Welcome to 1-ICAUD

On behalf of Epoka University and the Polytechnic University of Tirana, we are pleased to invite you to attend the First International Conference on Architecture and Urban Design, which will be held at Epoka University in Tirana, Albania on April 19-21, 2012. We expect an international audience of about 150 persons, including academics, practicing architects, urban designers, and planners.

Over the past twenty years, Tirana, the capital of Albania, has evolved into a dense, compact, and vibrant city of almost one million people, full of shops, cafes, restaurants, music, colorful buildings, and street life. At the same time, it is choked with automobile traffic, its older façades are crumbling down, and the traditional housing stock is being eroded to make room for condominium buildings. Sustainable construction technologies are in their infancy. High-tech high-rise architecture is juxtaposed with small scale informal additions to communist-era housing units and pre-communist oriental and Western neoclassic homes. While there is much private wealth in the country, the public sector has limited resources. This set of circumstances makes Tirana a very interesting laboratory for architects and urban designers & planners, and an enjoyable place to visit.

We appreciate your interest in 1-ICAUD and look forward to seeing you at Epoka University.