The unfinished house

The project dives into the phenomenon of the incomplete houses which are left permanently under construction in Albania. Exploring the 'unfinished' state with the aim of recognising values that can be translated into design strategies, that advocate imaginative speculation on how to alter former conditions into an optimistic contemporary action.

My proposal aimed at building up a model, not a project. I believe that there is a difference between a model and a project. The latter one is always related to a specific building in a specific space, but a model suggests the design of typologies, which consists of a chain of guidances on how you orchestrate a certain form of power structure, economic relations and spatial conditions. \nThe question:What if this was great? catalysed a whole narrative of imaginative speculations, that helped me see the qualities of the phenomena undressed from its heavy context- that of Albania. As I explored, in the case of Albania, the unit of the unfinished house could be seen as a model of flexibility, a conclusion drawn from an observation on the changeability of these structures in time, an optimistic model that derives from its tightly connected relationship to the prosperity of the family. \nI could state that the house is almost a successful model in itself. Issues are raised when we change scale. But at the same time, the way the neighbourhood is shaped, by this fascinating negotiation quality, gives answers to many of todays cities discussions about alternative modes of producing the urban. That is the reason I started experimenting with the game methodology. The simulation and the eventually abstraction of scenarios resulted by gaming, give ground for open communication between various parties. I saw the viability of gaming as a problem solving method. The result was a number of unpredictable complexities.Through moderating the game I understood that the fundamental goal of the game design is to evoke players to take action which could be seen as well as a tool for urban planning. The results tried to understand the city as a product of negotiations, on how can we address ways of co-wonership by co-producing, co-caring, co-managing spaces, that therefore can be used individually or collectively.\nMy proposal focused on exploring an alternative model of domestic space, mainly based on the concept of the house as an economic apparatus, with the phenomenon of the unfinished buildings of Albania, as a starting point.