Activities throughout the years
Fourth International Conference on Architecture and Urban Design (ICAUD) was organized by the Department of Architecture of Epoka University and took place on 24 – 26 November, 2021 in Tirana, Albania. Builtupon the success of the previous three editions of ICAUD, the conference covered a wide range of topics on architecture and urban design and an international audience of academics and practitioners from around the world. The 3-ICAUD provided an international forum for knowledge exchange where 57 scientific papers and posters were presented by academics from 12 different countries. All contributions were reviewed from a scientific committee consisting of internationally acclaimed scholars. The keynote speakers comprised internationally renowned academics and local policy makers.
The Global Event that affected the world in early 2020 has had some huge reflections in many of the design fields, forcing architects and engineers, urban planners, and designers to rethink many of the consolidate knowledge in the designing approaches. Some of that changes will be temporary and destined to going-back in a short time; meanwhile other seem fated to become permanent and able to challenge our personal and social mindset, as designers as well as end-users. Those ongoing changes also stress the importance of a rising trans-disciplinary interaction among diverse field of knowledge, having affected the whole people real-life realm at the global scale.
The 4th International Conference on Architecture and Urban Design (4ICAUD2021) aimed to animate a deep “think-tank” moment on how we have been challenged and on what we are gaining in the switch between NEW & OLD NORMALITY POST 2020. Taking advantage from the time experienced and ripened in one year later than the beginning of the pandemic era, to draft what it will be the after-pandemic era in the fields of design, and not only in that.
Best papers were published in the Special Issue of "The Urban Book Series", a resource for urban studies and geography research by Springer.
Visit the website of 4-ICAUD
EPOKA University Architecture Team won First Place, as well as the immediate implementation of the proposal drafted. As such Architecture Department at EPOKA University confirms as a high-level educational institution in Albania, able to compete worldwide.
The Design's vision was composed of three basic concepts:
It was a very important recognition that the tactical approach in reshaping ways for a new urban design based on a set of punctual tactical micro-actions to regenerate a city by its neighbourhoods works! Only one clear tactic: small actions, great impacts.
Designing Together 2022, a long-lasting city workshop/competition organized by the Tirana Municipality, the AKPT and the "Relationships Center" led by Simon Battisti, ended on October 28, 2022, with the award ceremony.
The workshop in numbers:
New socio-economic conditions of our time have created a very difficult and complex situation for rural places. Migration to urban centers has increasingly depopulated the villages in many countries. Villages in Albania are facing similar problems and are continuously losing the components that provide the condition for their existence. There are many villages inhabited only by elder people or totally abandoned. On the other hand, in many cases, the rural context, has many potentials that can generate new ways of economy and social life. A lot of them have great natural and cultural assets and authentic characteristics that can be evaluated to build new strategies for their future.
This workshop, organized by the Department of Architecture, CoRDA and N`CEP club at Epoka University, and Shoqata Zhepova e Bashkuar, was about trying to understand the conditions and develop new ideas for the future of two traditional villages in the south of Albania, Zhepova and Shelq. The main aim of this work was to develop a vision for building up a new paradigm regarding the rural revival of the two villages. Both villages have suffered from the destruction of the local heritage, huge depopulation, and economical disintegration. The main objective of this workshop was to build up a proper methodology to evaluate material and spiritual heritage for a real bottom-up integrated tourism rural development.
The workshop consisted of two phases. The first phase was conducted on the campus at EPOKA University where the participants followed presentations, analyzed data from the previous trip, revised mapping, brainstormed and drew the first sketches of their proposals. In the second week, both students and instructors stayed for one week in the villages to understand the spirit of the place and gather relevant data that will be useful for developing proposals and the final projects for the villages.
Within the framework of course Arch 505-Special Topics in Architectural Design distinguished architect Ervin Taçi hold an open lecture titled “Designing the Context” at the premises of Epoka University. The primary aim of the lecture was to transmit fragments from professional life, which the students face once they graduate. Apart from that Mr. Taçi presented innovative design strategies which tackle the issue of dealing with a different cultural context, through a project they designed in Africa. At the end of the lecture the students had the chance to ask questions regarding the explained topic and professional experience in the Albanian context.
On December 21, 2022, an open lecture was held with a special guest, Architect Ardita Gusho,the director of the Architectural Department at Kontakt shpk. The topic of the open lecture was “Architecture from Teaching to Learning to Practice”. During the lecture, the fifth year students of the architectural department were given the possibility to learn about the professional experiences that this well-known company has, especially with the distinguished international architects and about their projects and their impact in Albania. At the end of the lecture, an opportunity to integrate learning through practical experiences at Kontakt shpk was given to students of Epoka University.
History of Architecture II course includes principal architectural movements and key historical monuments from Byzantine to Enlightenment period. Within the framework of this course, lecturer Edmond Manahasa together with students of 2nd year Department of Architecture visited the city of Florence. Considered by scholars as the birthplace of the Renaissance and it provides a unique opportunity for the students experience the city. The trip took place between December 2nd-5th, 2022 aiming the comprehension in real scale very important pieces of Renaissance.
