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ALBANIAN ARCHITECTS: LEDIA LAZI
Why did you choose architecture? What was the spark that led you to this profession?
I did not know I was going to be an Architect from the beginning. I had the impression that I would find myself in creative fields but I was not sure about that. I believe it first chose me, then very happy I found myself and it came back to the ideal choice.
A brief description of you, where you work, how many years of experience you have and your area of expertise.
After my first job of about 2 years in a private company, it has been 4 years since the creation of the design studio SAL Architects. Apparently, entrepreneurship offers you the benefit of freedom and independence to do things as you thought, and when you are unprepared for the challenges it faces you with, you will find it difficult to overcome them with the right prudence or calmness.
6 years in this field is too early to define me professionally and there is a lot to learn on this journey. What remains important to me is the passion through which I surpass every project and the creative process, in beside the satisfaction, has made me understand and how I change and grow in parallel with it.
What do you think of architecture and which is the project that best represents you?
Architecture involves a lot of things - we tend to focus on architectural design, but that does not include the wide range in which architecture is operating. We think it all comes down to just the creative moments where we sketch and claim that buildings appear like magic, but no, it does not work that way.
We need to think about those possibilities as well - policies, materials, many aspects that have an impact on design. Sometimes as designers, we simply neglect this and this also leads to why cities can be so superficial and boring. Good design should also infiltrate those areas - design is not just about the final details of a space - emphasizing that they are really important, but the first thing is the way we organize the territory, which is very much about politics and economics and many other things that we as architects often do not think about.
Finalizing your first project is always a magical moment - or seeing your first model take the shape of a building is amazing. Something in your mind changes and you begin to really understand this process - the design process. You see something implemented exactly as you have imagined it and this completes the cycle in which you are. You also learn that there are things you are not able to control, but you are creating something and this is a turning point.
I have not reached such a stage where I can speak with conviction that I have touched this feeling exactly, but I can emphasize at this point the project in my native city, Shkodra.
Cliché is project restricted in a public space, like that of the pedestrian area of this city where the architecture of the facades is an important element to which you can not remain indifferent. The project is a metal structure and completely transparent (glass), which creates four mini-courtyards around four existing trees.
This glass house touches and adapts the architectural elements of the dwellings in this area and the green and decorative courtyards are one of the elements that make this space unique. In this 22m long facade, four concrete panels emphasize the position of the trees and yards created, thus avoiding monotony and the greenhouse effect.
The peculiarity of transparency is that in every season the change of leafs creates a color velocity that is experienced from inside this glass lodge. The wood and stone material in the furniture emphasize its nature, bringing the people closer to experiencing this space.
The Ap4_LIDA, project, realized in a modern style intertwined with neoclassical elements, where the most evident are the composition of frames, large windows and high ceilings. The combination of white, cream, beige, brown, gray and black is best balanced in a space which includes the function of living room, kitchen and dining area.
One of the functional spaces in which revolves the concept of the whole apartment is the corridor. A long linear entrance composed with the detail of the frames which, while walking in it, reveals the position of the rooms and toilets. At the end of the hallway, as a surprise, unfolds the entire living space filled with light, where all the used colors and materials can be read.
What advice would you give yourself at the beginning of your career, valid even for young architects or those girls/women who want to become architects?
It is not easy to give advice in this position, as each person has specific situations in their journey. To me I think, the most valuable advice might be patience. Architecture is difficult and it is a process, it is not a result that you get as you wish, it requires a lot of dedication and desire.
Try to be "awake" - not in a state of comfort.
When you are comfortable there may be room for overload or a lot of stress in the way you approach challenges but if you are patient with yourself everything will be easier to accept.
Which architect/artist inspires you in your work?
I can mention a few, but Tadao Ando remains one of my first influencers from whom I learned that “architecture should not talk too much, it should remain silent and leave nature under the guise of light and wind. "