Shaped by the dramatic coastal landscape of southern Albania, Berdenesh Hills is set to emerge as a contemporary citadel where sea, light, and terrain inform every architectural move.
Designed by NOA, the nearly 280,000‑square‑foot development, which comprises roughly 250 apartments and a hotel, translates the region’s identity into an amphitheater‑like composition of terraced volumes in warm, earthy tones.
The journey to the site itself—a transition from Tirana’s density to a rural landscape dotted with scrub‑covered hills—became a source of inspiration for the design team.
“We were deeply impressed by the coastline of this region: it unfolds as an inward-turning spline, marked by continuous inlets, large bays, and small coves, all framed by the silhouette of Corfu on the horizon,” says Lukas Rungger, NOA founder and project architect.
Reinterpreting the citadel for Berdenesh Hills
Rather than echoing the tower typology that now dominates Saranda, the firm looked to the past. “We envisioned the creation of a new small neighborhood in the form of a citadel,” explains NOA architect Andrea Dal Negro. “Like its historical counterparts, this contemporary citadel develops around a focal point: the central piazza. However, unlike ancient Greek, Roman, or medieval fortresses—the most famous Albanian example being Argirocastro—its perimeter walls, formed by a variety of buildings, open outward in a continuous search for connection with the surrounding environment.”
Across the site, rooflines rise and fall to mirror the topography, shaping a dynamic, layered profile that frames the central square across five terraced levels. A Mediterranean park with lush vegetation threads through the development, deepening the project’s integration with the landscape.
Informed by Albania’s coastline
Materiality plays a central role in blending the architecture with its surroundings. Bands of raw plaster in warm, earthy hues wrap each façade, translating the site’s geological textures into built form. Organic profiles and recessed planes prevent the reading of rigid floor plates, distancing the design from typical multi-story structures in Saranda.
Each volume rises six stories and tapers at its shorter sides, creating expansive stepped terraces that frame uninterrupted sea views, ensuring the Ionian coastline remains a constant backdrop throughout the development.
With preliminary design approval secured, Berdenesh Hills has advanced into detailed development. Construction is slated to begin this year.
