The buildings of Tirana are interesting. There is a mixture of old and new, of crumbling communist-era blocks and modern office buildings. Across the street from our apartment is a school that is housed in an old, drab and boring building, and right next to it is what must have been a private house long before the road came out this way—it’s red tile roof still protects it from the rain and an old wall-fence separates it and a small, overgrown yard with a couple old trees, from the rest of the world. Behind them rise several large modern looking apartment buildings with satellite dishes and rounded balconies, some sporting a bit of greenery growing in pots. Mixture is the word.
I hope I will learn a bit about the architecture as the months go by, but I have learned one architectural fact that affects the entire feel of the city, and is unique. The present mayor is credited with a major clean-up job of the city. After the fall of communism small shacks and kiosks sprouted up everywhere, and the city was in danger of losing any architectural decency. The mayor embarked on a beautification and modernization program—the kiosks were removed from public parks and byways, the streets are being resurfaced, and an emphasis on color has been interjected—encouragement was given by the government for building owners and builders to use paint to make drab buildings interesting. The result is splashes of color-creativity everywhere. There are, of course, the obligatory glass-surfaced office and commercial buildings (the Twin Towers of Tirana), and there is the strange building with its unique history
(the Pyramid, designed by the daughter of a politician and now used by adults for expositions and by children as a massive slide), but everywhere you turn there are also ordinary buildings made unusual by being painted with pastels and vivid colors and fanciful designs. It makes for an interesting city, one where you can uniquely identify a meeting place by saying, “It is just past the orange and yellow striped building.” I like that…

Today was another sunny day, and I strolled a couple blocks around town. Photos of large buildings can not do them justice, but here are a few that make you stop when you turn a corner and see them. I have always believed that the story of creation in Genesis chapter 2, as it describes creation as pleasing to the eye, provides a strong endorsement of beauty and the creative arts. God could have created a completely functional, and boring, world--but he didn't. And we need to learn from him...

At Calvin I was always grateful for and appreciative of the wonderful art that Fran and Vir Harrison, and others, provided to give expression to that creativity on the walls, in the corners, and in the sanctuary of the church. In Tirana I think the mayor has done just a little to give that endorsement a shape for a city.

Oh, by the way, the last photo is our apartment building—we are behind the first railing up. Not as interesting as many others, but for four months we are calling it home…