REQUALIFICATION OF A POST-INDUSTRIAL ZONE IN THE PORT OF DURRËS

by Erazmia Gjikopulli

The 3000 years of history of the city of Durrës have always been related to the strategic and economic importance that comes as a result of the presence of its port.

As the city has expanded through the years, the port has constantly adapted to various functions.

Once it was known mostly for its commercial activities, while now it’s dedicated to passengers and the industrial development.

However, today the port has become an isolated stripe.

It is enclosed within physical barriers (you can only access it by buying or having special permission cards) as well as it has a strict zoning of industrial activities. Currently, the port is composed of 4 terminals (passengers, merchandise, containers, refuge). The only contact between the citizens and the port is through the passenger’s terminal.

According to Durrësi’s PPV, a part of the current industrial activities will be moved to another area in the city (Porto Romano). Consequently, the existing post-industrial zone will be opened to the citizens. Additionally, the industrial functions will be redistributed within the area; the newly opened space will be redeveloped with activities that welcome visitors and also break the isolated stripe that divides the sea from the city.

The main object of this part of the waterfront will be a public aquarium, the location of which will be set by the analysis on the context and a study of the fluxes that enter the port. The fluxes will be a starting point to formally approach the aquarium. The Aquarium will be the linking point in a system that aims to create a new relation between the sea and the city fabric.

Furthermore, there will be new functions to complete the area: restaurants in front of a new yacht port, and a fish market facing an existing fish port. The whole space will be traversed by pedestrian promenades, a square and two sitting staircases overlooking the sea.

The main beneficiaries of the project are the citizens of Durrës, who will now have a new public space and many activities that cannot be found elsewhere within the city. The project also favours the tourists by adding a new attraction to the city. The advantage of placing this project in the port, is also the closeness to the ferries and cruise ships that arrive in Durrës as well as proximity to the historical city center.

The research is mostly based on actual case studies as well as articles and analysis made on them. A reference closely related to the situation of Durrës, is the project of Porto Antico in Genova. Durrës and Genova are similar in: the importance the respective ports have in the regions where they belong; the challenge of linking the port and the city while integrating citizen friendly activities in industrial zones and also in the proximity that these areas have to their historic centers.