CAN AN INDUSTRIAL ‘DOMINO’ CATALYST MEMORY AND ACTIVATE DEVELOPMENT?

Abstract

Industrial development has occurred relatively late in Albania, starting around 1920 under the supervision of Italians and then re-born after the WW2 with the formation of the new socialist system. From 1945 till 1980 many factories were built. New cities were created as the result of the establishment of the new industrial sites. There is an important fact to be noticed among all, communities participated voluntarily in building the factories, the dams, the railways etc. Albania, despite the political approaches, renovated itself with the means of its citizens. But with the fall of the system, the industrial development fell as well. Companies and factories were closed. Nowadays, after 25 years, it is strange how invisible these areas have become. They are not only abandoned but in some cases, they are also destroyed due to the scrap phenomena, where people demolish the structures to sell the steel and bricks. v The aim of this study is to bring attention to these heritage from the near past with the means of academic research, and to come up with a possible proposal of revitalisation of the selected case which is full of yet unexploited potentials: situated in an important location which links the city of Fier with three other developed cities; TAP project will influence; lies nearby a river which is important for the city though currently is a problem because of pollution; surrounded by informal settlements especially that of Roma people; and the land is being used for agriculture. There is a combination of diverse situations which intrigues for a solution and poses the question “Can an industrial ‘domino’ catalyst memory and activate development?” 'Domino' refers to the physical situation of the structures, where in some cases there is only the envelope of the building no slabs at all or only the structure and no envelope at all. Memory: it is important to make people be aware that these sites are their heritage and their wealth. Maybe these establishments are among the least architectural and technological innovations that truly represent the Albanians of nowadays (taking into consideration the fact that Albania isolated itself during the socialist system).