Dutch studio Casanova + Hernandez has completed a landscaping project in the Albanian village of Shiroka, comprising a waterfront plaza and streetscape that uses granite stones to replicate a traditional carpet pattern.
The Rotterdam-based studio was commissioned by the Albanian Development Fund to oversee the redevelopment of the waterfront on the shores of Shkodra Lake, which is near the border with Montenegro.
The area had been occupied by private houses, restaurants and parking areas that were constructed illegally in the years following the fall of communism in Albania in the early 1990s.
Above: Albanian Carpet is a patterned plaza. Top image: it is made from blocks of granite
The Albanian Carpet project involved demolishing the existing structures to create Shiroka Square, a 20,000-square-metre public space from which citizens can enjoy views across the lake. "The project not only aims to physically and functionally restore Shiroka waterfront but also to rebuild the feeling of belonging and attachment to the public space," Casanova + Hernandez claimed.
The entire square, as well as the pavements, street and seating were constructed using black and white granite blocks laid in a pattern typical of Albanian carpets.
According to the architects, the decision to use a design based on traditional carpets was intended to lend the public space "a unique and domestic identity".
It is intended to evoke traditional Albanian carpets
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