Illyrius | GG-loop

Illyrius was born by the request for a high-density residential project just outside the first urban circle, on an empty lot on the Rruga Dritan Hoxha artery, which connects the city center to Tirana International Airport, and to the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

To the ambitious brief, GG-loop responds using the parametric tool “Mitosis” launched in November 2021. The determined solution consists of 4 compact towers, tapered in a way that allows optimal light conditions in the courtyard and in the towers’ apartments.

A modular and parametric system of generous balconies and terraces extends the apartments outwards and integrates greenery into the building. A system of continuous balustrades composes the facade in an organized way allowing a constructive optimization guaranteeing an organic, dynamic and aesthetically ever-surprising effect.

The project is inspired by the history of the Albanian people whose origins date back to the region of Illyria, the Balkan peninsula on the Adriatic Sea, inhabited by numerous tribes whose collective name derives from their founder, Illyrius precisely. Son of Cadmus and Harmonia, or through other sources of Polyphemus and Galatea, Illyria is the ancestor and first ruler of Illyria.

Raymond C. Ramo describes the mythological figure of him as an imposing warrior who lived in the Illyrian mountains. The snow-capped Albanian Alps inform precisely the aesthetics of the project.

The 4 tapered towers refer to the mountain range while the natural cladding materials used on the outside, wood on the intrados and stone on the outside, reflect the colors and esthetic of the glimpse of the Maja e Thatë mountains.

“His name was Illyrius, and he was the son of Polyphemus and he was running across the ice plain. He was painted in white, all over his body, for ease of invisibility. He sped across the vast expanse of snow and his silhouette was easily visible against the light blue sky.”

"Illyrius: Illyrian chronicles I" by Raymond C. Ramo, Cavkunovic Ramo - 2015