NOA and Atelier4 stack house-shaped "puzzle pieces" for Tirana high-rise

House-shaped blocks will protrude from the facades of this mixed-use high-rise in Tirana, Albania, which has been designed by architecture studios Network of Architecture and Atelier4.

Conceptualised as a vertical village, the 71-metre-tall Puzzle Tirana tower will contain 32,700-square-metres of commercial space, apartments, penthouses along with a hotel.

Designed by Network of Architecture (NOA) and Atelier4, if built, the high-rise will be composed of stacked volumes that are intended to resemble the shape of "the archetypal village house with a gabled roof".

Projecting from the facade at distances between 0.5 and three metres, these house-shaped volumes vary in colour, form, orientation and layout, and were designed as puzzle pieces that "click into the structure".

"The concept of the project comes from the fusion and densification of two worlds: urban and rural, into a single architectural intervention," studio founder Lukas Rungger told Dezeen.

"The proposal celebrates the concept of abstracted puzzle pieces, always different but still similar, through its varying orientations the fragments collectively shape the facade, interweave with each other and create a common built collage."

Local plants and shrubs will be integrated onto the projecting sections of the volumes to create hanging gardens, loggias and additional space for residents.

Additionally, a large house-shaped void designed to appear as though "it were the missing piece of the puzzle" is set to carve through the centre of the tower and host a series of cantilevered balconies.

"The puzzles work as value-added spaces for each housing unit," Rungger explained.

"Depending on the individual needs of the inhabitants, it can transform into a loggia, an open-air cinema, a relaxation zone, a playground, a fireplace and many more versatile functions."

The building's commercial spaces will be on the first two floors, accessed via a triangular entrance at ground level.

Renders of the space reveal large, sculptural elements, which enclose a central foyer, where staircases will provide access to the upper level. Below this, basement levels will host a multi-level underground car park.

A hotel and apartment units are contained from the tower's second to the sixth floor, followed by apartments on  the seventh to the 16th floors.

Ranging from 70 to 130-square-metres, the apartments will be set to feature protruding balconies held within openings in the house-shaped volumes.

The remaining three floors are dedicated to five penthouses, which will each be held in a single volume and encased by a planted rooftop garden.

Other projects set to be completed in Tirana include a staggered skyscraper comprised of 13 cube volumes and a kinked skyscraper designed to evoke "the grace of ballet", both designed by Portuguese studio OODA.

Elsewhere, Jean Nouvel has designed a "vertical garden tower" featuring a facade that steps inward as it rises and Zaha Hadid Architects has completed Malta's tallest tower, which features a twisting facade.

The visualisations are by NOA and Atelier4.

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