Rojkind Arquitectos Is Bringing Mexico City’s Design Vision to Tirana

Rojkind Arquitectos Tirana has become one of the most talked-about stories in global architecture this year. The Mexico City-based firm, founded by arquitecto Michel Rojkind, was announced as the winner of the mixed-use component in the International Concept Design and Build Competition for the redevelopment of the Zyber Hallulli site in Tirana, Albania. The jury revealed its decision on January 29, 2026, capping a competition launched in September 2025 by the Albanian Investment Corporation in partnership with the National Agency for Territorial Planning. Working alongside artist Pedro Reyes, SON Architects, Motus Holdings, and ASAB, the firm proposed a trio of interconnected towers that promise to reshape the skyline of Tirana and add a new chapter to the city’s remarkable architectural evolution.

This article breaks down the winning proposal, the design ideas behind the facade and public spaces, and why the project matters within the broader context of Tirana’s urban transformation.

The Zyber Hallulli Competition: How the Project Came to Be

The competition was organized to reimagine the Zyber Hallulli site, a strategically located plot in the Albanian capital that has long been tied to civic and cultural activity. Two separate design briefs were issued: one for a mixed-use development and another for CASA FAMILIA, a new children’s campus. Michel Rojkind Arquitectos led the winning team for the mixed-use portion, while Mexican practice Taller Hector Barroso was selected to design the children’s campus, which will occupy a greener, more child-oriented site nearby.

The decision to run two parallel briefs reflects a growing trend in architecture in Tirana: splitting large-scale urban projects into distinct commissions to attract specialized design thinking. Rather than handing an entire district to a single firm, this model encourages creative diversity and gives each program the attention it deserves. For Rojkind Arquitectos, the commission represents a significant milestone as one of their most prominent international projects outside of Mexico, and it puts Michel Rojkind’s firm on a growing list of globally recognized practices working in Albania’s rapidly changing capital.

Design Overview: Three Towers, One Civic Vision

The winning proposal envisions three towers of 20, 25, and 35 floors, connected by elevated bridges and grounded by a civic podium at street level. Rather than presenting isolated skyscrapers, the design treats the towers as an ensemble. Varied heights and mixed programs are intended to keep the site active throughout the day, serving office workers in the morning, hotel guests in the evening, and residents around the clock.

The program accommodates a commercial passage at the base, offices, a hotel, residential units, and shared amenities. At ground level, the podium organizes a sequence of interconnected public spaces designed to reinforce pedestrian continuity and strengthen connections to the surrounding urban fabric, including the nearby stadium. Shaded thresholds, circulation routes, and gathering spaces structure the ground plane as an active civic layer rather than a passive entrance zone.

This approach reflects a core principle in rojkind arquitectos‘ portfolio: treating ground-level space as social infrastructure. Many of the firm’s built works in Mexico, from the Foro Boca concert hall in Veracruz to the Cineteca Nacional expansion in Mexico City, prioritize public access and community activation at the street level. Bringing that same philosophy to Tirana suggests the project will prioritize walkability, openness, and day-to-night vitality.

The “Urban Choir” Facade by Pedro Reyes

One of the most distinctive aspects of the Rojkind Arquitectos Tirana proposal is its facade system. Developed in collaboration with Mexican artist Pedro Reyes, the facade is not an applied artwork but a fully integrated architectural element. It consists of vertical precast concrete components in tones drawn from Albanian earth pigments. The design team describes this system as an “Urban Choir,” translating recorded voices into variations of geometry, depth, and shadow across the tower surfaces.

Each vertical element maintains its own distinct profile while contributing to a coherent overall composition. Through this generative approach, the facade establishes a continuous visual language from street level to skyline, framing the three towers as interrelated parts of a single composition. The rhythmic exterior expression shifts with the angle of sunlight, creating a dynamic surface that changes character throughout the day.

The collaboration between architecture and art is not new for Rojkind. The firm has a history of cross-disciplinary partnerships, and Pedro Reyes is known for his socially engaged sculptures and conceptually driven projects. Bringing a voice-based generative system into a facade represents a rare integration of sound, material, and spatial design at an urban scale.

Tirana Art Lending Library (TALL): Cultural Continuity on the Site

Embedded within the development is the Tirana Art Lending Library, known as TALL, which will remain on the original Zyber Hallulli site as a permanent cultural space. While the children’s campus relocates under the CASA FAMILIA project, TALL provides a thread of continuity through workshops, mentorship programs, exhibitions, and shared activities with artists and the community.

The presence of a cultural anchor within a commercial development is a deliberate choice. Mixed-use projects across the world often struggle with becoming purely transactional spaces. By embedding TALL at the core of the development, the proposal ensures that cultural programming is not an afterthought but a built-in feature of daily life on the site. This aligns with the broader goals of architecture as a tool for public engagement, a recurring theme in Tirana’s recent urban projects.

Michel Rojkind Arquitectos: The Firm Behind the Project

For those unfamiliar with the practice, a quick look at the background of the arquitecto Michel Rojkind and his studio helps contextualize why this firm was chosen. Born in Mexico City in 1969, Rojkind studied Architecture and Urban Planning at the Universidad Iberoamericana before founding Rojkind Arquitectos in 2002. Before his architecture career, he was a drummer in the popular Mexican rock band alongside Aleks Syntek, a biographical detail that hints at his interest in rhythm, composition, and performative experience.

The firm was recognized by Architectural Record in 2005 as one of the ten best Design Vanguard firms. In 2011, Wallpaper* magazine named Rojkind one of the 150 creatives who have influenced the world over 15 years. Forbes recognized him as one of the most influential architects in Mexico. More recently, the firm completed The Ledger, a mixed-use project in Bentonville, Arkansas, marking their first built work on American soil.

The studio’s design philosophy centers on user experience, treating each commission as an opportunity to create spatial experiences that resonate emotionally with the people who use them. This people-first approach is visible in the Tirana proposal, where the podium, bridges, and public spaces are all designed to encourage interaction and gathering.

Key Projects and Recognitions of Rojkind Arquitectos

The following table summarizes some of the firm’s most notable works and awards:

Architecture Tirana: Why the Albanian Capital Keeps Attracting Global Firms

To understand the significance of the Rojkind Arquitectos project, you need to look at the broader picture of tirana modern architecture. Over the past decade, Albania’s capital has become one of the most active construction sites for ambitious design in southeastern Europe. The Tirana 2030 Master Plan, developed in 2017 by Stefano Boeri Architetti with UNLAB and IND, set the strategic framework: increased urban density, more green space, better public infrastructure, and an emphasis on cultural identity.

Since then, a wave of internationally recognized firms has entered the scene. MVRDV completed the transformation of the Pyramid of Tirana into a youth cultural hub and designed the Skanderbeg Building. BIG won competitions for both the Tirana Mosque and the Albanian National Theater. Eduardo Souto de Moura and OODA unveiled the 180-meter Oricon Tower. Oppenheim Architecture broke ground on the 38-story New Boulevard Tower. And OODA’s Hora Vertikale reimagines the residential tower as a vertical village of 13 stacked blocks.

Architecture in Tirana Albania has shifted from post-communist reconstruction to something far more ambitious: a deliberate strategy to position the city as a laboratory for bold contemporary design. Prime Minister Edi Rama, himself a trained artist, has been a driving force behind this strategy, personally inviting architects from around the world and championing urban renewal as central to Albania’s European identity.

How the Rojkind Project Fits Into Tirana’s Citywide Renewal

The mixed-use development on the Zyber Hallulli site is part of a broader redevelopment framework combining housing, commercial functions, and public cultural infrastructure. It joins a pipeline of projects that collectively aim to transform Tirana architecture from a patchwork of isolated interventions into a more connected urban system.

Several factors make the Rojkind Arquitectos Tirana project particularly relevant within this framework. First, its programmatic diversity (offices, hotel, housing, retail, cultural space) mirrors the mixed-use model that urban planners increasingly favor for sustainable city building. Instead of zoning separate areas for separate functions, the project concentrates activity in one location and lets different uses support each other throughout the day.

Second, the emphasis on the ground plane and pedestrian continuity responds to a specific challenge in Tirana. The city has grown rapidly since the fall of communism, and much of that growth has been uncoordinated. New developments sometimes turn inward, creating private courtyards that do little for the surrounding streets. By designing the podium as a porous, connected civic space with clear pedestrian routes, the Rojkind project actively contributes to the public realm rather than withdrawing from it.

Third, the collaboration between architecture and art signals a maturity in how Tirana approaches its building commissions. Earlier projects in the city’s renewal wave focused primarily on form and spectacle. The “Urban Choir” facade, with its connection to recorded voices and local earth tones, suggests a deeper engagement with Albanian cultural identity, one that moves beyond imported aesthetics toward something site-specific and participatory.

What Comes Next: Construction Timeline and Broader Implications

As of early 2026, the project is in the concept design phase. Detailed design development, permitting, and construction timelines have not been publicly confirmed. Given the scale of the development (three towers of up to 35 stories), expect a multi-year timeline from design completion to occupancy.

For the architecture community, the project raises interesting questions. Can a Mexican firm successfully translate its design language to a Balkan context? How will the voice-based generative facade system perform in real construction conditions? Will the Tirana Art Lending Library achieve the cultural activation it promises, or will commercial pressures dominate the ground floor?

These are questions worth watching. What is clear already is that Rojkind Arquitectos’ selection adds another layer of international credibility to Tirana’s urban ambitions. With firms from Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic, and the United States all working on projects in a city of roughly 900,000 people, tirana architecture has become one of the most diverse and energetic scenes in European urbanism.

If you are interested in following more projects from the firms shaping cities worldwide, explore our coverage of mixed-use developments that reconnect urban districts or dive into foundational architecture concepts at Learn Architecture.