Pyramid of Tirana

The Pyramid opened in October 1988 as a memorial to the dictator who had died three years earlier, designed by a team led by his daughter and son-in-law; seen f…The Pyramid opened in October 1988 as a memorial to the dictator who had died three years earlier, designed by a team led by his daughter and son-in-law; seen from above the plan is meant to read as an eagle's wings, from the pavement it is simply a concrete pyramid on the main boulevard. After 1991 it served as an international cultural hub for exhibitions and fairs, then slid into decay and argument over whether to demolish it.

The recent MVRDV scheme kept the shell, wrapped the slopes in stairs anyone can climb, and filled the inside with classrooms for TUMO, a free digital education programme for teenagers. The stairs to the top are the reason a visitor comes: they are the easiest free vantage point in the flat middle of town.