Swiss Architects Clench Victory in Contest to Overhaul Albania's Historic Palace

Albania's 40-year-old Palace of Congresses is preparing for a major overhaul, following an international design competition that concluded with a victory for a prominent Swiss architecture firm.

Herzog and de Meuron secured the winning slot with a concept that focuses heavily on retaining and renovating the original performance spaces.

The strategy combines preservation with a massive addition, introducing a new mixed-use office and hotel tower on the site, which will be topped with a sky bar.

While the exact final height of the new structure remains unconfirmed, local reporting indicates that the tower could stand up to 255-metres tall.

An addition of that scale would make the high-rise one of the tallest skyscrapers in the entire Balkan region.

The architects noted that the property remains an important witness to the history of both Tirana and Albania.

Rather than altering its core identity, the intervention aims to strengthen the historical building's relationship with the surrounding city and its public realm.

Plans outline a new landscape that gradually steps down toward a generous entrance, creating a palace garden meant to serve as a welcoming setting for public gatherings and everyday life.

According to a statement from the firm, the multifunctional tower accommodating offices and a hotel will complete the project.

The designers described the tower as being shaped by vernacular logic, which is integrated with the palace and the wider neighbourhood beyond.

This overhaul represents a delicate balance between preserving institutional heritage and introducing modern high-density architecture to the changing capital.