Abstract:
This study focuses on an industrial post‐socialist town in southern Albania, the town of Ballsh. The industrial city was the main symbol of the socialist regime. Their construction began rapidly after the end of World War II and ended with the change of regime. The focus of socialism was the heavy industry and the massive extraction of natural resources, where these cities played a key role in achieving the objectives of socialist ideology.
The post‐socialist period had a drastic impact on industrial towns as many state enterprises were not compatible with the capitalist reality. The aim of this study is to propose a revitalization project using elements of memory in order to provide a new recreational facility.
The methodology used in this case consists of archival research, in local and central archives, literature review, and examples followed by the Eastern Block countries for the same topic and in concept design of the proposed space.
This thesis consists of a revitalization proposal regarding the town of Ballsh, Albania by giving a different approach from the industrial one. Finally, the proposed revitalization park is supposed to bring better spatial vision and heritage qualities to the town of Ballsh.
