Students of Planning Studio & Urban Laboratory Courses

Dear All

Below is a part of ToR as a reminder of the work done so far and progress of your work so far.

Please check your works so far with these requirements and if you miss something, you must do it for the next consultations workshop.

So far, we have completed phase 1: Planning concept - and you are supposed now to have basic materials to finalize it graphically

The coming workshop of the urban lab you will have focus on Phase 2: Urban and landscape design concept. Please pay attention to the respective requirements for the coming consultations.

It is supposed that each group must have now individual and group materials to respond to all point in red.

We inform you that the coming workshop we have in the lab a guest lecturer from Bezalel School of Design, Jerusalem Israel Prof. Judy Green (USA).

Prof. Green knows very well Albania as she has been living and working in the past 3 years in projects of USAID, and since 2005 she has been leading several urban & landscape design workshops at Polis/Coplan.

She will be holding a series of lectures on landscape design issues, and consult/revise all groups works together with us.  

So see you next time at Polis. We are sure it is going to be another exiting workshop.

Besnik Sotir Andris

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1. Development of the planning concept (1: 25 000 up to 1: 10 000)

This phase of the project work includes the following:

-   Reading of the entire Tirana Durres Corridor, regional positioning (national and international), transportable connections, environmental and landscape features, economic potentials, social development, etc.

-   Analyses of former projects that are related to this corridor (mosaic of projects);

-   Identification of the main needs (socio-economic, new opportunities, etc.) for the development of the area;

-    Definition of the project area (“Dogana” – Vora) based on the above-mentioned principles and the discovered potentials; 

-    Proposal of a planning concept that takes in account the socio-economic, environmental and all other potentials and needs discovered in the previous phases; This will be in the form of a draft strategic structure plan

-    Proposal for the subdivision of planning units according to which the plan can be detailed further and prepared for the implementation; Given the specific features of the project area, for the purposes of this academic exercise, it is advisable to subdivide the planning units in segments which are approximately 1 km each of them (along the main axe).

At the end of this phase, it is expected to conceptualize a draft strategic structure plan to be detailed in the following phase of the project; and the subdivision of the area in planning units. Each team will present the so far project in an interim public presentation.

2. Development of the design concept (1: 1000)

This phase of the project work includes the following:

- Based on the results achieved in the previous phase, the second phase will start with a participatory exercise that will require the effort of the entire group of students and instructors in order to decide a unified:

1. the planning concept; and

2. the subdivision of the planning units for the project area (“Dogana” – Vora).

At the end of this phase will be designated randomly to each team one of the units to be detailed further. This participatory process will be an example not only how to establish a common understanding throughout the all team works, but will be considered as the application of a methodology to be used in the practice of the real planning processes. 

- Each of the planning units will be detailed further according to the agreed concepts from the previous phase. At the beginning this will require a master plan for the entire planning unit (1: 5000). This will include the urban design of the new destinations, metropolitan “seeds” (mixed use service areas located in the main transport nodes), metropolitan parks and sport facilities, economic activities, agricultural activities and agro-businesses, tourism, educational activities, etc. At this stage the team may decide to detail further the entire unit (1: 1000) or to select the most important parts. Modeling will be used as an important part of the conceptualization process.

-  Environmental considerations will summarize the existing environmental situation in the planning unit area; and will further give some considerations about the environmental impact if proposed planning interventions will be implemented. This will be not only an important part of the project report, but will be reflected graphically in the respective works.

At the end of this phase it is expected that each team have developed the master plan for the assigned planning unit and the detailed design for the most important strategic parts of the unit as will be agreed during the consultation process. Each team will present the so far project in an interim public presentation.

 3. Finalization of the project

This phase of the project work includes the finalization and the execution of the drawings and design works; the preparation of at least one 3D model; the preparation of a Project Report; the preparation of the final presentation.

Expected results

At the end of the course, each working team will submit the elements indicated in the following list. This list is subject to modification during the course works:

-     Print outs of the project proposals (posters) including free hand drawings and other design techniques, as well as at least one 3D model (one of the most detailed parts of the planning unit). 

o   Regional overview of Tirana Durres Corridor; The main transportation and infrastructural nodes of development; “Mosaic” of previous planning studies and proposals for the region;

o   Proposal for the general development concept for the project area: structure plan of MoTown (“Dogana” – Vora) segment (1: 25.000).

o   Proposal for the subdivision of the project area in planning units (1: 25.000 or 1: 10.000)

o   Master plan of the planning unit (1: 5.000).

o   Detailed urban/landscape design for the most important strategic parts of the planning unit (1: 1000).

o   Map of environmental considerations.

o   3D Model Conceptual of the selected project site.

Project Report.

-      This document will contain the description of all phases of the project work and will include, but not limited in the following elements:

o   Main potentials of the project area and the Tirana-Durres Region;

o   Conclusions from other studies impacting the project area

o   Strategic vision for the development of the area

o   Main proposals for the development of the project area and the planning unit;

o   Principles of transformation

-      Final presentation. This will be an open public presentation. More details about the content and time duration will be delivered during the course work.

-      CD or DVD with the electronic version of the project work. This is important for archiving all the materials of the course work. The CD will be submitted the same day of the project presentation.