PRESS RELEASE
Bank of Albania Projects in the framework of infrastructure expansion with new facilities

This noble 'lady' standing out gracefully in the 'Skanderbeg' Square has upheld its values over the years, personifying the strength of the state and the power of the market.

She elegantly conveys to the public the significant message that the Bank guards and administers our national treasure.

Its mission is materialised naturally in this new project, whose spirit is about continuance, the road towards modern standards and the successful models of other European central banks.

Ardian Fullani
Governor of the Bank of Albania

The Bank of Albania is the central bank of the Albanian State. Following a long series of economical, social and political developments since 1913, it comes today as a modern and trustworthy central bank with added, expanded and consolidated functions.

Its main objective is to maintain price stability, thus contributing to our economic development and welfare. Furthermore, the Bank of Albania has a number of additional objectives and functions, which may be translated into a single one: maintaining the country's macroeconomic stability.

The Bank of Albania's central building is situated in the centre of the Skanderbeg Square in Tirana. It represents with dignity one of Albania's most important administrative institutions, its central bank, the sole monetary and supervisory authority. Built around 70 years ago, this 'Work of Art' stands out in the square and is under the protection of the state as a Monument of Culture Ensemble right in the capital's centre.

Construction works for the National Bank of Albania, its old name, started in February 1937 and its inauguration ceremony took place on 30 October 1938. The Bank of Albania was designed by Prof. Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo, one of the most renowned Italian architects of the time.

This building is one of his masterpieces. The Bank of Albania's architectural style belongs to Rationalism, which bloomed during the first half of the XIX century in Europe.

In terms of urban planning, the composition of the building by Morpurgo takes into account the three main streets of the city, Rruga e Dibrës [Dibra Street] (the axis of the street corresponds to the main axis of the building), Rruga e Kavajës [Kavaja Street] and the main Boulevard. This positioning enables its elegant shapes to be perceived from a long distance in Rruga e Dibrës.

Its architectural values are particularly significant as regards the cultural aspect, a prominent representative of Rationalism, which, in addition to this building, is represented by other buildings in Albania.

Solid and stately, the building is surrounded by an original warmth radiating from the reddish-brown façade and its loose semicircle. The main entrance with its huge pillars is in full harmony with the ceramics of its decoration. The perfect fusion of the material with the colour vests the building with monumental attire.

Its grandeur, artistic elements, terracotta façade, basso-relievo in the main façade and, especially, the mosaic in the main hall of the building provide this work of art with extreme values and importance.

In the lower relieves of the Bank of Albania's building, there are some precious figures carved by the famous Italian sculptor Alfredo Biagini, symbolising the sources of life and treasures of the nation. They stand against the height of the walls and the carved figures match those of the internal public hall, by the Italian painter Giulio Rosso. Architectonic elements of the façade and the interior, such as elements of windows, doors, and decorations, though simple when taken alone, stay in perfect unity with the overall design of the building.

The construction of the Bank of Albania was completed in 1938 fully meeting the needs of that time. In the 1940s, the same Italian architect, Morpurgo, designed another project, which envisaged the construction of other buildings that would be in harmony with the overall architecture of the building and would make the Bank of Albania ensemble complete. Unfortunately, this project never materialised.

For over 70 years, this building has been home to many important financial institutions of Albania such as the State Bank, the Ministry of Finance or the Tirana Branch of the National Commercial Bank.

Over the years, until this project, no initiative has been undertaken to fully or partially restore the building. There have been some attempts for reconstruction, but they were never implemented.

The building of the Bank of Albania has seen only mere maintenance to prevent deterioration, until this comprehensive reconstruction project materialised.

For more than 70 years, the building has remained the same. While the Bank of Albania developed with time, its building, unfortunately, continued to retain its shape of 70 years ago. Workspace and functionalities did not match the building's unique architecture and perfect location. In the framework of its development strategy, the Bank of Albania's activity expands and grows daily. Consequently, the building could no longer satisfy even the minimum requirements: accommodation of its staff, not to mention other primary, representative and support activities such as meeting and conference rooms, library, museum and other social events facilities; these were out of question.

Thus, the indispensability for reconstructing and overhauling the building came as a demand to enhance the functionality of the facility in order to support the daily activities, while respecting another principle, restoring the existing building to its original state.

For this reason, the original idea of Morpurgo was used again: construct in the southern and western wings of the courtyard an additional section, whose height would have to match that of the existing building. This request of the Bank of Albania was also in line with the regulatory plan of Tirana's centre.

In this context, the Bank of Albania announced, through a special procedure, an international competition to select the best proposal. Taking into account the importance of this project and willing to guarantee competitiveness and participation of prominent entities in this field, the Bank of Albania published the international bid notice in the "Financial Times" and the Albanian press. The notice was also sent to Embassies accredited in Albania and professional associations and was published in the official website of the Bank of Albania.

After the publication, 27 foreign architecture studios and architects participated in the contest, of which 17 presented adequate documentation.

The competition took place in three phases. In the first phase, the legal criteria for the required documentation by bidders was examined. In the second phase, an international jury composed of renowned foreign and Albanian experts delivered a technical evaluation, while the identity of eight successful bidders was withheld for this phase. At the end of the evaluation process, the jury ranked, in an aggregate list, all the proposals according to the points earned and decided that top three proposals continue into the next phase.

The winning project, whose implementation has started already, was designed by the Italian architect Marco Petreschi, a Professor and Head of the Architecture Department at University of Rome La Sapienza. Architect Petreschi, besides his experience in architecture, has a deep knowledge of Italian architecture tradition and culture of Rationalism, the time when Morpurgo's project was implemented.

The primary purpose of our project is to restore the building to its original state (the original project). Any change, addition or intervention that has taken place since 1938 will be removed. During the reconstruction of the building, architectural elements (doors, windows, refined decorations) will be refreshed, either restored or replaced, using the same material, shape and technology.

Respect of architectural values represented by this building was a main requirement of the Bank of Albania to the winning project. Subsequently, artistic elements such as basso relieve and mosaics will be mended under the oversight of the experts of the Institute of Monuments of Culture in Tirana as well as Italian experts. The project envisages a restoration methodology for each individual element.

The new project envisages, conform to the philosophy of the Bank of Albania, to meet the requirement for more open communication and transparent relationship with the public, in addition to adequate administrative requirements. For that purpose, it is foreseen that the Bank of Albania will have in this building the museum of numismatics and history of banking and financial activity in Albania. A rich collection of coins and banknotes issued from antiquity to date will be open for the public.

Rapid quantitative and qualitative developments in the Bank of Albania activities have led to an increased need for more space for the Bank of Albania's daily activities. Numerous unique functions such as representation, increasing functional requests, numerous commitments of the Bank of Albania in international activities, indispensable needs in information technology, and a number of other reasons dictated the need for additional facilities. Under these circumstances, the acquisition of the former Hotel Dajti constitutes a strategic move by the Bank of Albania for a long-term and suitable solution for new facilities, which will further complement the infrastructure offered by the main building. This will influence bringing the Bank of Albania closer to the European Central Bank. After this acquisition, it may be proudly said that the Bank of Albania is now in possession of two of the most outstanding buildings in the centre of the capital. It is its duty now to restore, within a short time, the former glamour to these buildings making them precious objects of Tirana's cultural and architectural heritage.

Build in the 1930s by Gherardo Bosio, a Florentine architect of the XX century Rationalism school and designed to details by Gio Ponti, who is considered the father of modern European design, the Hotel Dajti building rises at a short distance from the main building of the Bank of Albania. With its huge space and a suitable location, the newly acquired building satisfies the Bank of Albania need for expanded facilities and contributes to its commitment for close, transparent and open relations with the general public.

Historically, to Tirana citizens Hotel Dajti has been one of the most salient and inviting buildings of the city. Its elegance and furniture matched its renowned high class. On the regional level, this building was long considered as the most modern hotel in the Balkans.

The Bank of Albania, in the context of reconstructing this building, has drafted the plans for the functioning of the building to serve the Bank of Albania's activity. In spite of the deterioration over the last years, the projects envisage a comprehensive reinstatement of the building to its original conditions, revitalising and restoring to it the old glamour.

It is work underlining that the restoration shall be done conform to the original ideas of architect Bosio, taking into consideration the current situation in the new century and the surrounding greenery.

This building, with its plenteous supply of library books, will be a window for direct contact with the public, in particular the researchers, academics, students and media.

Instead of an epilogue

The Bank of Albania is a modern central bank with a number of functions, which, carried out timely and qualitatively, affect the welfare of all Albanians. Likewise an individual, it aspires to be of equal rank with its 'friends'. This can materialise only with a high standard infrastructure and technology. Functional comfort is not only a service to the staff, but also a necessity of the time, which, with the passing of years, will translate into a further improvement of professionalism and trustiness of the Bank of Albania.

Upon completion of investments in these two buildings, the Bank of Albania is convinced that its institutional model shall be even closer to that of the European central banks. On the other hand, it will be an extraordinary contribution to preserve and unveil Tirana's cultural heritage as well as promote education and science in the field of finances and central banking.