Dutch architecture firm MVRDV has revealed plans for an extraordinary spherical arena complex called the 'Grand Ballroom' in Tirana, Albania. The massive project will replace the existing Asllan Rusi sports palace and combine a 6,000-seat sports venue with hotel accommodations, residential apartments, and retail spaces all within a single, continuous spherical structure. The building's impressive scale spans over 100 meters (330 feet) in diameter, creating a monumental presence on a compact urban site strategically located between Tirana's city center and the airport road.
The spherical design creates a striking visual impact, appearing both firmly anchored to the ground yet seemingly weightless at the same time. The building's circular volume integrates seamlessly with the surrounding landscape through carefully planned outdoor spaces. Open plazas and outdoor courts extend around the structure's perimeter, effectively expanding the arena's public functions into the surrounding area. At ground level, visitors are guided through a thoughtfully choreographed approach featuring shallow steps and shaded terraces that lead to a sunken ring of cafés and shops where the building meets the earth. This design approach reveals the building's interior structure gradually through deliberate shifts in scale and elevation.
The architects at MVRDV have organized the Grand Ballroom's diverse programming as a vertical stack of horizontal layers, progressing from public spaces at the bottom to private areas at the top. The central sports arena occupies the middle tier, designed as a luminous bowl surrounded by sweeping curves of seating and structural ribs that filter light throughout the space. Two floors of hotel rooms are suspended above the arena seating, positioned between the stands and the roof structure. These hotel rooms feature windows that provide direct views down into the court below, while a glazed oculus at the arena's center maintains a visual connection between hotel guests and athletes, transforming the ceiling into a shared focal point.
The residential component occupies the uppermost levels, with apartments embedded within the sphere's innovative double-shell structure. Residents access their homes through circulation paths that wind through a vast semi-outdoor dome space, which serves as a communal garden area. This elevated garden features mature trees, pedestrian walkways, and shaded seating areas, creating what the architects describe as a 'second landscape' within the building that serves as an inversion of the arena space below. Strategic cutouts puncturing the outer shell allow natural air circulation and light to flow freely throughout the interior spaces.
The material palette emphasizes the building's sculptural continuity, featuring metallic panels and extensive glazing that will reflect Albania's changing natural light throughout the day. The internal gardens introduce natural warmth and visual softness to contrast with the building's geometric precision. From a distance, the Grand Ballroom will read as a luminous hemisphere rising dramatically above its urban context, while closer inspection reveals a complex surface of apertures, balconies, and recesses that respond to the rhythms of daily use by residents, guests, and visitors.
According to MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas, the project's spherical form draws inspiration from a rich architectural lineage that includes Étienne-Louis Boullée's famous Cenotaph for Newton and Buckminster Fuller's innovative geodesic dome structures. These references represent monumental and iconic buildings that embody collective human aspiration through powerful geometric forms. In Tirana's context, Maas explains, this architectural lineage becomes transformed into a living arena for sport and community gathering. "It will become a beacon and a place to play, meet, and celebrate," Maas stated, emphasizing the building's role as both a functional sports facility and a symbol of civic pride for the Albanian capital.
