The National Theatre and Sarajet Villa in - Tirana’s historic center are under threat of demolition due to the passage of a contentious new law. In collaboration with OTTOnomy and Cultural Heritage without Borders, we investigated how personal experience, collective memory and postmemory in response to the communist regime contribute to a sense of place. We did so by researching the evolution of the historic center, interviewing key informants, and collecting written stories in a Theatre Memory Box. We also produced a virtual reality experience. We found that people attach meaning to built space via storytelling, secular pilgrimage, and familial or historical connection to buildings, all of which are heightened by threat of demolition.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Andon, James S.
• Savukinas, Daniel Garand
• Haskell, Paisley
• Heavey, Kyle

Subject

• Infrastructure
• Culture
• Community

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-121318-192752

Keyword

• Digital humanities
• Historic preservation
• Virtual reality

Advisor

• Hersh, Robert
• Dodson, Leslie Lynn

Year

• 2018

Center

• Tirana, Albania Project Center - IQP

Sponsor

• Cultural Heritage without Borders
• OTTOnomy

Date created

• 2018-12-13

Location

• Tirana

Resource type

• Interactive Qualifying Project

Rights statement

• In Copyright

Last modified

• 2020-11-23