The New Polykatoikia features intriguing design solutions on how to live together in different urban contexts and social ecosystems.
On a concealed site near Durrës’ waterfront, Selgascano & FRPO introduce a residential project shaped by the city’s port-related identity and Mediterranean climate. Elevated above a planted public garden, the twin tower composition combines recessed circular terraces, cross-ventilated apartments, and textured concrete façades to create a compact housing model that balances density, openness, and urban continuity.
Located in Durrës, the coastal city closest to Tirana, Sky-K occupies a concealed plot directly behind Rruga Taulantia, a waterfront street recently transformed into a linear public park.
The project is positioned within an urban context shaped by the city’s residential fabric and the industrial heritage of the nearby port area.
Named after the client, Kejsi, the building establishes a dialogue between contemporary housing and the layered identity of Durrës.
The residential tower was designed with the intention of reducing its footprint and limiting its impact on neighboring buildings. The volume is carefully positioned on the site in order to preserve views, daylight access, and spatial openness within the surrounding urban block.
This approach informed the geometry of the floor plan, beginning with the release of the ground floor as a planted public garden accessible to the local community.
Above this open base, an oval-shaped podium is elevated on six concrete columns, supporting two vertical tower volumes.
The two chimney-like towers rise from the podium as distinct yet compact forms, each defined by a separate color treatment.
Their façades are articulated through an undulating concrete texture that emphasizes vertical continuity.
Circular openings of varying dimensions interrupt the surface, corresponding to recessed terraces that remain visually integrated within the overall mass, without exposed glazing visible from the exterior.
The terraces frame views toward the Adriatic Sea, the Port of Durrës, and the surrounding hills, while also supporting cross-ventilation throughout the apartments. The façade system allows for a range of residential typologies and apartment sizes, adapting the internal layouts to different patterns of living.
Developed through a gradual design process, the project places particular emphasis on the relationship between the building and the city. The planted ground floor extends the public character of the surrounding park into the site itself, while the two colored towers reference the industrial structures historically associated with the port area, contributing a recognizable element to the skyline of Durrës.
Through its compact footprint, elevated public ground plane, and vertically articulated form, Sky-K proposes a residential model that balances urban density with openness and environmental responsiveness.
The project combines housing, landscape, and references to the city’s industrial memory into a cohesive architectural gesture that strengthens the relationship between private living and the collective urban environment.
Plans
Facts & Credits
Project title: Sky-K
Architecture | Interiors | Landscape architrcture: Selgascano & FRPO
Principals in charge: José Selgas, Lucía Cano, Pablo Oriol, Fernando Rodríguez
Project location: Durres, Albania
Project type: Architecture | Collective housing
Design years: from 2024 to 2025
Construction year: from 2026 to 2027
General contractor: TBD
Renderings: Playtime