabilitation will be in the interest of citizens, or another station in the elevation of the towers towards the Artificial Lake dam. /Citizens.al/
