Scanderbeg Square Competition

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SCANDERBEGSQUARE REVITALIZATION

Design Competition BriefCity of Tirana February, 2008


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PROMOTING INSTITUTIONMUNICIPALITY OF TIRANA

Sheshi Skenderbej

Bulevardi Deshmoret e Kombit (Tirana)

Procedure person in charge: Arch. Adelina Greca

COMPETITION SITE

www.tirana.gov.al/sscompetition

(To download the competition brief, and all related material)

COMPETITION SECRETARIAT

The secretariat of the competition is based at:

Secretariat of the Scanderbeg Square Competition [KONKURSI I SHESHIT SKENDERBEJ]MUNICIPALITY OF TIRANASheshi SkenderbejBulevardi Deshmoret e Kombit (Tirana)

e-mail : [email protected]

Mob. +355.69.2056146Tel. +355.04.253053/149Fax. +355.04. 228430

For Phone Contact Information:

Working Hours:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday,From 9.00 to 13.00 and from 15.30 to 16.30

Tuesday, Thursday and Friday,

From 15.30 to 17.30


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Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

MAYORS LETTER OF INVITATION

1. INTRODUCTION

2. SITE DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT

2.1. Scanderbeg Square and the Surrounding Area

2.2. List of Surrounding Buildings

2.3. Historic Information about the Surrounding Institutions

2.4. Area History Brief From 1920s

2.5. Development of Tirana Center Master Plan2.5.1. Details about P1 zone Scanderbeg Square

3. HERITAGE FRAMEWORK

3.1. More Information on the Heritage of the Square

4. THE DESIGN OPPORTUNITY FOR SCANDERBEG SQUARE

4.1. Guiding Principles

4.2. Heritage Property Attributes

4.3. Improving Public Events Accommodation

4.4. Improving Squares Significant Elements Integration

4.5. Improving Pedestrian Access to Surrounding Area

4.6. Rethinking Built Elements

4.7. Providing Water Elements and Shade in the Square

4.8. Integrating Sustainable Design and Operational Efficiencies

5. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND SITE ANALYSIS

5.1. The Competition Area

5.1.1. Assignment5.1.2. Explanation

5.2. Pedestrian Connections and Access

5.2.1. Pedestrian Access

5.3. Streetscape Design, Transportation, Building and Parking Access

5.4. Landscaping

5.5. Other Items

5.6. Public Events and Outdoor Performance Facilities

5.6.1. Overview

5.6.2. Problems Faced

5.6.3. The Future

5.6.4. Reforming the Scanderbeg Square New Events

5.7. General Items

5.7.1. Sustainability

5.7.2. Exterior Lighting

5.7.3. Exterior Shade


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5.7.4. Waste Collection and Recycling

5.7.5. Street Furniture

5.7.6. Signage

5.7.7. Public Art

5.7.7.1. Planner and Architect Recognition

5.7.7.2. Donor Recognition

5.7.8. Speakers Corner

5.7.9. Public Safety and Security Considerations5.8. Infrastructure Conditions and Requirements

5.8.1. Structural System

5.8.2. Loading Capacities

5.8.3. General Comments

5.8.4. Electrical and Telecommunication Systems

5.8.5. Mechanical Systems

5.8.6. Wireless Internet Service

5.9. Implementation Stages of the Revitalization Project

6. BUDGET FRAMEWORK

7. COMPETITION PROCESS

7.1. Competition Sponsor/ Donor

7.2. Professional Advisor/s

7.3. Technical Consultants

7.4. Summary of Competition Process

7.5. Competition Schedule

8. STAGE I: DESIGN AND EXPERIENCE STATEMENTS

8.1. Access to Scanderbeg Square

8.2. Stage I Eligibility

8.3. Stage II Eligibility

8.4. Ineligibility8.5. Call for Design and Experience Statements

8.6. Communication

8.7. Stage I Submission Requirements

8.8. Submission of Design and Experience Statement

8.9. Mandatory Submission Requirements

8.10. Selection of Competitors

8.11. Additional Conditions Pertaining to Stage I

9. STAGE II: DESIGN SUBMISSIONS

9.1. Purpose

9.2. Eligibility

9.3. Briefing Meeting

9.4. Communication

9.5. Stage II: Submission Requirements

9.6. Stage II: Competition Submission


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9.7. Identification of Submissions

9.8. Additional Conditions Pertaining to Stage II

10. COMPETITION JURY AND EVALUATION PROCEDURE

Stage I

10.1. Technical Secretariat

10.2. Evaluation Committee

Stage II10.3. Technical Advisory Committee

10.4. Jury Composition

10.5. Jury Responsibilities

10.6. Jury Adjudication

10.7. Evaluation Criteria

10.8. Announcement of Winner

10.9. Prizes

10.10. Copyright

11. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

11.1. Award of Contract11.2. Contract

11.3. Value of the Contract

12. COMPETITION CALENDAR

13. FIGURES AND DRAWINGS

RETURN LABEL

APPLICATION FORM

NOTE: The Competition Brief contains all needed information

competitors require for preparing the submission.Additional related reports and technical information have been

prepared by consultants and City Staff for this competition. The

following supplementary documents are referred to in the text of

the Competition Brief and are available for review by

competitors on the competitions website.

http://www.tirana.gov.al/sscompetition

For access to Tirana GIS, please click: http://77.242.19.18/gis


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Acknowledgements

A great number of institutions, authorities and individuals helpedpreparation of this international competition, the collection ofinformation and materials for making this competition brief possible. Wewould like to express our special thanks to all and each of them for theirco-operation and willingness to help.

Hearty thanks go to His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait, for the initiative to offer Hiscontribution to the City of Tirana, taking into consideration theimportance of the main square of our Capital, Scanderbeg Square.


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1.0 Introduction

Figure 1: Clock Tower

1.0 Introduction

The City of Tirana is pleased to announce an international designcompetition for the revitalization of Scanderbeg Square. The Square is thepremier public space and civic gathering place for Tirana citizens, a leadingtourist attraction for the City, and a national and local landmark.Revitalizing Scanderbeg Square is part of the Citys effort to beautify and

restore its public spaces - to foster a renewed sense of civic pride amongits citizens and to inspire the next generation of development in the City.This revitalization project is a high priority for the City. Tirana citizensalso place a high priority on the need to revitalize and restore the Square,as voiced by members of the community through a series of publicconsultations, meetings with heritage and design experts, and input fromusers. The results of these public consultations are reflected in the

material of this Competition Brief.Since the beginning of the constructions in the Scanderbeg Square in1920s, the surrounding area has grown and changed dramatically. It hasbecome the centre of a vital and busy mixed-use district in the heart ofdowntown Tirana. The square and its surrounding area have attracted and continue to attract a variety of new buildings and uses, includingcommercial offices, retail shopping, cultural and institutional facilities,

hotels and a growing number of high density residential buildings. Thesedevelopments have contributed greatly to the Squares vitality andpopularity. While the Square has also successful attributes, there arenumerous existing design challenges, because of its gradual construction.Some of the design issues can be attributed to changes of the originaldesign of the Square by the Italian architect, Armando Brasini. Thissituation led to some areas and features of the Square being re-


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conceptualized and inadequately adapted. Major design attention isneeded for areas of the Square, which have been underdeveloped,

underutilized and poorly used since the Square was originally designed.Many of the parts and facilities on the Square have fallen into a state ofdisrepair, some have been closed and some no longer meet the needs oftodays users and programs. Examples include: the closed fountain; thepodium of the former-leaders monument; lack of food services;inadequate pedestrian access at surrounding streets and undignifiedstreetscapes; not very-well utilized green spaces. Modern-daymodifications are required to meet the new functional requirements ofthe Square and enable the hosting of a greater number and variety ofactivities and special events. Without major renewal and a commitmentto long-term management, the Citys main plaza will lag behind itsneighbors in terms of attractiveness and functionality. The City of Tiranais committed to design excellence and has chosen a two-stage opendesign competition to achieve this objective. In Stage I, all eligibleprofessionals are invited to submit a Design and Experience Statement. Ashort list of not more than five finalists will be selected by the EvaluationCommittee to proceed to Stage II. Stage II competitors will then berequired to prepare detailed design submission that will be evaluated bythe Competition Jury, that will select the winning design submission anddesign team. The design competition is being administered by the Urban

Planning Department of the Municipality of Tirana and the DonorsRepresentative, along with a Professional Advisor retained by theMunicipality. In addition, representatives from the General Departmentof Economics, City Promotion Department of the Municipality of Tiranaand a team of experts retained by the Italian Cooperation offices inTirana, have advised and contributed the preparation of procedures forthis Competition Brief.

This Competition Brief outlines the opportunities presented by the siteand its design, as well as technical requirements. It identifies the project

budget to implement the revitalization Project of Scanderbeg Square,which must be adhered to by competitors entering the competition.Beyond that, the City is looking to professional designers to create anexciting and inspired revitalization plan for what is the most importantpublic square in Tirana Scanderbeg Square.


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2.0 Site Description and Context

Figure 2: Scanderbeg Square Figure 3: Scanderbeg Square and Surrounding Area


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2.0 Site Description and Context

This section provides a description of Scanderbeg Square and theimmediate surrounding downtown area. The section also contains a briefhistory of the development of the square and a short description of itsfuture growth and renewal, as determined by the master plan of TiranaCity Center.

Figure 4: Podium Stairs


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2.5.1 Details of P1 Zone Scanderbeg Plaza

For the reason of being in the central plaza of the city, and in order topreserve its monumental character, in all new buildings presentedhereinafter, no balconies and terraces will be allowed. Only loggias wouldbe allowed, when perfectly integrated in the facade and hollowed outwithin the building. The orientation is to provide a maximum of carparking spaces (private and public) and the edges of zone P1, mainly atareas located nearby and at the towers and the shopping mall.

Architectural ensemble constituted by buildings 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d and 5eThis group of building must be designed as a whole project that shapesthe northern part of the square and which includes the whole urban andlandscape design of Scanderbeg square

Building (5a) Layout of the constructions: they must be on the street lines with respectto the roads and the square.Facade line: 100% of the side of the block looking onto the roads and thesquare.Area occupied by the building: buildings expand on all the surface area ofthe lot.Basement constructions: allowed beneath the area occupied by thebuildings.Length of buildings on the street: according to the Master plan.Height of constructions: 9m for the north part of building, 12,8m (sameas National Bank) for the south part and 16m for the east part on thesquare (refer to Master plan). For the east part on the square, thebuilding must be as height as the new facade of the Palace of Culture

(estimated at 18,8m to be defined precisely with the architectural project,reference to building 5e below).

Reference to the Master Plan 1


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3.0 Heritage Framework

Figure 5: National History Museum

3.0 Heritage Framework

Scanderbeg Square was designated as a heritage property in 1991 forarchitectural and historical reasons under the provisions of the law forCultural Heritage. The property covered by the designation by-lawextends includes all of the territory of the Scanderbeg Square and otherareas on its North and South, along the main Boulevard. More detailedgraphic information is given in the corresponding map of PreservedBuildings, in the Figures and Drawings chapter and also in the websiteof the Competition (GENERAL INFORMATION/SITE MAPS). Thereasons for designation of the property are described in the designationby-law as the heritage attributes of the property. As is the case with anydesignated property, any proposed alterations affecting the heritageattributes will require the approval of Competent Authorities, prior tothe issuing of a building permit.

It does not attempt to provide in-depth analysis of any characteristics ofthe individual heritage attributes. The revitalization of Scanderbeg Squaremay have some impact on some of the attributes. Stage II competitorswill be required to provide a rationale that any proposed interventionswould not compromise the heritage value of the affected heritageattribute in its contribution to the original design of the Square.

For a more detailed description of the original design and heritageconcerns pertaining to Scanderbeg Square, competitors should refer tothe Section 2.0 of this Competition Brief. The latitudes for change to beconsidered in the design competition are addressed in Section 5.0Program Description and Site Analysis of this Competition Brief.


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7. How many visitors registers the institution/s in amonth/ 6 months/ year?

Number of citizens visiting daily these institutions isabout 1,500 2,000 visitors.

8. How many employees are working?There are 5 Ministries and Tirana Municipality with atotal of 1, 200 employees.

9. Are there other statistics? No official data available.

TOMORROW

10. Is there any plan / project to reconstruct theseinstitutions?Actually, Ministry of Defense and Municipality ofTirana have already completed and executed theirrehabilitation projects.

11. If yes, what are the plans?Further extensions of the Ministry of Agriculture,Food and Consumer Protection, and the Ministry ofPublic Works, Transport and Telecommunucations.

YESTERDAY

Bank of Albania

1. Who is the architect or team of architects who didthe project for this building?Arch. Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo inaugurated in 1935

TODAY

2. Who is administering the building?It is under the administration of the Bank of Albania.

3. What is its function?Banking activities of a regulating character at anational level.

4. What are the annual activities?Bank of Albania is the central bank of the Republic ofAlbania, sanctioned status according to the Article161of the Constitution, with the supervisingmonetary authority, and enjoys all primary functionsof a classic central bank. The Bank of Albania has aSupervisory Board chaired by the Governor, withthe headquarters in Tirana and 5 branches inShkodr, Elbasan, Gjirokastr, Korc and Lushnje.

In its orgaization structure there are 19 departmentsand units.

5. Are the activities, in addition to closed spaces,carried out in open areas?No.

6. Which are the open spaces the institutions are using?Except to the actual space of the inner yard, thebank, use for parking purposes the whole road stripand sidewalk surrounding it.

7. How many visitors registers the institution in amonth / 6-months/year?


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No official data available.

8. How many employees are working?No official data available.

TOMORROW

9. Is there any plan/project for the institution buildingreconstruction or extension?A competition for the reconstruction of the bank isunder way.

10. If yes, what it is foreseen?It is planned the extension and the construction ofthe back side of the bank.

YESTERDAY

Palace of Culture

1. Who is the architect or team of architects who didthe project for this building?The project team composed, among others by S.Mosko and F. Stermazi.

TODAY

2. Who is administering the building?The building is administered by two publicinstitutions under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism,Youth and Sports, and a third one, a ltd companywith a mixed private and public capital, renting thespaces to different entities.

3. What is its function?The building includes series of functions, such as

administrative, recreation, cultural, scientific andcommercial activities.

4. What are the annual activities?Administrative routine, concerts and shows,scientific activities and forums, meetings at differentlevels, as well as commercial activities.

5. How many activities annuallly?Usually, there si a two-month calendar prepared,with 30-35 shows of different type, which are listedannually mounting to 200.

6. Are activities, in addition to those in closed spaces,carried out in open areas?

Most of the activities are organized in the insidespaces of the building.

7. What are the open spaces used by the institution?The private entities, mainly, use the surroundingareas for their commercial activities, while the inneryard is under the administration of CDCC and usedas parking space for all entities within the Palace ofCulture.

8. How many visitors the institution registers in amonth/ 6-months/year?Opera has a capacity of 750 and it is frequented byapproximately 700 people for each opera show and


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about 650 for ballet shows.

9. How many employees are working?In total, there are 240 employees of differentcategories.

TOMORROW

10. Is there any plan / project for reconstruction?Except the Master Plan of the center, it is unclearwhy there is no concrete statement or commitmentregarding future plans or projects.

11. If, yes, what are the plans?It is planned the extension, according to the MasterPlan, toward the square and on the back side of thebuilding.

YESTERDAY

Tirana International Hotel

1. Who is the architect or team of architects who didthe project for this building?The team led by V. Pistoli.

TODAY

2. Who is administering the building?It is under the private administration of TiranaInternational SA.

39. What is its function?

Hotel services, conferences and cultural andrecreation.

3. What are the annual activities?Administrative routine, conferences of differentlevels, press conferences, national and internationalconferences, and commercial activities.

4. How many activities per day?There are counted about 10 different activities perday, and a maximum of 20. Usually, the hotel is up to70% of its capacity, and sometimes it is fully booked.

5. Are the activities, in addition to those in closespaces, carried out in open areas?Most of activities are carried out within the innerspaces of the hotel.

6. What are the open spaces used by the hotel?Surrounding arreas are used for parking puproses.

7. How many visitirs registers the institution in amonth / 6-months/year?There are no reliable statistics.

8. How many employees are working?There are 145 employees of different categories.

9. Is there any other statistic? Nothing published.


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TOMORROW10. Is there any plan / project for reconstruction?

Actually, there are no plans for further extensions or

reconstruction.

YESTERDAY

National Historic Museum

1. Who is the architect or team of architects who didthe project for this building?The team led by S.Mosko inauguration date:November 8, 1981.

TODAY

2. Who is administering the building?It is under the administration of the Ministry of

Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports.3. What is its function?

Godina prmbush funksione ekspozitave, informativee shkenc The building is used for exhibitions,informative and scientific purposes ore.

4. What are the annual activities?Administrative routine, exhibitions, informativeactivities, as well as those related to recreation.

5. How many activities per year?There are about 70 exhibitions, annually, and 2-3conferences per week, or 150, annually.

6. Are activities, except in the closed spaces, organizedin open areas?

Main activities of the institution are organized withinthe building. In addition, the museum makes availablefor fairs and massive activities tha areas of the inneryard, as well.

7. What are the open spaces used by the institution?The Inner yard.

8. How many visitors register the institution in amonth/6-months/year?According to the statistics mada public by theinstitution there are about 80, 000 vizitors annually.

9. How many employees are working?There are about 40 employees.

TOMORROW

10. Is there any plan / project for reconstruction?Not for the time being. The Master Plan of thecenter foresees the construction of a multi-storebuilding in the inner yard to supplement spacesoffered by the institution.

11. If yes, what it is foreseen?For more information regarding the Master Plan,refer to the regulation attached to it.


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YESTERDAY

Haxhi Ethem Bej Mosque and Clock Tower

1. Who is the architect or team of architects who didthe project for this building?Historical buildings constructed by artisans of theperiod.

TODAY

2. Who is administering the building?Muslim Community of Tirana and the Institute ofMonuments, because of the historical value and theircategorization as first class monuments.

3. What is its function?Serves for religios activities and as a museum.

4. aktivitete zhvillohen gjat vitit?Religious activities and museum visits.

5. What are the annual activities?Daily religious activities, Holly Fridays for thebelievers, religious holidays.

6. Are the activities, except in closed spaces, carriedout in open areas?Most of the activities are within the building. Greatholidays, as well as the Holly Fridays are organized infront of the monument.

7. What are the open areas used by the institution?On the occasion of special events and religiousholidays surrounding areas of the mosque would be

made available, like the pavement in front andfrequently also part of the road, because of the

limited space of within, and lack of a inner yard, as itis the tradition of the institutions of that sort.

TOMORROW8. Is there any plan / project for reconstruction?

Yes, for reconstruction.


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4.0 The Design Opportunity for

Scanderbeg Square

Figure 6: Scanderbeg - The National Hero

4.0 The Design Opportunity for Scanderbeg

Square

The guiding principles and design opportunity presented in this section, alongwith the program requirements described in Section 5.0, will guide theCompetition Jury in recommending a winning design submission.

4.1 Guiding Principles

The design challenge in 2008 is to ensure that Scanderbeg Square will beable to better meet the needs of Tirana Citizens and visitors for manyyears to come, while respecting the important meaning of this civic placeto all those who know it and use it.The guiding principles are fundamental to the revitalization of ScanderbegSquare and were embraced by City in approving the design competition.

They will ensure that the revitalization of the Square will reflect theenergy, beauty and dignity that are characteristic of public spaces in allgreat cities.

4.2 Heritage Property Attributes

As identified in Section 3.0, Tirana City Center and Scanderbeg Squareare designated by the Albanian Government as a heritage property. Theyare well known and documented as important landmarks of national andinternational modern and historic architecture. The competition programoutlined in Section 5.0 clearly identifies those elements of the Squarewhich are not part of the design competition mandate.


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garden and to enhance its qualities in order to provide privacy andintimacy for special events.

4.5 Improving Pedestrian Access to Surrounding Area

It is highly recommended that the proposals for the rehabilitation projectof Scanderbeg Square do follow the guidelines given by the master planfor the Center of Tirana. The proposals are also encouraged to proposeother forms of developing the square in case they are argued to respond

better to the requirements of the City of Tirana and its Citizens.Regarding the subject of pedestrian movement and access, the masterplan of the Center of Tirana states that it is essential that the majesticnorth-south axis between the railway station and the university bepreserved not so much as a strong axis for the circulation of othermodes of travel: public transportation, bicycles and walking. Itinterconnects the major pedestrian squares: the square in front of the

railway station, the central square (Scanderbeg Square) and UniversitySquare.For the moment the pedestrian movement through the square is limitedonly to several points and is regulated by traffic lights. It is important toemphasize that it is the traffic circulation that is motivated and givenpriority today in the circulation structure of the square. It should be thereverse. Today, all the radial access roads intersect the Citys innercirculation ring, which embraces the Square at its border line. But, thecirculation of the cars should be stopped and priority should be given topedestrians. For more information on the strategies of circulation in thesquare and its perimeter refer to the report of the master plan for thecity center.

In case the participants will propose the underground of the square isgoing to be developed for parking and commercial purposes, as well as

for public services managed by the public institutions housed on theperimeters of the square, the proposals should take into considerationthe pedestrian access and links to the underground developments, eventhough the detailed planning of it is not subject of this competition.



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4.6 Rethinking Built Elements The object of this competition is the urban design of the open surface

surrounded by buildings and institutions placed on its perimeter,excluding also the area that will be occupied by the future buildings (asproposed by the master plan of the city center), in case the proposal ofthis competition does keep to the guidelines of the master plan and doesnot propose and argue to develop a different design for enhancing thespace quality of the Scanderbeg Square. The city wants to keep thisoption flexible in order to get the most appropriate design solutions

possible.In each case, the proposals are required to focus on the detailing of theopen surface and not the edifices around or in, even though they shouldgive guidelines of development or guidelines of reconstruction for theindividual designs of each of those edifices. Those guidelines will serve asthe peers of future competition briefs in the international competitions ofeach of them.

4.7 Providing Water Elements and Shade in the Square Tirana is a Mediterranean city with a lot of sunshine yearlong and quite elong hot season. To make sure the square will have a long life during theday and yearlong, it is important to emphasize the necessity of shadedareas and the introduction of water elements in order to create a freshatmosphere during the hot seasons and the hot ours of the daytime. Thisshould find reference in the choice of the appropriate flooring materialsor other finishes, as well as in the choice of the adequate plants or trees.

4.8 Integrating Sustainable Design and Operational EfficienciesThe City's commitment to sustainable design objectives and adhering toappropriate environmental principles and practices are important

considerations in defining the future operation and use of the Square. TheCity wants the Square to become even more popular and heavily used at

all times of the day and the evening throughout the year. The designapproach should recognize the reality of Tirana's climate, as mentionedalso in the previous item, and provide mitigation from extremes of heat,cold, sun and wind, thus providing all-season use of the Square. Safety andsecurity for all users, with effective formal and informal surveillance arecritical considerations. All of these factors affect the comfort level forusers, the ease of operations and the life-cycle costs.


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5.0 Program Description and Site

Analysis


5.0 Program Description and Site Analysis

The following section provides a detailed description of the siteboundaries to be considered by the competitors, the basic programopportunities and features for revitalization and also, an overview ofinfrastructure conditions at the Square. The section also identifiesconditions and constraints on the treatment of some elements andidentifies locations where no interventions should be proposed.

5.1 The Competition Area

5.1.1 Assignment

For the purpose of the competition, the site area to be developed shallbe defined as follows:

a) Restricted Area Scanderbeg Square .Reconstruction of the restricted area Scanderbeg Square, which isthe area within the blue colored boundary (refer to Fig. 7). This is thearea for which the competition winner will be contracted out to

develop the detailed civil works implementation project.

b) Scanderbeg Square Surrounding Area , which is the area withinthe dash red colored boundary (refer to Fig. 7). This is the area forwhich the five short-listed finalists are required to develop a moredetailed conceptual design of the following:


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The streetscape design of the Entries to the Square, MainDeshmoret e Kombit Boulevard Street Lightning included;

The line of progress for the construction of the newdevelopments within the restricted area of the square; the linesof progress for the reconstruction of the existing buildings withinthe Scanderbeg Square perimeter, and the potential usage of theunderground development, in case being proposed by theparticipant.

This is the area for which the competition winner will be contractedout to develop the detailed urban design project.

5.1.2 Explanations

The international competition aims toward a detailed urban study for theRehabilitation of the Skanderbeg Square, and which would guide theMunicipality of Tirana in realizing the vision build upon the Master Plan ofthe City Center the base line for all competitors.

The scope of the competition would be the horizontal area of the Squarebordered by the Historical Museum and Tirana Hotel, in the North,

Palace of Culture, the Mosque and Municipality building, in the East,Ministerial Complex, in the South, and Puppy Theater, Bank of Albaniaand an open area foreseen for future development, in the West. Thebordered area within the scope of this study is about 45 500 m2 (ofwhich, according to the master plan, 4 500 m2 are planned for newbuildings, and as result, there are only 41 000 m2 remaining free for thepublic and to be completed with facilities of urban use).

Figure 7: Competition Area Boundary


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should be paid for those areas that will be used as re-creative or relaxationareas and where this service is most required.

5.9 Phasing of the Implementation of the Project for theRehabilitation of Scanderbeg Square

Because of the nature of the square and the different characters of theinterventions that will take place in it for achieving its complete and finalfeatures as envisioned and planned by the City of Tirana, it is necessary to

make also a study of different implementation phases each proposalestimates for its rehabilitation, taking into account the other long orshort-term interventions too; such as the new buildings to be erected,the new ring road, the tram line, the underground developments, (in casea competitor proposes such), etc.


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6.0 Budget Framework


6.0 Budget Framework

The project civil works costs for the revitalization of Scanderbeg Squareshould not exceed 10 million.

Competitors are required to submit proposals within the estimated civilworks cost limit. Stage II competitors will be required to provide adetailed construction cost estimate prepared by an independent costconsultant as part of their submission, which is going to be a criterion in

the Stage II evaluation.

Municipality of Tirana has received the funding of 5 million from thegenerous donation of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait. This donation is offered accordingto the Contribution Agreement, signed between Amiri Diwan of the Stateof Kuwait and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania, in the

City of Tirana, on 25 th of January 2008.


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7.0 Competition Process


7.0 Competition Process

7.1 Competition Sponsor/ Donor The design competition is being staged by the City of Tirana. It will beadministered by Urban Planning Department.

The competition is sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-AhmedAl-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait. As mentioned also insection 6.0, the donation is offered according to the ContributionAgreement, signed between Amiri Diwan of the State of Kuwait and theCouncil of Ministers of the Republic of Albania, in the City of Tirana, on25th of January 2008.

7.2 Professional Advisor Municipality of Tirana has assigned two Professional Advisors for the

Scanderbeg Square Design Competition, Arch. A.Greca and Ing. M. Cico.The process has been attended by Arch. Paola Rossi, a professionaladvisor that assisted the final stage of the preparations of this competitionbrief on the behalf of the Italian Cooperation, a partner of theMunicipality of Tirana on other similar competition.

The Professional Advisors are responsible for:

advising on the structure, requirements and conditions of thecompetition process;

advising on the overall competition budget;


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Stage II

Mar. 10, 08 Stage II Starts

Mar. 14, 08 Stage II Briefing MeetingMar. 10 - Mar. 25, 08 Stage II Question Period

Apr. 7, 08 Stage II Design Submission Deadline

Apr. 8 Apr. 9, 08 Review by Technical Advisory Committee

Apr. 10 Apr. 11, 08 Public Exhibition and Presentation of Submissions

Apr. 10 Apr. 11, 08 Competition Jury Deliberations

Apr. 11, 08 Announcement of Winner/ Event Reception


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8.0 Design and Experience Statement


8.0 Stage I: Design and Experience Statement

8.1 Access to Scanderbeg Square There will not be any organized tours of the competition site during theStage 1phase.

8.2 Stage I Eligibility The competition is open to all professional architects, landscape

architects, urban planners, and engineers who meet either or both of thefollowing requirements:

1. are registered or accredited by a formal registration or accreditationbody in one of the above disciplines in the entrants country of origin;or

2. Where registration and accreditation is not available in a particular jurisdiction, the entrant is a member of the relevant professionalinstitute in their country of origin.

All entrants are required to provide evidence of relevant professionalregistration, accreditation or membership in the Experience Statement.

Where an entry is made by a joint venture, consortium or team of

professionals,the team must be led by a person meeting the abovecriteria. This team member must be identified on the Application Form asthe entrant.

Each Stage I competitor team is to include an architect, landscapearchitect, a visual artist, structural engineer, mechanical engineer and


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8.7 Stage I Submission Requirements

To be eligible for consideration, the Design and Experience Statement

submission must contain the following information:

A. Design Statement

(Five (5) copies required plus one (1) digital version in PDF format, on aCD)

On a maximum of three (3) pages, single-sided, (A3 size), the DesignStatement should address the design opportunity presented byScanderbeg Square and indicate the applicants design intentions.Photographs, diagrams or sketches may be appropriate; however, detaileddesign or site plan drawings are not required at this stage and must notbe included. The design statement should:

a) identify the key design issues and concerns; and

b) articulate a design philosophy and vision for the Square.

B. Experience Statement

(Five (5) copies required) On a maximum of seven (7) pages single-sidedor 3 pages double-sided, (A4 size), at 10pt font size minimum, theExperience Statement should:

a) identify the names of all individuals comprising the team applying,including business addresses, business telephone and fax numbers andbusiness e-mail addresses. Clearly identify the name of the projectentrant and contact person and their professional registration oraccreditation;

b) describe the professional discipline, qualifications and anticipatedroles and responsibilities for the key personnel of the project team;

c) identify and describe projects of similar size and scope that have beenundertaken under the direct responsibility of key team members;

Projects will be listed as follows:

1. Project Name

2. Date Completed

3. Final Construction Cost

4. Brief Description

5. Relevance

6. Project Team Member(s)

7. Reference (including name, title, business telephone number and

business email address)d) identify the financial capability of the competitor firm or team,

reflected by either the total yearly fees received by the firm or teamfrom 2002 to 2007 or by the total yearly value of constructionprojects undertaken by the firmer team from 2002 to 2007. Thisinformation is only required to be supplied by the project entrant.


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8.8 Submission of Design and Experience Statements

Each submission must contain five (5) copies, plus one (1) CD copy of the

Design Statement and five (5) copies of the Experience Statementenclosed in a single envelope. Submissions by fax or e-mail will not beaccepted. A return label is provided for affixing to the submissionenvelope. The envelope shall be clearly marked and addressed as notedbelow and must be received during normal business hours on the givendate according to the Competition Calendar, at the following location:

Scanderbeg Square Design Competition Attention:[KONKURSI NDERKOMBETAR PER SHESHIN SKENDERBEJ]Professional Advisor, Urban Planning DepartmentMunicipality of Tirana[BASHKIA E TIRANES]Bulevardi Deshmoret e KombitTirana, ALBANIA

Late submissions, misdirected submissions or incomplete submissions willbe disqualified and will not be accepted as competition entries.Competitors wishing to make adjustments to a submitted Design andExperience Statement must withdraw their original submission by givingwritten notice to the Professional Advisor at the above address prior to

the deadline, and then submitting a new Design and ExperienceStatement, which must be received no later than the deadline.

8.9 Mandatory Submission Requirements

All Stage I competitors must submit the following:

1. Application Form 2 - to be submitted both online and printed

2. Design Statement five (5) copies, plus one (1) digital version

3. Experience Statement five (5) copies

No other materials submitted by Stage I competitors, except thosespecified in Sub-section 8.7 will be considered in the Stage I adjudicationprocess.

8.10 Selection of Competitors

The Technical Secretariat described in Sub-Section 10.1 will review allStage I submissions to confirm eligibility and conformance to themandatory requirements and conditions. The Secretariat will report theirconclusions to the Professional Advisors and the Evaluation Committee.The evaluation Committee will review the Stage I submissions and a

short-list of not more than five (5) competitors will be selected toproceed to Stage II.

2 Look at the facsimile

Th i i l l i i i d N i ill b id i b i i


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The principal evaluation criteria are:

1. demonstration of the potential to develop creative, imaginative and

innovative responses to the design and programmatic opportunitiesof the site and the program requirements;

2. demonstrated and proven ability to achieve design excellence andinnovation in built works, in general and in projects of a similar typewithin a comparable budgetary framework;

3. quality and appropriateness of the qualifications and experience of theteam and key personnel identified; and

4. demonstrated ability to provide the professional services required,including but not limited to, detailed design, preparation of contractdocuments, contract administration and project management.

The names of the short-list finalists will be announced no later than thedate indicated in the Competition Calendar. All competitors will beadvised of the Stage I results by an update on the competitors website.

8.1I Additional Conditions Pertaining to Stage I

a. The Competition Brief will only be available in English.

b. All submissions must be submitted in English.

c. The Evaluation Committee, at its sole and absolute discretion,reserves the right to reject any or all Stage I submissions that do notmeet the Stage I evaluation criteria.

d. No compensation or expenses will be paid to competitors submittingStage I submissions.

e. All material submitted in Stage I will become the property of the Cityof Tirana and will not be returned. However the copyright of eachdesign submission remains with the competitors.

f. All submissions are subject to the Municipal Freedom of Informationand Protection of Privacy Act and may be subject to release pursuantto that Act.


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9.0 Design Submission

Figure 8: View of the Site

9.0 Design Submission

9.1 Purpose Stage II has been structured for the purpose of selecting, from among thecompetition finalists, a winning design team and design concept for therevitalization and restoration of Scanderbeg Square. Stage II submissionswill be evaluated and judged by the Competition Jury.

9.2 Eligibility Only those individuals, firms or teams named as short-list finalists in StageI are eligible to compete in Stage II of the Scanderbeg Square DesignCompetition.

9.3 Briefing Meeting A briefing meeting is scheduled (refer to the Competition Calendar forthe exact date). Up to three key personnel from each finalist team may bein attendance, one of whom must be the team leader. The exact timeand place of the meeting will be made known to the finalists. The meetingwill be moderated by the Professional Advisors and will take the form ofan initial presentation and update on background information related tocritical site and program requirements, followed by a question andanswer period. Members of the Technical Advisory Committee made upof experts and representatives from the City of Tirana and other Cityagencies will be available to answer questions of clarification. Theexpenses of the visit, like travel, accommodation, etc, are to be coveredby the finalists themselves.

9 4 Communication 1 a description of the design concept (supporting diagrams and images


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9.4 Communication All communications, including questions, must be made by e-mail directlyto the Procedure Person in Charge. A copy of all questions andresponses will be e-mailed to all Stage II competitors.

9.5 Stage II Submission Requirements

A. Panels Stage II competitors will be required to submit a maximum of eight (8)panels, each of which should be mounted on a rigid board, ISO AO - 841x 1189 mm, which must contain the following:

1 a Site Plan for the Square at 1:500 scale;2 three (3) sectional drawings of the Square, one showing the

north/south view and the two others showing the east/west view;

3

plan(s) of available levels;4 a design plan or plans illustrating details and key features atappropriate scales;

5 two (2) perspectives or axonometrics showing the Square in urbancontext;

6 four (4) drawings showing eye-level perspective views of key designareas.

B. Report In addition, each submission must also be accompanied by an A4 boundreport containing the following:

1 a description of the design concept (supporting diagrams and imagesare permitted), on a maximum of twenty-five (25) pages, single-sided;

2 an outline specification covering building statistics, materials andmethods of construction (maximum 12 pages);

3 bill of quantity, identifying unit costs (according to the local prizesand including the VAT - value added tax, or TVSH), correspondingto the outline specification and demonstrating conformity with theBudget Framework, Section 6.0; the budget must clearly identifythose elements included in the proposed design;

4 a list of all members of the design team, their roles, and anidentification of the contact person with their business address,business telephone number and business e-mail address; and

5 Reduced scale A4 copies of the panels.

C. Model Competitors must submit a three dimensional model of the proposedSquare design at 1:1000 scale.

9.6 Stage II Competition Submission All competition submissions must include one (1) copy of each panel

requested and thirteen (13) copies of the report. All submissions mustbe securely wrapped. The Stage II submission shall be addressed to theProfessional Advisor and must be received during normal business hoursat the following location:

Scanderbeg Square Design Competition Attention: c Technical Secretariat assisted by the Professional Advisors review and


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Scanderbeg Square Design Competition Attention:[KONKURSI NDERKOMBETAR PER SHESHIN SKENDERBEJ]Professional Advisor, Urban Planning DepartmentMunicipality of Tirana[Bashkia e Tiranes]Bulevardi Deshmoret e KombitTirana, ALBANIA.

Late submissions, misdirected submissions or incomplete submissions willnot be considered. Those competitors wishing to make adjustments to asubmitted Stage II Competition Submission must withdraw their originalsubmission by giving e-mail notice to the Professional Advisor prior toStage II deadline, and must submit a new Stage II Competition Submission,which must be received in full by the Professional Advisor no later thanStage II deadline.

9.7 Identification of Submissions Stage II submissions will not be anonymous. Competitors are required toidentify the name of the Project Team on all materials that are submitted.

9.8 Additional Conditions Pertaining to Stage II

a. All materials provided to competitors in Stage II will only be availablein English.

b. All submissions must be submitted in English.

c. Technical Secretariat assisted by the Professional Advisors review andhighlight those Stage II submissions non-complying with anycompetition procedures or requirements. In this case, a dis-qualification decision is taken.

d. All material submitted in Stage II will become the property of the Cityof Tirana and will not be returned. However the copyright of eachdesign submission remains with the competitors.

e. All submissions are subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information

and Protection of Privacy Act and may be subject to release pursuantto that Act.

10 0 C i i J d 10 0 Competition Jury and Evaluation Procedure


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10.0 Competition Jury and

Adjudication Procedure

Figure 9: View of the Site

10.0 Competition Jury and Evaluation Procedure

STAGE I

10.1 Technical Secretariat The Technical Secretariat is the body in charge of receiving and deposingall the submissions of this competition, Stage I and Stage II.Under the direction of the Professional Advisors, Technical Secretariatwill: review and comment on the Stage I Experience Statements for

compliance with conditions and requirements; It is responsible for preparing the full list of the Stage I applicants that

fulfill the requirements; and It is responsible for forwarding it to the Evaluation Committee.

The Technical Secretariat will include City staff members of the

Municipality of Tirana.

Members of the Technical Secretariat, or other people having directemplozment relations to them, shall not participate or communicate withany Stage I and Stage II competitor, or assist them in the preparation oftheir submission.

10.2 Evaluation Committee The Evaluation Committee will meet, organized by the ProfessionalAdvisors to: review, comment and evaluate the Stage I Design Statements. It is responsible for preparing the shortlist of five finalists to be

announced as the eligible ones for following Stage II procedures.

The Evaluation Committee will include the City Mayor, its advisors on structured to include local (4 members) and international design experts


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y y ,urban issues, the director of the Urban Policy Directory at the Ministry ofPublic Works Turism and Telecommunications, a representative of theconsultant that prepared the Master Plan for City Center, arepresentative of the company working for the Regulatory Plan of Tirana,and staff of the Municipalitz of Tirana.

Members of the Evaluation Committee, their partners, associates oremployees shall not participate or communicate with any Stage I andStage II competitor in the preparation of their submission.

STAGE II

10.3 Technical Advisory Committee The Professional Advisors will organize the meeting of Technical AdvisoryCommittee. TAC will meet to review and comment on Stage II

submissions for compliance with conditions and technical requirements.Comments of the Technical Advisory Committee will be forwarded tothe Competition Jury. The Technical Advisory Committee will includeCity staff members of the Municipality of Tirana and technical advisors,who contributed in the preparation of this Competition Brief.Members of the Technical Advisory Committee, their partners, associatesor employees shall not participate or communicate with any Stage I and

Stage II competitor in the preparation of their submission.

10.4 Jury Composition Competition Jury will have eleven members, all experienced professionalsin the relevant fields. The composition of the Competition Jury is

( ) g p(6 members), members with artistic experience and local communityinvolvement and a representative of the Competition Sponsor.

The members of the Competition Jury will be announced neither earliernor later than two weeks before the date of the Jury meeting asdeclared in the competition calendar. It will be announced in the websiteof the competition.

A short biography of each juror will also be provided in the competitionsite.

10.5 Jury Responsibilities The Competition Jury is responsible for:

1 reviewing the competition site;

2

reading and reviewing the Competition Brief;3 evaluating the Stage II submissions based upon the criteria stated inthe Competition Brief;

4 selecting the winning submission for the design of ScanderbegSquare;

5 preparing a Jury Report providing written comments on each Stage IIsubmission and advising of the Jurys final selection of the winning

submission.


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aesthetic quality and symbolic value into relationship between existing


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buildings and the proposal; [25 points] Urban design quality; [15 points] Quality of pedestrian areas (as for the square) and their capacity to

allow better accessibility and foster integration with the surroundingurban areas, in observance of Master Plan and quality of the parkingareas, considering in particular functionality (distribution and bothpedestrians and vehicles accessibility) and integration with thesurrounding road network; [15 points]

Quality of open spaces for public events in relationship, too, withinnovative utilization of local materials; [25 points]

Quality of Integration and relation between art and architecture;[20 points]

10.9 Announcement of Winner The winning finalist and the runners-up will be announced on the datedeclared on the Competition Calendar. All Stage II finalists will benotified of the Competition Jurys results at the time of the publicannouncement.

10.10 Prizes The winning finalist will receive an award of 15,000. Additional prizes toa total of 15,000 will be awarded by the Competition Jury to the secondand third place, 10,000 and 5,000 respectively. Prizes will be awardedat the time of the public announcement, and they will be made available atthe end of the Competition Process.

10.11 CopyrightAll competitors drawings and submissions become the property of theCity of Tirana Municipality. It gains the right of publishing, multiplying andusing them for different institutional purposes. The copyright of eachdesign submission remains with the author.

11 0 Contract Administration 11.0 Contract Administration


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11.0 Contract Administration

Figure 10: Event on Site - Public Meeting

11.0 Contract Administration

11.1 Award of ContractThe Territory Adjustment Council of Tirana Municipality will approve:

a) the winning project before any agreement is negotiated andconsulting services are rendered;

b) the final implementation project.

Confirmation of the Competition results will be reported to Cityauthorities subsequent to the conclusion of the competition. Theaward of any agreement will be at the sole discretion of theMunicipality. The selection of a winning competitor will not obligethe Municipality to enter into any agreement with that competitor.Depending to Territory Adjustment Councils approval and prior to

the contracting of any professional consulting services with the Cityof Tirana for the final design of the Square, the winning finalist mustenter into a negotiation period with the Municipality. Any agreementmust contain terms and conditions in the interest of the City,including any terms and conditions set out in the TAC decisionauthorizing the technical part of the agreement.

11.2 ContractThe approval procedures by the TAC will be organized within the firstweek after the announcement of the winner, and the contractnegotiations will proceed immediately after that. It is estimated that thenegotiations should not exceed a period longer than one week (sevendays).

The time available for the preparation of the Execution Project for the


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Scanderbeg Square Rehabilitation is 4 months.At the beginning of Stage II, a draft of the contract will be sent to all fivefinalists of this stage, including all the related detailing and the necessaryterms of negotiation. Integral part of this draft contract will be the EventsCalendar that the winner has to prepare prior to negotiations.

The winner of the competition that will proceed further with theexecution detailed project will be required to include:

Team Leader/ senior architect, senior urbanist, heritage consultant,outdoor performance consultant, visual art consultant, pavement/materials engineer, senior geotechnical engineer, traffic engineer, electro-mechanical engineer, and local road engineer, local materials engineer,local structural engineer, local quantity surveyor, international and localCAD operators.

11.3 Value of Contract

Value of the contract for the assignment is 350, 000.

12.0 Competition Calendar


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p

Stage IFeb. 1, 08 Competition Launch - Announcement & News Release

Feb. 1, 08 Brief Available

Feb. 1, - Feb. 20, 08 Stage I Question Period

Feb. 29, 08 Stage I Design and Experience Statements Deadline

Mar. 3 - Mar. 5, 08 Stage I Statements Reviewed by Technical Secretariat

Mar. 6 - Mar. 7, 08 Stage I Competition Committee/ Shortlist of 5 (five)

Mar. 8, 08 Stage II Finalists Announced

Stage II

Mar. 10, 08 Stage II Starts

Mar. 14, 08 Stage II Briefing Meeting

Mar. 10 - Mar. 25, 08 Stage II Question Period

Apr. 7, 08 Stage II Design Submission Deadline

Apr. 8 Apr. 9, 08 Review by Technical Advisory Committee

Apr. 10 Apr. 11, 08 Public Exhibition and Presentation of Submissions

Apr. 10 Apr. 11, 08 Competition Jury Deliberations

Apr. 11, 08 Announcement of Winner/ Event Reception

Afterwards

April, 08 Competition Report to Council

April, 08 Assignment of Contract

April, 08 July, 08 Execution Design [4 months]

September, 08 Implementation Starts

13.0 Figures and Drawings 12.0 Figures and Drawings


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Figure 11 Spatial Organization of the Square Proposal , year 1940

All the necessary graphic documentation needed by the competitors towork on the project, can be downloaded at the competitions site:

www.tirana.gov.al/sscompetition

under the GENERAL INFORMATION headline.

RETURN LABEL RETURN LABEL


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RETURN LABEL

____________________ CUT HERE ____________________

Business Team Name: ________________________________

Closing Date [Stage I]: February 29, 2008, 4.00 p.m Local Time

Scanderbeg Square Design Competition

[KONKURSI NDERKOMBETAR PER SHESHIN SKENDERBEJ]

Attention: Professional Advisor Urban Planning Department

Municipality of Tirana

[BASHKIA E TIRANES]

Bulevardi Deshmoret e Kombit

Tirana, ALBANIA

____________________ CUT HERE ____________________

RETURN LABEL

____________________ CUT HERE ____________________

Business Team Name: ________________________________

Closing Date [Stage II]: April 7, 2008, 4.00 p.m Local Time

Scanderbeg Square Design Competition

[KONKURSI NDERKOMBETAR PER SHESHIN SKENDERBEJ]

Attention: Professional Advisor Urban Planning Department

Municipality of Tirana

[BASHKIA E TIRANES]

Bulevardi Deshmoret e Kombit

Tirana, ALBANIA

____________________ CUT HERE ____________________

APPLICATION FORM


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No Subject To be filled in

1ENTITY

Name: _____________________________

Address: ___________________________

Tel: _______________________________

Fax: _______________________________

e-mail: _____________________________

Web: ______________________________

2 PROJECTENTRANT

Name: _____________________________

Last Name : _________________________

Fathers name: _______________________

3 ADDRESS

Address: ___________________________

___________________________________

__________________________________

4 PROFESSIONALLICENCE

No.: ______________________________Date: ______________________________

Authority: __________________________

Signature: ___________________________

Scanderbeg Square Competition

Documents

Transcript of Scanderbeg Square Competition