(2021) 8:14
Vokshi et al. City, Territory and Architecture
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40410-021-00144-z
Open Access
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Military archaeology and contemporary
reality in Albania
Armand Vokshi1*, Elfrida Shehu2 and Sokol Dervishi3
Abstract
Heritage conservation provides economic, cultural and social benefits to urban communities. The building conservation role has changed from preservation to being part of a broader strategy for urban regeneration process and sustainable development. Heritage buildings are vital in for transferring the cultural identity for upcoming generations.
Where heritage buildings can no longer function with its original use, proposing a new function is necessary to preserve the significance of the heritage building. This study aims to explore the fascinating dialogue between totalitarian regimes introduced in two museums adapted within the anti-nuclear bunkers in Tirana. The architectural projects
of the museum aim to preserve the identity of their interior. While the careful architectural intervention is necessary to
create the atmosphere of totalitarian ideology, in many cases we have to do with the continuity of existing architectural and urban elements in these particular projects. The work explores two museums, BuncArt 1 and BunkArt
2, quite interesting reflection of the parts of history, during the years of world wars and the period of dictatorship of
communism, with the facilities and elements exhibited there. In the meantime, thereafter, one can speak of a longer
period for the period of the communist regime extending from 1945 to 1990. The impact of communist ideology,
coming from the communist bloc of the East, also affects architecture and urban studies in Albania. In some respects,
we have a silent follow-up to the monumental interventions that were made before the end of World War II. Another
important element was the radical intervention in the bunkers in the territory and in the cities. Their quantity is considered with an amount of 700 thousand pieces. They were different in size and were seen more as defence-related
parts rather than as a direct link to the new realist-socialist architecture. The return of some of them to the exhibition
space was a good step to revitalize them. Currently they have been transformed into successful tourist attractions.
Visitors come to perceive three important elements: (1) attractive military engineering, carried out in contrast to the
challenges of the time, (2) the suffocating atmosphere during the communist dictatorship, which required extreme
safeguards, (3) elements and historical facts of the World War period, as important elements during the Cold War. An
ambitious third project, which is expected to be implemented in the future, is the conversion of the Pashaliman Naval
Base in Vlora into another important military museum. This port was originally set up by mid-Fifties, by Russian troops,
to have control over the Adriatic. The port is currently part of the military, thought to turn into a strong tourist pole.
Keywords: Memory, Military architecture, Bunkers, Cold War museum, Albania
Introduction
Rapid developments in terms of scientific and aesthetic
values can take place in historical areas. Many values
have been preserved and revived, while many others
*Correspondence: armandvokshi@gmail.com
1
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Politecnical University of Tirana,
Rruga Muhamet Gjollesha 56, Tiranë, Albania
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
have been lost (Bullen and Love 2011). Adaptive reuse
involves converting a building to undertake a change of
use required by new or existing owners (Bullen and Love
2010), while conserving the architectural, social, cultural
and historical values (Wilkinson et al. 2009), in order to
not give wrong or missing information for the further
generations.
© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which
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Vokshi et al. City, Territory and Architecture
(2021) 8:14
Heritage conservation
Conserving the character of suburbs and districts and
reusing the old well-maintained buildings by using the
new concept of adaptive re-use is the only way to conserve cultural heritage in its context. Heritage conservation, in turn, contributes to ecologically sustainable
development (Latham 2000). The benefit of the adaptive
use goes beyond sustainability and resource efficiency,
including socio-economic factors driven by heritage and
community interests, extending the economic viability
of buildings and reducing maintenance costs (Cooper
2001). As such, rehabilitation of the historical buildings
has some benefits which are:
i. Economic benefits: the spaces which are rehabilitated are more easily created than new spaces unless
extensive structural reconstruction is required. A
such, adaptive reuse avoids the process of demolition
and reconstruction (Gosling et al. 2013).
ii. Environmental benefits; as the historical buildings
are constructed using a range of quality materials
(e.g. stone walls, marble floor coverings) the rehabilitation can bring the recycling of materials, reuse of
structural elements and the reduction in generated
landfill waste. Furthermore, many older buildings
employ massive construction in their external envelope, which can reduce energy consumption in heating and cooling (Martínez-Molina et al. 2016).
iii.
Social benefits: the intrinsic heritage values of the
historical buildings are vital. In addition, they represent the memory of the society, and they can retrain
attractive streetscapes, add character, and provide
status and image to an organization through the use
of massive and highly crafted materials (Wilkinson
et al. 2009). Additionally, the adaptive reuse is seemed
as a place attachment and motivational key force for
the conservation of historic buildings (Stubbs 2004),
as they aim to bind our roots, preserve the cultural
identity (Tweed and Sutherland 2007) and improve
the liveability of the city (Diamonstein 1978)
Cerreta et al. (2020) identifies the complex value chains
generated by adaptive reuse, in which intrinsic values can
play a driving role in the regeneration strategies of discarded cultural heritage. The experimentation, tested
with the project “San Sebastiano del Monte dei Morti
Living Lab” (SSMOLL), activates a creative and cultural
Living Lab in the former Morticelli church, in the historic center of Salerno, in southern Italy. The results of
the process show how a co-exploration phase has characterized the cultural characteristic of the living lab and
how the co-evaluation of the individual activities orient
the possible reuse scenarios.
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Hasnain and Mohseni (2018) examine the role of
branding as an innovative source of ideation in the implication of adaptive reuse on heritage. In this regard, the
case study of Zalando outlet store in Berlin is selected,
which is an old building situated in the commercial district of the city in a wide range of styles and heritage
buildings from the middle ages. The findings indicate that
the importance of the outlet building lies not only in its
physical fabric or commercial aspects, but the spirit of
the place that lies in the magical essence of big labels as
emblems.
Yazdani and Wilkinson (2020) provide precise definitions and a holistic understanding of adaptive reuse and
discusses complications related to the understanding of
the concepts in the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings.
The study applies a critical content analysis of published
works related to genius loci and authenticity over time.
The findings show the inter-relationship of genius loci
and authenticity, and how these concepts can be considered in the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, in theory
and in practice.
Pintossi et al. (2021) provide a preliminary baseline of
challenges faced by the city of Amsterdam from the perspective of various involved stakeholders and suggests
solutions to address them. The participants represented
the public, private, knowledge, and third sectors. The
methods used were the following: for data collection, a
multidisciplinary workshop using the steps of the Historic Urban Landscape approach as an assessment framework applied to multiple scales on adaptive reuse, and for
data analysis, manifest content analysis.
Günçe and Misirlisoy (2014) explore the success of the
adaptive reuse projects in terms of appropriateness of the
museum function in a military establishment both in a
conservation approach and museography approach. We
selected castles will be compared in terms of use of military establishments as museums. The castles are selected
from two different countries: Sforzesco Castle in Milan,
Italy and Kyrenia Castle in Kyrenia, Cyprus which was
used as castles before and are now converted to museums. The buildings are evaluated in two parts with the
defined criteria: firstly in terms of conservation principles and secondly in terms of museography.
Hunter and Jateff (2016) study a post-military adaptive
reuse of the Australian warship Protector while following
a discussion of efforts to archaeologically document Protector’s surviving hull and identify signatures of adaptive
reuse indicative of its post-military career.
Misirlisoy and Günçe (2016) explore castles located
in Cyprus and converted to museums. Four castles of
the castles in Cyprus that have been converted to museums have been evaluated and compared in terms of the
use of military establishments as museums. The selected
Vokshi et al. City, Territory and Architecture
(2021) 8:14
castles were evaluated in two parts with defined criteria:
firstly, in terms of conservation principles and secondly,
in terms of museography. According to the results, generally the adaptive reuse projects have sustained the
cultural identity of the heritage buildings; however, they
have failed in bringing about efficient use and achieving
socio-cultural benefits.
Regeneration of military archeology
The study considers some of the important open exhibition spaces in Tirana in the last 10 years, which have been
dedicated to events during totalitarian systems in Albania. It is now well known that Albania’s capital, Tirana,
is a direct urban product of two dictatorial systems, the
short Italian fascist occupation and the long communist
dictatorship that ended in the 1990s. The architectural
spirit of the fascist era created the new urban core of the
city and during communism this core was consolidated
and further expanded with new urban blocks of space in
a real social style. Although a considerable part of the city
developed during the Ottoman period remained intact,
the city still transmits to a large extent the presence of the
real socialist city (Vokshi 2020). In addition to the presence of the architectures of the two regimes, in the city of
Tirana and beyond, museums especially associated with
military facilities and espionage structures during the
Cold War are necessary to be explored.
The common element between them is the topics they
address, as well as the spaces in which they are located.
The present study analyses four typical museums
focused on events during the Cold War:
a. Two underground museums, which are two antinuclear bunkers of the communist era, BunkArt 1
and BunkArt 2,
b. The museum of “The House of Leaves”, which was
a villa of the thirties, during the dictatorship turned
into a place of espionage for dissidents and for Albanian intellectuals.
c- Unfinished project of the underground military port
at Portopalermo, near Vlora, which was a military
base for Russian submarines, built in the 1960s.
Albania between the regimes
It should be noted that Albania is an interesting case
study in terms of linking the urban and architectural part
with totalitarian systems. The presence of totalitarian systems is closely linked to the international developments
of the twentieth century (reference). The independence of Albania was realized in 1912, after five centuries
of occupation by the Ottoman Empire. In recent years
there have been various dynamic developments from a
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historical point of view. In relation to all the Balkan countries, Albania is the only case where two totalitarian dictatorships are constantly following each other.
Albania under Italian fascist troops
In April 1939, Albania was militarily occupied by the
Italian fascist troops of Mussolini, and this lasted until
1942. It is worth noting that, even before the military
occupation, since 1924, during Ahmet Zog’s dominance
of Albanian politics, for a period of 15 years, Mussolini’s
government had a strong influence in the formation of
the new Albanian state. This influence has not only had
an impact on the economy and politics, but also on all
walks of life. They were especially felt in urban planning, architecture, and art. The military invasion of 1939,
which forced the Albanian king Ahmet Zog to flee, simply deepened the influence and dictatorship of the Italian
fascist state in all areas of life in Albania (Biaggini 2005).
The communist dictatorships
The second totalitarian system that followed fascist
domination is the communist system. It came directly
after the end of the Second World War and lasted until
the nineties (History of Army War Art 1989). The established dictatorship was an extension of the influence of
the communist dictatorships of the Soviet Union and of
the east bloc. This automatically brought about a new
political, ideological, economic, and social approach to a
system similar to that of the Moscow Bolshevik regime.
However, Albania’s long-term political and ideological
course would only be determined by Enver Hoxha himself and other Communist Party members (Guxholli
1988). He was an Albanian communist politician who
served as the Prime Minister of Albania, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania, from 1944 until
his death in 1985.
The years of the dictatorship are composed of several periods, which are divided according to different
approaches, in which the dictator Enver Hoxha had in
relation to his international relations. In 1947 Hoxha
broke off relations with neighbouring Yugoslavia, ostensibly because the less hard-liner Yugoslavs were straying from the true path of socialism. Hoxha had a name
for the state of preparedness all Albanians should be
in—gjithmone gati, or “always ready”. This state of mind
came in part from his experiences in World War Two.
Until the mid-1960s, his direct relations were with the
Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc countries. These links
marked great progress in some aspects of industrialization, education, and the rise of the communist state. During his control of the country, Hoxha took radical steps
in relation to other countries, banning religion, interrupting outward movements, and using his secret services
Vokshi et al. City, Territory and Architecture
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against any opposition thought. Great empowerment was
made especially by the military, exploiting the strategic
position in that part of Europe that Albania represented
in the eyes of Moscow (Guxholli 1981; Karaiskaj 1990;
Fiçori 2015). A series of different military bases were set
up throughout the country. While almost a quarter of the
Albanian state budget went to the military, much of that
funding was spent on building bunkers. At that time, a
large system of bunkers of different typologies began to
be built in every corner of the country (Engels 1976). The
most widespread was the fungal model named “M22”, the
prototype built in the 1950s. The engineers had assured
Hoxha that he would withstand a full onslaught by hitting a tank shell. Hoxha decided to give it a try, with the
design engineer inside, and when he appeared unharmed
by the attack, so began their mass production. Albania
then lurched into another problem in 1961 after Hoxha
declaimed Stalin’s reform-minded successor Nikita
Khrushchev. The Soviets and the rest of the Warsaw Pact
froze Albania out, forcing the isolated state to align itself
instead with Mao Zedong’s China (Vokshi 2020).
This honeymoon, too, was short-lived. Incensed by
Mao’s welcoming of US president Richard Nixon to
China in 1972, Hoxha rapidly cooled relations with the
Chinese too. By 1978, the Chinese had withdrawn all
their advisors, leaving Albania without allies—and the
most isolated country in the world.
The doctrine of Hoxha’s military
From the paranoid thoughts of the Communist nomenclature on the possible occupation by his former Soviet
allies, or the USA and NATO forces, so many concrete
and steel bunkers were built, with the aim of stopping a
large army. The idea of protecting the country from the
ground was the only military justice strategy of the time
(Lleshi 2020). Bunkers sprout, like large gray mushrooms
from the mountains north, south, and up the coastline,
sprouting in any urban neighbourhood, or in the fields,
between graves and beach umbrellas (Hutchings 1997).
The doctrine of Hoxha’s military hard line had led him
to think that the NATO attacks would come from neighbouring Italy or Greece. But he also had other enemies,
such as Tito’s Yugoslavs, who in the forties had contributed to the establishment of the Communist Party in
Albania. An invasion could come from the Yugoslavs
themselves, or their country could be used as a war corridor for a Soviet invasion (Vokshi 2020).
Albania’s armed forces would not be able to withstand
a conventional battle against all these enemies, much
stronger, in Hoxha’s view (Dokument i deklasifikuar i
Ministrise se Mbrojtjes se Shqiperise 1984). He called for
the mobilization of all strata of the population, most of
whom had to do basic military training each year. It was
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Fig. 1 Picture from the bunkers in Albanian territory
called “soft”, and was a parallel form of resistance, alongside the real army. Taught in the days of the partisan
war, where small units would carry out attacks on Italian or German outposts, descending from the mountain,
the nomenclature coming out of that war, he wanted to
ensure that every invader would face the same, creating
a wide network of bunkers. The thought system was such
that all people would fight every beach, village, and crossroads through the bunkers. Albania would become a land
covered with these grey bunkers (Hutchings 1997).
The bunkers
The bunkers were standardized by the Albanian Army
(see Fig. 1). They were built with concrete, steel and iron,
and in size from fighting facilities for one or two persons with light weapons, to large underground shelters,
intended to be used by the leadership of the party and
the bureaucrats and to be protected from nuclear bomb
attacks. Country bunkering could be divided into three
main categories:
• Qender Zjarri (“firing position”) or QZ bunkers
(Fig. 2).
• Pike Zjarri (“firing point”) or PZ bunkers (Fig. 3).
• Large bunkers and tunnels.
QZ bunkers
The first category of the most used bunker (Shametaj
2004) is a small concrete dome set into the ground with a
circular bottom extending downwards, just large enough
for one or two people to stay inside. Known as Qender
Zjarri (“firing position”) or QZ bunkers, they were prefabricated and transported to their final positions, where
they were assembled. They consist of three main elements: (i) 3 m diameter hemispherical concrete dome
with a firing slit (ii) a hollow cylinder to support the
dome (iii) an outer wall with a radius 60 cm larger than
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Fig. 2 Picture from QZ bunkers
Fig. 3 Picture from PZ bunkers
the cylinder. The gap between the cylinder and outer wall
is filled with earth (Engels 1976).
At various places along the coast, large numbers of
QZ bunkers were built in groups of three, linked to each
other by a prefabricated concrete tunnel. Elsewhere bunkers were constructed in groupings around strategic
points across the country, or in lines across swathes of
territory. Tirana was particularly heavily defended, with
thousands of bunkers radiating out in 50 concentric circles around the city.
PZ bunkers
The second category, the command-and-control bunkers,
known as Pike Zjarri (“firing point”) or PZ bunkers, were
also prefabricated and assembled on site. They are far
larger and heavier than the QZ bunkers, with a diameter
of 8 m. They are made from a series of concrete slices,
each weighing eight or nine tons, which were concreted
together on site to form an interlocking dome. Fully
assembled, they weigh between 350 and 400 tons.
Tunnels
The third category of larger “special structures” is for
strategic purposes. The largest were bunker complexes
tunnelled into mountains. At Linza near the capital,
Tirana, a network of tunnels some 2 kms long was built
to protect members of the Interior Ministry and the Sigurimi (the secret police) from nuclear attack. Elsewhere,
thousands of kilometres of tunnels were built to house
political, military, and industrial assets. Albania is said
to have become the most tunnelled country in the world
after North Korea (reference). The tunnels were built in
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conditions of great secrecy. Engineering teams were not
allowed to see construction through to completion but
were rotated from site to site monthly (Agolli 2012; Golloshi 2010; Fabrizio and Maria 2010).
Contemporary reality of bunkers and military bases
in Albania
Bunkers and military bases entered daily life with their
presence for the Albanian citizens, who watched in their
windows at every corner, even though the long-awaited
enemy never came. Decades after the end of Hoxha’s
totalitarian regime, bunkers still dominate the landscape
in some places. This important presence in the territory,
as a strong historical relation, but also panoramic relevance, is the basic starting point of our research methodology. A spontaneous civic tradition has already been
established, which is related to the regeneration and use
of these important sites, as well as the large quantities of
other parts displayed everywhere in Albania.
All these interventions converge on some common
points:
Fig. 4 Picture of bunkart external context of Bunkart 1
similar in every respect to their treatment, as well as the
other museum, which was one of the main headquarters
of the secret services “Sigurimi”.1 The Vlore Museum
project, meanwhile, deals with a gallery-based military
base for submarines. The names of these museums are
respectively:
• Potential impact on the protection of landscapes and
the sustainable development of persons involved in
territories.
• The internationalization and the international dimension of this heritage, trying to be as original and at
the same time, finding connections with other examples or scientific networks.
While some have been turned into hotels, restaurants,
or residential homes by some creative citizens, most have
been abandoned and covered by nature, or occupied by
desperate people seeking shelter. They came across the
hilly landscape of Albania, painting almost every picture
in the small 28,000 km2 of small country (Raino 2017).
Twenty-five years after the fall of dictatorship, some of
these formerly dominant elements of Albanian life were
thought to be exposed to the public and future generations (Raino 2017; Klauzeviç 1995).
As such, some of these bunkers or buildings used by
the communal nomenclature, during that time, for military or espionage purposes, were turned into museums.
Their opening had to show the physical, technological,
and emotional state of these objects of collective memory
(reference). Inside they would have to show fragments
of history, intertwined with the exhibition spaces inside
them. Below we will talk about four projects of these
categories. Three of them have been realized, and are
in Tirana, and one of them is still unrealized, located in
Vlora (Rregullore e objektit tip Tunel 1965).
In Tirana, there are three recently opened museums,
of which the first two are underground military galleries,
• The first, BunkArt 1, is located on the outskirts of the
city of Tirana.
• The second, BunkArt 2, is located in the heart of the
city of Tirana, directly on Skanderbeg Square, behind
the Albanian state ministries.
• The House of Leaves museum near the central square
• Submarine Tunnel Porto Palermo in Vlora (Arkivi
Qëndror i Ushtrisë, Buletin Arkivor Ushtarak 2011).
BunkArt 1 and BunkArt 2
Both museums have a similar physiognomy, and certainly
both have been built to protect high communist political leadership in the event of an external military attack.
As the name “BunkArt” implies, the two museums which
are underground military galleries that already see themselves as art galleries. They are in two different points
of the city of Tirana, BunkArt 1 on the outskirts and
BunkArt 2 in the centre of the city.
BunkArt 1
The BunkArt 1 Museum, located in the eastern part of
the city, in the Shish-Tufina area, near the General Staff
Support Battalion. Although a military area, it is now
accessible to the public (Fig. 4). The museum is a living testimony to the secret lives of communist leaders
Enver Hoxha and Mehmet Shehu inside a tunnel they
1
The mission of the Sigurimi was to prevent counterrevolutions and to suppress opposition to the regime.
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Fig. 5 Plan of existing tunnel condition of Bunkart 1
Fig. 6 Plan of the new museum Bunkart 1, curated by Carlo Bollino
created as a secret place to protect them in the event
of an atomic war. BunkArt, in fact, was an anti-nuclear
bunker, or more precisely an underground tunnel system, which was built in 1976. Its entrance is merged
with the territory, and not very noticeable for the
high military security. This tunnel system is located 5
floors underground and is composed of an amount of
106 rooms and auxiliary spaces (Fig. 5). It was built by
the Communist Government with the idea of sheltering senior leadership in the event of a nuclear attack on
Albania. Particular attractions are the room dedicated
to dictator Enver Hoxha, and the room dedicated to
the then Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu. While inside
this underground bunker, there is also a large hall with
150 seats, which would be the underground hall of the
Albanian parliament. The bunker has 5 armoured doors
at its entrance, named after the years of communist
rule, as “Objekti 0774” (Fiçorri 2002).
At the moment, this work of military engineering has
turned into a Cold War Museum, where the tunnels and
other physical environments are the exposed part of it.
The anti-nuclear tunnel system transmits an unusual
message and is named BunkArt. It was opened in 2014,
on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Albania. The
internal organization left intact, reveals through many
expressive forms the messages that are transmitted within
it. It symbolizes the isolation of communist Albania, but
also the ongoing confrontations between the communist
bloc and the West during the Cold War (Fig. 6). The historical, museal and artistic lines come together to convey
to visitors’ clear messages about the two most discussed
periods of Albanian history, the period of World War II
and that of the communist regime in Albania (Premçi
2003; Voshtina 2009; Alibali 2001).
The museum is still guarded by military forces, and
this military presence makes even more prosecution
of the time feel. Meanwhile, to make it soluble, it is
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Fig. 7 Photos from the interior of the museum Bunkart 1, curated by Carlo Bollino
Fig. 8 Photos from the interior of the museum Bunkart 1, curated by Carlo Bollino
interfering with selected elements of the images from
all the important periods of history, not only during
communism (Fig. 7). The museum tends to show historical fragments, sideways of the totalitarian periods,
to intertwine the link between the construction of the
anti-nuclear bunker and the historical continuity of
Albania (Fig. 8).
In many of these areas are exposed, weapons, uniforms, documents, maps and other details which served
at that time. These relics have been inherited from the
army of the Albanian communist state. The mode of
presentation is attempted to have a graphic language
associated with periods, and with an artistic force of
expression (Moisiu 2012; Foppiano 2011).
BunkArt 2
BunkArt 2 is located near Scanderbeg Square, almost
directly behind the ensemble of ministries built in the
1930s by Italian architects. It was transformed into a
museum, 2 years after the opening of BunkArt 1, with a
focus of attention on the victims of the communist dictatorship. This was related to the fact that the galleries of
this museum during the dictatorship had to do physically
and functionally with the adjacent building which was
the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This institution was one
of the main responsible for crimes during the communist
era (Fig. 9). The presence of the underground bunker was
related not only to the defence system from an external
attack but was also used by the security structures of the
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Fig. 9 Plan of existing tunnel condition and the new museum of Bunkart 2, curated by Carlo Bollino
communist state for the enemies of the system. Its construction began in 1981 and ended in 1986, 2 years after
the death of dictator Hoxha. Its surface is considerable,
but not as large, and as deep as BunkArt 1. Since the tunnels were connected to the ministry buildings, at the time
of its transformation into a museum, some additional
surface interference was carried out, adding two new volumes, which now serve the main entrance and the exit
of visitors. The curators selected for the new entrance,
the placement of an artificial concrete bunker according
to the typology Pike Zjarri (“firing point” or PZ bunkers)
(Fig. 10).
This construction of this entrance began in 2015.
Apparently, the main purpose was to visualize the bunkers that the communist system was built throughout
Albania. The presence of this newly constructed facility
raised protests by the end of 2015, a large mass of people organized by Albanian opposition parties, in memory
of 1990s anti-communist student movements in Albania.
The protesters hit the bunker, built recently, and then set
fire to it, leaving numerous cracks. The damaged part
was left untouched, giving this part a historical character. Part of the dome, the entrance bunker, was covered
with photographs of victims who were persecuted by the
regime. The dome treatment looks like a replica, like Yad
Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, where the
cylinder with this treatment is one of its main parts. In
the meantime, the outside entrance was complemented
by a metal guard tower, wrapped in barbed wire, installed
nearby the bunker. BunkArt 2, despite the point at which
it was attempted to identify itself as a museum of the victims of communism, appears in a manner very similar to
that of BunkArt 1.
So, we can say that the logic of the installations artistic,
with historical military, and archival material, remains
the character of the museum already seen at the other
museum. The interior rooms have different installations
but what impresses them is the engineering work itself,
as in the case of Bunk’Art 1 (Fig. 11).
The House of Leaves
In 2017, another museum dedicated to the period of
communist dictatorship in Albania was inaugurated in
the center of Tirana named: “The House of Leaves”.
The project was curated by Studio Terragni Architetti.
The project of transforming the House of Leaves into a
National Museum of Secret Surveillance was initiated by
the Albanian Ministry of Culture in 2014 and supported
by a multidisciplinary team of historians, victims’ associations, engineers, and craftsmen from different countries.
Fig. 10 Photos from the interior of the museum Bunkart 2, curated
by Carlo Bollino
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Fig. 11 Photos from the interior of the museum Bunkart 2, curated by Carlo Bollino
Fig. 12 Plan of ground floor and the first floor of museum is “The House of Leaves”, Studio Terragni Architetti
Built in 1931, this villa has an area of over 1300 m2 and
a site area of 800 m2, it was the first private obstetrics
clinic in Albania. The house has a total of 31 interconnected rooms that carry within them many sad stories
related to totalitarian dictatorship. The house was used
by the Gestapo during World War II occupation. Later,
during the communist dictatorship, the house became
the headquarters of the security, the Albanian secret
intelligence service. In the early days, the regime’s opponents were pierced or even sentenced to death, but in
later years, it was used only as a center of espionage (reference). For the time during the communism period, the
building contained sophisticated equipment, and a vast
network of people used to survey the life, and activity
of exponents of the former wealthy class, or even of the
country’s most renowned intellectuals (reference). The
data then passed on to the apartheid set up by the Communist Party, which in most cases made radical decisions
about their lives and their families (Fig. 12).
After the 1990s, the building was abandoned for decades. The house barely looked out of the way, from the
dense layer of trees and leaves, a camouflage technique
normally seen in war. It also received the metaphorical
name “The House of Leaves”.
The museum is divided into nine sections, and the
main purpose is to discover the sophisticated and
advanced ways of controlling the communist state over
the Albanian people. The exhibit spaces in the museum
vary, some of which are dedicated to the materials
contained in it: microphones and various interception
technologies used by Sigurimi. Other sections of the
museum display declarations, work and files prepared
by state informants. The sheer volume of surveillance,
surveillance and surveillance equipment reveals the
startling amount of investment made by the communist state, which is unbelievable given Albania’s economic situation at the time. The exhibitions portray
Vokshi et al. City, Territory and Architecture
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Fig. 13 Picture from the interior of the museum “The House of Leaves”, Studio Terragni Architetti
a Communist perception of the enemy, external and
internal, for which a great deal of state vigilance was
focused.
The House of Leaves has also combined a typical Albanian interior living space of the 1970s. The “Panopticon
and Panacusticon” exhibit is something akin to a science
lab of secret photos, recordings and visuals, all of which
add to a wild experience. audio-visual for the visitor. A
multitude of emotions permeate each visitor’s mind
and awareness as you walk through the rooms of this
museum. Its realization at the beginning was intended to
show not only the historical aspect of this house, but also
the ideological and poetic pressure of the time, as you try
to imagine that this was a reality for the Albanians in the
not-too-distant past (Neshaj 2015).
In a country that had used labour of the incarcerated
in exchange for importing surveillance devices from 18
different countries, Studio Terragni Architetti decided to
produce everything on site, relying on the skill of people
and the low cost of materials. The total cost for 33 rooms,
800 mq. was 540.000 euros (Fig. 13).
Before entering the museum, a garden covered in convallaria japonica invites people to explore the sound
of the city by handling these pre-war listening devices
themselves (Fig. 14).
Visitors can gather and collect their thoughts in the
backyard, sitting on two long benches, a colourful and
pleasant distraction in the backyard. Walking around you
soon discover that only from one point of view, marked
by a read seat, do the two objects collapse into the single image of a headset, the ultimate iconic symbol of
surveillance.
Submarine Tunnel Porto Palermo
Porto Palermo’s military base is located in the Gulf of
Panorma, about 80 km from Vlora. Nearby is also a monument of historic and architectural value, the Ali Pashe
Tepelena Castle (Fiçori 2015) built in the XVIII century.
In a spectacular panorama over the Ionian Sea, it was
decided to build a naval tunnel and naval military base,
worked for more than 15 years by Albanian military
forces. For its realization (Engels 1976), mainly the work
of soldiers and engineers who performed military service
in this military area was used. Between 1955 and 1968,
the Soviet Union landed 12 Soviet Whiskey Class submarines in Vlora (Hoxha 1984).
They should serve to have direct control over the Strait
of Otranto (Engels 1976). The military point south of
the Ionian Sea was totally strategic. After Albania withdrew from the Warsaw Pact, Hoxha appropriated all four
submarines, controlled by Albanian soldiers, and placed
them in Porto Palermo (Hoxha 1984). This country
turned into a strong military position for Enver Hoxha
(Lufta e Vlorës 1994; Politika e Sigurimit dhe e Mbrojtjes e Republikës të Shqiperise 2001). The military project’s strategic design leaves the bay free and creates a
Vokshi et al. City, Territory and Architecture
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Fig. 14 The interior project of the museum “The House of Leaves”, Studio Terragni Architetti
Fig. 15 Picture from the existing situation of Porto Palermo’s military base, Photo by Debora Bilani
long, straight tunnel on the small peninsula. Thus, began
the construction of a 650 m long, 12-m-high tunnel
dedicated to submarines. Four submarines were placed
inside it, one after the other. The rock formation was
made so that the exterior of the tunnel did not look out
of the sea (Engels 1976). The tunnel is a giant engineering feat, which has a host of secondary barracks-type
military facilities, as well as a host of small, bunkers
spread throughout the territory (Fig. 15). Even the military base itself has been abandoned, for a long time,
and now we are talking, it consists only of rubble, it is
not possible to get into the facility. The Albanian Coast
Guard uses it as a base on the coast and preserved undisturbed rest of the surrounding terrain (Arkivi Qëndror
Vokshi et al. City, Territory and Architecture
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Fig. 16 The interior project of the museum “The Submarine Tunnel Porto Palermo”, Studio Terragni Architetti
i Ushtrisë, Buletin Arkivor Ushtarak 2011; Rregullore
të Fortifikatës fushore 1952; Vjet Akademie Mbrojtjes
2008).
The Submarine Tunnel Porto Palermo, from its opening
in 1986 until 1993, served as the base of the Submarine
Brigade. The construction of the base started in about
70 years and its construction took almost 17 years. Initially the base was planned to be built as the base for four
rocket ships that were planned to be taken from China.
The latter never materialized, so the base was adapted for
submarines (Hoxha 1984; Stefa and Mydyti 2009). From
1993 to 2004, the Palermo base served as a reserve base
of the Second Marine District, occasionally under the
control of the Commando Regiment (Moisiu 2012).
At the present state, the museum, has not yet been
realized, but the idea of transforming it is a good base
to return to, following the example of the first three.
There are several projects of public interest for this. One
of the first ideas to turn this military space into a Cold
War Museum was once again commissioned by architects Elisabetta Terragni and Jeffrey Schnapp (Fig. 16).
They had successfully designed and implemented a few
years ago, something analogous, in Trento, Italy. It was
also about an underground museum existing gallery in
Trento, had been part of the western ring road of the city,
but after the construction of two new galleries, they were
back in August 2008 in a museum space devoted mainly
to the history and memory.
In the project for the Porto Palermo Military Base, the
tendency to treat it is the same as seen in the BunkArt
project in Tirana. So, making a direct link to the past, by
leaving out as many traces as possible, of the history of
the tunnel itself. In the meantime, besides the physical
space of the concrete tunnel, the project also puts underwear, which also adds to the excitement of the museum.
While from the point of view of the presentation of its
historical, but also historical pieces, it is played with
materials and contemporary elements of museography,
or even graphics, to bring to the visitor the atmosphere of
time. The project extends the museum across the 650 m
tunnel. An important part of it, are the graphic elements
placed at the museum’s entrance, which explain the first
infotainment regarding the interior. The project had a
resonance in various publications as well. There is also a
quote from “Abitare” magazine, which dedicated a study
by Anna Foppiano on concrete fences in Albania, and on
the Terragni project in Porto Palermo (Neshaj 2015).
It says: “The submarine base for submarines (a
650-foot-long, 12-foot-high tunnel for 4 Whiskeys,
90 m each) cutting a strip of land in Porto Palermo, or
more specifically in the Bay of Panorma, is definitely an
extraordinary place, between water and heaven, to consider, document and transmit Cold War events.” (Hoxha
1984).
The Porto Palermo Tunnel has been an object of great
interest, even for architecture students, at the Polytechnic
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Fig. 17 The interior project of the museum “Porto Palermo’s military base”, diploma thesis of Debora Bilani
University of Tirana. There have been some diploma topics, related to the tunnel, and to the surrounding area
(Fig. 17), dealing not only with the underground tunnel but also with buildings and captains military built
in outer space. While studying the basic concept, it was
important to come up with a multifunctional system that
would give the museum more functionality than just a
glimpse of its historical part. Especially taking advantage
of the summer tourist area, where tourists who visit the
area periodically can return to this museum from time to
time. The part of the degraded military buildings outside,
under this project, was subject to restoration and completion for new functions.
Conclusion
Conceptually, we can say that all four museums have
many similar elements. The main unifying idea is that,
after a quarter of a century, after the fall of communist
dictatorship, to realize and feel the intense pressure of
time, even though the wounds caused by it are still fresh.
What is attempted in the first place is a direct visit to the
premises where the most extreme points produced by the
totalitarian system, linked to the military, and espionage,
were focused [54]. They are thus left, as intact as possible, to perceive, during their visit, at any point, the direct
connection of historical memory with its spatial interpolation. So, this remains the main museum graphic element. Second is the tendency to reflect through images,
photos, archive materials and various military tools part
of the country’s history. The tendency to translate it into
an artistic form sometimes attenuates the strong emotion
that the pristine environment can convey.
One shortcoming, which can be fulfilled a second time,
is finding the premises, to have the opportunity to be
completed with temporary exhibitions, or various events,
to absorb the visitors who have once been inside. Their
spaces are very special and attractive to promote other
events of historical or artistic character. The paranoia of
the dictator and members of the Political Bureau of the
Communist Party in Albania has tried, besides spatial
experience of different environments, to bring with it
different installations. The trend, especially in BunkArt
museums 1 and 2, is the contrast between the invisible
pressure of time and the paranoia of power, aligned in
many intertwined ways. However, another element to be
felt would be more of a concrete connection within the
underground tunnels, and thousands of bunkers, where
like mushrooms sprout in the landscape of Albania during the totalitarian dictatorship.
Acknowledgements
None.
Authors’ contributions
AV conceived of the presented idea. AV and ES developed the theory and performed the analysis. All authors verified the analytical methods and supervised
the findings of this work. All authors discussed the results and contributed to
the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Vokshi et al. City, Territory and Architecture
(2021) 8:14
Funding
No funding to declare.
Availability of data and materials
The authors can provide readers with information about the research data
required to reproduce the work reported in the manuscript.
Declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests
or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work
reported in this paper.
Author details
1
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Politecnical University of Tirana, Rruga
Muhamet Gjollesha 56, Tiranë, Albania. 2 Faculty of Civil Engineering, Polytechnic University of Tirana, “Nene Tereza” Square No.4, Tiranë, Albania. 3 Faculty
of Architecture and Engineering, Epoka University, Rruga Tiranë-Rinas, Km 12,
1039 Tiranë, Albania.
Received: 2 May 2021 Accepted: 31 October 2021
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