Fragments of Tomorrow: Building to not Build, A Radical Journey from Utopia to Reality

Durrës, a city shaped by history and informal growth, faces the challenge of balancing expansion with identity. This project approaches architecture not just as a physical act but as a theoretical and philosophical investigation. Can architecture exist beyond construction, shaping the city through absence as much as presence? Inspired by radical movement, the project blends abstract theory with spatial practice, using voids and latent spaces as active design elements. The modular system is a framework for change where architecture becomes a dynamic, evolving response to urban and social needs.

Fragments of Tomorrow" challenges the idea of architecture as a fixed built form, proposing instead an evolving, adaptable system that engages with the unbuilt as a spatial and theoretical opportunity. Set in Durrës, a fragmented city where history, informality, and potential intersect, the project takes inspiration from Superstudio’s Cartoline, using speculative imagery to question architecture’s role. It draws from Bernard Cache’s territorial analysis, interpreting the city not as a static entity but as a fluid landscape shaped by economic, historical, and social forces. The design process transforms these abstract readings into a concrete architectural proposal, where the grid becomes a medium for controlled unpredictability. The intervention materializes as a modular megastructure, a metallic grid designed to accommodate multiple futures. Rather than dictating form, it provides a system of square modules that can expand, contract, or transform based on urban flux. The modules house different functions—living, working, communal spaces reacting to shifting needs rather than imposing a singular vision. The grid is not just structural; it is conceptual, a method of organizing both built and unbuilt spaces, balancing constraints with flexibility. By adopting a radical yet pragmatic approach, the project redefines "building" as a negotiation between form and absence, control and indeterminacy. It questions the linear path from utopia to reality, proposing instead an architecture that thrives within uncertainty a city in constant dialogue with its potential futures.