Armand Vokshi
Biography
ABOUT
Armand Vokshi is a lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, at the Polytechnic University of Tirana. He graduated at the University of Florence, in the Department of Architecture and then pursued a postgraduate PhD at the University of Florence.
He is also a freelance professional in architecture and urban planning with activity initially in Italy and then in Albania and Kosovo. He is the founder and director of the Avatelier architecture studio, through which he has realized a series of projects in the field of residential blocks and villas, public and commercial buildings, banks, urban master plans, etc. in Albania, Kosovo, Italy and other European countries.
He is the author of various publications and monographs in the field of architecture, as well as the author of many exhibitions, professional and academic conferences on architecture and beyond.
From 2016-2021 he was elected president of AAA (Association of Architects of Albania).
In 2019 he won the Iconic Award in Munich and Big SEE and was nominated in 2019 and 2024 for the Mies Van Der Rohe Award in Barcelona.
AWARDS
EUmies Awards 2019, EUmies Awards 2024, conic Award and BigSEE in the year 2019
SHORT DESCRIPTION ABOUT THE OFFICE
AVATELIER was founded in 2005 in Florence (Italy) by Armand Vokshi (Tirana, 1973), who then, in 2009, transferred the studio to Tirana. The various studies and projects carried out by the studio, since the beginning, have been localized in several countries, but recently they have focused particularly on Albania and Kosovo. Some of the works carried out by the motivated staff of the Avatelier studio, as well as Armand Vokshi’s research works, have been published in many articles in professional magazines and international newspapers. They have been part of various exhibitions and references in Albania, the Balkans and other European countries In 2019 AVATELIER won the Iconic Award in Munich and the Big SEE and was nominated in 2019 and 2024 for the Mies Van Der Rohe Award in Barcelona.
AWARDS OF THE OFFICE
EUmies Awards 2019, EUmies Awards 2024, conic Award and BigSEE in the year 2019
PROJECTS TO BE PRESENTED DURING THE EVENT
Project #1: Embassy of Peace
Project #1 Category: Office. Mixed-Use
Start year: 28.12.2021
The new headquarters of the Embassy of Peace is in a prime location just off the Elbasan Road at the Eastern entrance of Tirana, near the Great Park. The steep terrain on which the building is built was challenging, and the slope and the dense urban conditions influenced the basic elements of its design. Conceptually, the building has been treated as a “House of Peace”, where the primary and simple form of the building has undergone a sculptural process of cuts and clefts to give it a contemporary and dynamic appearance. These features include a large panoramic roof terrace, as well as a Impressive main entrance to the building. Other distinctive features allow for the entry of natural light into the below ground floors, which are used for offices and conference rooms. The white color symbolizes the purity of the peace that exists and should exist among people, whilst the red color in the clefts made over the building emphasize the fragility of peace. This project was nominated for the “EUmies Awards” in the year 2023.
Project #2: Between Olive
Project #2 Category: Sigle House (individual use)
Start year: 11.12.2017
The villa among the olive trees derives from the features of the terrain, its slope, dense vegetation, unique panoramas, as well as from the specific requirements of the client, from which was defined an articulated program for a one-family house. The conceptual approach aimed above all the desire to live in a close relationship with the environment and the green landscape of Tirana, and especially with that of Dajti Mountain that fills the horizon. The villa among the olive trees represents the inspiring spirit in connecting the natural environment with architecture in an organic way. The villa had several nominations and has received several international awards. The virgin natural context, filled with terraces planted with olives during the dictatorship, with voluntary work by the citizens of Tirana, was the strongest part of the project. The building tends to completely merge with the terrain and especially in the North – East part, the building opens against the magnificent panorama. This project was nominated for the “EUmies Awards”, Iconic Award and BigSEE in the year 2019.
Project #3: Back to the future
Project #3 Category: Office. Mixed-Use
Start year: 11.12.2017
The villa for which its reconstruction was planned from the beginning, adding a floor above ground and one underground, was a modest old villa of the 1920s. The total reconstruction of the villa was done for several reasons. First because it was impossible to intervene and consolidate its existing supporting structures, as they presented a rather degraded condition. Secondly, the owners of the villa sought through the reconstruction, to benefit in the underground and aboveground surface, as well as to improve the external aspect. The facades as well as the premises in the interior of the villa were in a very depreciated condition, up to complete degradation. The basic idea was to keep the existing harmonic volumes as close as possible, as well as to strictly keep the openings in the same positions. The new elements that were proposed, should be in full function of the old ones and especially in harmony with Durrës street and Kont Urani street.