帕尔蒂扎尼高中丨阿尔巴尼亚地拉那丨Loft Architects

Architects:Loft Architects

Area:5200m²

Year:2024

Photographs:Leonit Ibrahimi

Category:Educational Architecture,High School

Lead Team:Fatjon Molla

Design Team:Lorenxa Molla

City:Tiranë

Country:Albania

Text description provided by the architects. The new project for the reconstruction of the "Partizani" school provides us with the opportunity to create an identity space in which, through the proposed architectural intervention, we not only aim to restore a variety of educational environments in collaboration with the surrounding environment, but we also hope that this intervention will create a dialogue with both the architectural context and its experience. Located in a dense urban location, where the facility is surrounded by large buildings of up to 13 stories, our proposal entails collaborating with the surrounding neighborhood and integrating the school into the local community. It is critical that the spaces we build, both inside and outdoors, are the most dynamic locations where creativity and healthy relationships are constantly evolving. Given the lack of vegetation in the surrounding region, we believe that the connection with nature is a crucial aspect that not only ties the building to the environment but also influences the increase of greenery in the surrounding area.

Our plan, as more than one school, proposes the establishment of additional public spaces with social potential for the entire area of Unit No. 8, in Tirana. During the day, the school is open to students and instructors, while in the afternoon, residents gather to enjoy the sports facilities, library, research laboratories, and green areas on the terrace. The planned new extension was designed with flexibility and materialization in mind. Concerning the existing structure, we developed the modularity idea, which was the foundation of the design when the school was constructed. This modularity manifests itself in rationalizing the column stages that create the whole item.

Concept/ Context and Strategy - Based on the investment program, the Municipality of Tirana requests the realization of the architectural project of the object: "Reconstruction of the high school 'Partizani', Administrative Unit no. 8, in the city of Tirana. This project aims at the preliminary conception for clear evidence of the Institution's Strategy for increasing the level of teaching and the work and living standards of the pedagogical body and students, its contemporary administration, as well as the internal rules related to the national standards that may imply design procedure.

The functional distribution is reconceptualized by running the new gym vertically in plan with the standards set by VKM in order to have as much yard space as possible on the ground floor. The added facility is intended to be an intermediary space between the school and the area, adding spaces for the community. The new spaces are connected to each other by means of stairs and corridors, offering uninterrupted circulation, which turns into a strong element of the building. This element often returns to rest spaces, meeting points, and atriums, enriching the outdoor space and adding interactivity.

Construction/ Materials and Structure - The "Partizani" high school, Tirana, was built in 1964. The supporting structure was made with retaining walls without anti-seismic reconstruction columns, the foundations were made with buto-concrete, and the slabs with a monolithic structure. The part of the gym structure with the main building is built without a seismic joint, and the soleta is partially unusable.

Since the city of Tirana is a seismic zone and the building has resisted strong earthquakes several times, in cooperation with the engineers, the assessment was made from the point of view of seismic resistance with reference to contemporary codes and recommendations for structural rehabilitation (retrofitting), according to SSH EN 1998-3: 2005. The purpose of this study is to determine the seismic performance of the building, as well as to propose some rehabilitation/reinforcement techniques in order to improve the resistance to earthquakes. Taking into account the development of the new destination and the expansion of the school's functions, an intervention was made in the entire existing structure of the school in the structural reinforcement, where mainly the iron meshing of all the masonry was applied.

To realize the project, the challenges have been great, since the expansion of the school consisted of the creation of a gym and a multi-functional hall, which was realized in a reinforced concrete structure combined with a metal structure. Our strategy for the project aims at the reevaluation of the existing facility and its integration with the new addition. This type of intervention in the facility improves the ongoing circulation of the connection of functions, the addition of new facilities, and we create a gym with European standards.

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