Joana Dhiamandi is an architect, glass artist, and lecturer in Architecture and Design with a Ph.D. in Architecture and Urban Planning. During her studies in architecture, she showed a special interest in the paradigm of Information Architecture. Involved in architectural and interior projects as the founder of the design studio DHIAMANDI STUDIO, is also a glass artist in the studio "DHIAMANDI GLASS". In addition to architecture, she is also active as a member of civil society in Albania, working to engage communities and develop a common platform for discussion in architecture and design. Previously as co-curator of the editions of Tirana Design Week 2015 (Design now!) And 2017 (Design for an inclusive future), in order to promote a sustainable ecosystem and develop a proactive and inclusive discourse on professionals and young students in Albania. Also as a co-founder of ''WeWomen'', an initiative to create a platform for inspiring, supporting, networking and empowering girls and women. In recent years she has been part of several scientific and academic conferences, while an element that she considers vital for the approach to architecture and design is the creation of unique human experiences in time and space.

I grew up in a Mediterranean country, where the nature intertwined with the sea were dominant while the architecture was very modest, but at the same time meaningful and useful. Playful childhood memories in a house with Greek architecture have helped me develop my imagination, creativity and sense of space.

An apartment designed with thought, functionality and empathy molds people with feelings of happiness and belonging. And this is exactly the feeling I wanted and want to offer through my architecture.

Atmosphere, smell, sensations are an integral part of malgames, this makes the human experience more than physical, but spiritual. As architects, I oscillate and stand on the border between the visible and the invisible, between art and science, between the functional and the aesthetic; increased in the transition between analog and digital, at the height of the discussion where tradition ends and innovation begins, where it is finally debated whether matter should be transformed by free hands or by robotics. In my opinion the truth lies in the middle.

Architecture for me is exactly in their balance, offering functionality to everyday needs, but forgetting that the space itself must complement the user emotionally and spiritually. The ones that represent me the most are the artistic works in glass, where I can realize impressive situations in the human experience.

I have always thought of the elegance of glass transparency as a means to create spatial objects of a function and of a sustainable aesthetic nature, but also to bring architectural objects that strongly meet the vital needs of man.

Listen to the needs of your client and team! Be ambitious, persistent and curious! Learn to seek support, inspire  the people around you, create a good team. You need to realize how lucky you are to be part of such a fascinating and challenging profession. Turn every challenge into a step that sets you apart from others. And remember, the world will always be full of color if you can see outside the box!

Which architect/artist inspires you in your work?

I am mainly inspired by the principles of modernity in both art and architecture. I have found inspiration in authors such as Le Corbusier, Matisse, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gaudi, as well as in surrealist artists, who have used art and space to realize impressive and unexpected situations in the human experience. But, I have always been amazed by the unrepeatable elegance and aesthetics that nature brings us every day so generously.