A government villa has been transformed into an elite, closed-door event space where architectural projects come to life away from the public eye.
Under the shadow of a lack of transparency and suspicions of misuse of public funds, the villa has been put at the service of the "Bread & Heart" festival, now formalized as a foundation.
It functions as a pavilion for the favorite architects of power, questioning the boundary between creativity, privilege, and close relations with the government.
The red on top of the hill
A blood-red villa stands out on the eastern edge of Tirana's Artificial Lake Park. Hidden among the thorns and trees of one of the Sauk hills, it makes an impression and attracts the eyes of passers-by walking on the lake's dam.
It is "Villa No. 5", a government residence, which by nature appears more dark than red.
On June 8, Prime Minister Edi Rama hosted a special lunch there, "Survivor's Lunch," for his "star architect" friends, invited to the "Bread & Heart" festival (photo).
The party was private. Only a small portion of those who had purchased the full festival ticket (€360) were able to attend, as the event was by invitation only.
In the festival program, the villa was presented as “Villa Number Red” (No. Red for short), a new name that was not associated with any building in Tirana, at least until early June.
It is likely that this unofficial name was specifically chosen to keep the background of the residence's developments secret.
It is located on Herman Gmeiner Street, somewhat separated from the area of the Presidential Palace (Brigade Palace), under the guard of the Republican Guard. In fact, there is no official sign at the entrance, while the strong red railings stand out from the usual black.
From the outside, it looks completely plain. The main gate is unassuming (photo), with an interior opening secured by four bolts to the ground and a security booth on the side.
Ironically, parking is allowed near the fence, even for free, even though we are dealing with a building of special importance.
On the other hand, the villa is bordered without a fence by "Memo Bejko" street with a natural "wall" of bushes and trees.
This lengthy description is also prompted by the extraordinary efforts of some institutions to keep it secret.
The facts show that from a half-ruined building, it was rebuilt with secret procedures and a hefty expenditure of 6 million euros.
The letter states that it was designed within 45 days and built within 6 months by an Albanian studio and company.
In reality, the project was carried out by a foreign studio, the works lasted about two years and were supervised by an office whose owner was arrested and convicted of bribery in securing public tenders.
Ironically, the quality of the work seems not to have survived even the first rains of autumn. During one of Citizens.al's visits to the area, several workers were seen repairing the soffit and traces of water flowing down the side gutter.
The villa appears to be hiding serious abuses to satisfy the personal whims of the Prime Minister, who is increasingly treating state offices and properties as personal property.
After the "Eden Park" in the Prime Minister's Office, whose project was carried out by the architect Chris Precht studio and cost around 5 million euros, this seems to be another excessive "aesthetic" expenditure by the government.
The villa and the transformation of the festival into a foundation
There could be no more meaningful place to close the “Bread & Heart” festival than the “No. Red” government villa, a state building transformed into an exclusive stage for private invitational events.
Despite demands for transparency, the Territorial Development Agency (TDA), the National Territorial Planning Agency (NTPA), and the Directorate of Government Services (DGSS) did not clarify who paid for the festival and what budget was spent.
Officially, the festival was attended by about 2,300 people, only 43% of whom had tickets, the rest being “organizational, technical, support and programming staff.” There were about 150 invited architects, researchers and entrepreneurs and 44 speakers who were included in the programs from June 5-8.
According to two government agencies, around 80 thousand euros in revenue was generated from tickets, the travel and accommodation of the guests was covered privately, while the organization of the festival was "partially voluntary".
"Bread & Heart" has been announced to hold its second edition on June 3-4-5, 2026.
In a scene where Albanian architects and academics were absent, "Bread & Heart" openly displayed Rama as the commissioner and evaluator "par excellence" of the vision and aesthetics of every tall building in Albania.
“Albania produces more architecture than all of Europe,” Rama declared in a self-aggrandizing speech that drew a “standing ovation” from the main “star architects” invited – some of whom are in clientelistic relationships with Rama’s government.
In this atmosphere with a "flavor of clientelism", on October 12, Rama once again hosted the "star architects" at the red villa "No. Red". This time, the winner of the Albanian Investment Corporation (KISH) call, Bjarke Ingels for the Besim Park, was announced.
During the closed-door event, Rama introduced to the attendees Spanish architect Carme Pigem Barceló (from RCR Arquitectes) as the director of what was later officially announced to be the "Bread & Heart Foundation".
Citizens.al reached out to the RCR office for comment from Ms. Pigem, but did not receive a response.
At that event, on October 12, an illuminated installation with the words "Bread and Heart Foundation" was observed inside the villa, suggesting that the villa has now become the headquarters for the foundation.
But, according to the Directorate of Government Services (DSHQ), by the end of October there had been no agreement for the rental or use of the villa. Not even acts authorizing such use.
The DSHQU denied that the villa had been stripped of its status as a "national security facility" and its use had been changed. Meanwhile, the Tirana court confirmed to Citizens.al that the foundation's application for registration was in process. But that, at least as of the end of October, there had been no decision yet.
This raises suspicions that the villa may have been given for use in violation of the law, without new legal documentation, while the foundation was not yet registered.
The DSHQ emphasized that the activities held were part of protocol activities under the auspices of the Prime Minister, citing a 2016 decision of the Council of Ministers that allows receptions for "special personalities without official rank", including heads of foundations and representatives of art and culture.
Citizens.al requested additional information from AZHT and AKPT on the procedures that led to the festival's transformation into a foundation, as well as agreements or memorandums of cooperation with it.
The ARD requested more time due to the volume of documents, while the AKPT did not respond, accepting to be fined for denying the right to information, after the intervention of the Commissioner for the Right to Information.
For the "Bread & Heart" festival, there was no transparency regarding the expenses, funds, and commitments undertaken while it was organized by the government agencies AZHT-AKPT, the return to the foundation makes the premises even less transparent.
In this sense, the approach with "Bread & Heart" further increases suspicions of abuse of public funds, while the "star architects" and "critics" around them have not had any position on this part.
Albanian citizens' taxes are used for exclusive villa reconstructions, lunches, dinners, and private parties of what is seemingly emerging and increasingly behaving like an "architect's yard" next to the government./Citizens
