Kosova at the 14th Venice Biennale

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of Kosova has announced that Kosova once again will be part of the Venice Architecture Biennale. Responding to this year’s director Rem Koolhaas’ theme, titled “Fundamentals”, Minister Krasniqi has appointed an Advisory Board, which will propose 3 to 5 potential candidates for curating this edition’s Pavilion of Kosova.

Kosovar students, competition winners

The annual students competition “Society for all ages” organized by UN-HABITAT and ICCC (International Council for Caring Communities), have announced the winners of its 2014 edition. Among the winners of the principal awards of the competition, second entry winners were Kosovar students, Dafine Shllaku and Laura Shllaku, with their project proposal for the development of an integrated community.

EUROPAN 12 GJILAN RESULTS!

EUROPAN KOSOVA has just published the results for Europan 12 Competition, taking site in Gjilan. Out of 35 projects submitted by young architects that we’re in the look of a more innovative result of urban solutions, with the theme “The Adaptable City”.

The jury of international architects has unanimously announced their verdict of no first prize winner, announcing the runner up entry with code XX634 and a special mention to the entry with code AH655.

ARTING LLC Highrise

Prishtina based architecture studio LSN Architects newest task, the Arting LLC – Lakrishte Complex, is a new commercial and residential highrise building project in the major area of the city’s downtown. Sited in Lakrishte district, this project is a continuation of the zone’s heavy development of multistory buildings, nearby to the Kosova’s tallest under-construction projects the ENK Complex and WTC Complex.

We’ll keep you updated with more images and information as the project continues.

Snøhetta Lecture and Workshop

Rethink Space foundation recently announced their upcoming lecture and workshop of Snøhetta Studio, an award-winning international architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design firm based in Oslo Norway, which will be giving a lecture to the audience of Prishtina, at the Modelarium of FCEA Dept. of Architecture, during September 18th – 19th.

Further lecture information and the posters after the break.

Europan 12 Kosova Exhibit

Earlier this year, we publicized the Europan 12 Kosova Competetion taking site in Gjilan with the theme “The Adaptable City”, tempting young architects on improving the cultural life in the city and provide new facilities for municipal administration, and changing the image of the center with new civic buildings and public spaces.

EUROPAN KOSOVA invites you into emerging architect’s universe, on the EUROPAN KOSOVA 12 exhibit, which will be on display at the City Gallery (Theater Building) in Gjilan on the 6th of September, presenting and analyzing innovattive design strategies of Gjilan’s city center, provided by more than 35 international and national participants.

Prishtina Used To Have Two Rivers

by Attila Beksac

Prishtina seems too hasty these days. The city,  which is the youngest capital of both Balkans and Europe has lots of problems to solve while ‘turbo-urbanism’ has taken effect in whole its distritcs .

It can be said, this experience that Prishtina has been tasting since the end of Kosovo War is familiar and has taken its roots from the ex-memories of territory’s rich historical cities. ‘Identity crisis’ seems obviously  the most suitable topic to call this developments.

Urban Plus open studios

Last week during Prishtina Architecture Week, Urban Plus held an open studio session welcoming students and freelancers of the profession to their working environments, to see what’s been happening by looking around the studios and talking to each of the staff personally about their work. Check for more photos after the break.

An EU home for Kosovars

Most of us might of noticed the cartoon-colored sidewalk concrete protectors on the narrow street by the Swiss Diamond Hotel, or the colored sidewalk across from the Prishtina`s newly built Cathedral, and wondered whether this street art was vandalism or legal art pieces. Fortunately, these art pieces were the winners of an EU-funded project called Culture for All. Managed by the European Union Office in Kosovo and implemented by ARS PROGETTI SpA (Italy) in July 2012, this competition called young artists and artists’ groups from all over Kosovo to participate in a visual arts prize competition for street art, mural paintings, applied arts, photography and/or installations in urban space. On September of 2012 the jury declared the winner artists, among which was Senat Haliti, an architect from the old city of Prizren who authored the “EU Pavilion”.

Prishtina Architecture Week: Day 6

After a numerous events in Prishtina Archtitecture Week which included many interesting lectures, screenings and exhibitions, this year’s edition of Prishtina Architecture Week ended with different exhibitions and an architectural tour in Prishtina. This time, the open studio was held in Përparim Rama’s 4M office in Prishtina.

Prishtina Architecture Week: Day 5

The fifth day of Prishtina Architecture Week, started as usual with the workshops underway, trailed up with the exhibitions held at the Modelarium of FCEA Department of Architecture and at Kosovo’s Academy of Science and Arts. Continuing to the open studio of one of the biggest architectural practices in Prishtina  – ANARCH.

The voice of majority!

Yesterday, July 4th, the Architects Association of Kosova held an emergency meeting at the amphitheater of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning of Kosova. This meeting was called in Prishtina upon the disapointment that a large number of architects, engineers and planners had on the 2011-2014 leadership of this association. According to them, besides the fact that this association has collected membership money each and every year, there hasnt been one single activity organized by them since late 2011, not even membership confirmations via emial or mail (association’s website confirms these allegations).

Prishtina Architecture Week: Day 4

On its fourth day, the Prishtina Architecture week stayed true to the planned schedule, starting with workshops, exhibits, open studios, and closing the day with lectures and screenings.

The Prishtina based architecture company ArchiEdu presented Graphisoft ArchiCad 17 to the audience, showing the program’s new platform and advanced features which make it a more reliable tool for architects to use.

Prishtina Architecture Week: Day 1

The inaugural of Prishtina Architecture Week took place this afternoon to a capacity crowd at Modelarium – FCAE Department of Architecture. Ila Beka & Louise Lemoine engaged in with “Koolhaas Houselife” – a documentary from the Living Architecture Series, following after by an inspiring conversation touching on cinematographic architecture. Part of today’s event as well was the “swiss-kosovan” based practice MORKOTE, chaired by Arbnor Murati which gave an insight into their past and current workings of his practice.

Prishtina Architecture Week

Staring from July 1st through the 6th, the city of Prishtina is hosting the “Prishtina Architecture Week”, the first of its kind in Kosova in an effort of exchanging experiences, methodologies, architectural and urban experiments and theories form around the world.

Gjakova University Campus Entry

The proposal submitted by Dafina Muriqi, Shpat Pozhegu and Besmir Hasi is one of the total two submissions for the “Campus Design Competition of the University of Gjakova”. Although the competition was cancelled in absence of more than three participants, the proposal of these young architects deserves to be part of our website architectural proposals. More details about the project, after the break…

Europan 12 Kosova: Team Up!

EUROPAN is a call for projects of ideas at the urban and architectural scale, addressed to young architects under 40 years of age, which look for innovative housing solutions in different urban sites in European towns.

Following a successful first-time organization of the Europan 11 competition, Europan Kosova is participating also this year’s Europan 12 competition, among the 15 other participating countries on the theme The Adaptable City with the project site in Gjilan. For further information on the competition and participating details, read after the break.

The Filigree Maker: the Kosovan Pavilion at the 2012 Venice Biennale

Kosovan architecture made its debut at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. This landlocked, new European country is now among 55 nations that have presence in the largest and most prestigious architectural event in the world. The country’s pavilion design, The Filigree Maker, of the curator Përparim Rama was chosen by the Kosovo`s Ministry of Culture as an opportunity to promote the heritage and potential of the Republic of Kosovo in architecture.

TV show on informal building

A public campaign designed by Archis Interventions/Prishtina will accompany the process of legalization. Public presentations and a media campaign will broach the issues regarding the most important principles (security, infrastructural connections, social aspects) by raising public awareness. The concept has been developed by Archis Interventions (Visar Geci, Florina Jerliu and Kai Vöckler).

A Home for You by Maden Group


During 2009, Maden Group a local practice of young architects and engineers  published their first catalog, A Home for You. The catalog includes a wide selection of house projects, ranging from smaller ecological houses, to XL houses, which go in parallel with a series of writings from different fields as architecture, urbanism, interior design, and engineering.