A case study on structural assessment and restoration of King Zog's villa in Durres, Albania

Abstract

The city of Durres is the second largest city and one of the oldest ones in Albania. Its existence dates back to 627 BC. There are found many historical monuments that carry significant importance to the city. The Royal King Zog’s Villa in Durres is one of the most interesting structures built in Albania during the Albanian Monarchy period (1928-1939). The villa, located on top of the hill with the height of 98 meters above sea level, was a gift given by the merchants of the city of Durres for King Zog in 1926. The Albanian architect Kristo Sotiri designed it. During its existence, due to amortization and the lack of maintenance, the structural properties of the villa were weakened and the architectural values were dimmed. In this paper, architectural features and current structural conditions of the villa will be analyzed. The methodology used in this study is based on visual inspection of the current condition of the structure as well as a historical survey about the major changes the villa has passed through during the past years.