BIG wins the tower in "Taiwan", the story of the studio that became part of Rama's most controversial project

The Danish studio BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group , one of the most renowned names in contemporary architecture, has been announced the winner of the international competition for the "Tirana Fountain Plaza" project, which envisages the transformation of the "Taiwan" area of ​​the Rinia Park.

Five international studios participated in the competition, but BIG was selected for the project that envisages a structure raised above the park level, with residential spaces, hotels, offices and cultural functions. The government has presented the intervention as a project on private property, but with a significant impact on the surrounding urban space.

BIG's new victory in Tirana brings back to our attention the history of this studio that has won several projects in Albania and, in particular, its connection with the new National Theater, one of the projects that has produced political, civic and legal clashes under the government of Edi Rama.

As is known, BIG is the studio that designed the new National Theater and on the studio's official website, the project appears with Fusha LLC as the client and is currently marked as "In Construction".

But the history of the Theater does not begin with BIG's architectural project, but with a special procedure of the Albanian government for the selection of the private partner.

Special Law for Fusha
In 2018, the Rama government proposed a special law for the construction of the National Theater through a public-private partnership. In the initial version of the draft law, the private partner was specifically defined: Fusha sh.pk

The official document of the Council of Ministers, dated June 27, 2018, in Article 8, provided that the contract between the state and the private partner would contain the proposal submitted by the company “Fusha” sh.pk, which would be an inseparable part of the contract. The same draft law provided for the exchange of state property and development rights with the construction of the new Theater.

So, in the initial phase, it was not a question of an ordinary competition where different companies would compete from scratch for the project because, as can be seen, the government had initiated the procedure based on an unsolicited proposal from Fusha.

This course of action was also opposed at the European level. According to documentation from Transparency International, the European Commission raised concerns about the direct negotiation with only one private company, considering it to be in violation of competition rules.

The government subsequently amended the draft to allow other companies to submit bids. However, Transparency International noted that both the adopted law and the bylaws gave Fusha a preferential status.

In fact, in the documents published by the government at the time, it was clear that the procedure was built around Fusha's proposal. The special law was approved through an accelerated procedure and President Ilir Meta returned it for reconsideration, for violating legal equality, freedom of economic activity, cultural heritage and compliance with European standards.

The Constitutional Court also overturned the law
. There was also a court decision regarding this matter.

On July 2, 2021, the Constitutional Court, with decision no. 29/2021, repealed law no. 37/2018 on the special procedure of the National Theater, considering it incompatible with the Constitution. The Court also repealed the Council of Ministers' Decision no. 377/2020 on the transfer of the Theater's property to the Municipality of Tirana.

 The Court document highlights that the initial version of the law had provided for special treatment for Fusha, the company that had submitted the proposal.

This is the point that makes the story of the Danish studio in Albania more interesting than a regular news story about an architecture competition.

BIG was not declared the winner of the special law and was not the company that acquired the public property, but was the architectural studio of the project, while Fusha was the private partner because BIG itself identifies Fusha LLC as the client of the National Theater.

But today, the same studio that was engaged for the National Theater is taking on another highly exposed project in the heart of Tirana.

The documents presented above therefore tell us whether the "Taiwan" competition is simply another international architecture competition or whether other interests are hidden behind the project.

For now, one fact is that BIG is becoming one of the most present names in Tirana's iconic projects in recent years, starting with the National Theater, Besim Park and now "Tirana Fountain Plaza". S.Gj-Politiko.al