A monument finds a public life.

A roof becomes a public route

Before the transformation, young people already climbed the Pyramid’s sloping beams. MVRDV took that informal use seriously: steps now follow the slopes, while a lift on the western side provides another route to the top. The architect’s photographs show people spread across the terraces rather than gathered at a single entrance.

Completed in 2023, the reuse retains the concrete structure of the former museum dedicated to Enver Hoxha. Coloured rooms sit inside and around it. The old shell remains legible while the places for teaching, working and meeting have their own scale.

Inside, the next project starts small

TUMO Tirana offers free learning for teenagers aged 12–18 at the Pyramid. Its programme combines self-directed activities, workshops and project labs. The published game-development pathway begins with level design and how players find their way, then moves into interactive systems, obstacles and characters.

Photography takes another route: from observing and composing individual images to building a connected series. These are specific activities a teenager can work towards, giving the building a purpose beyond being an impressive place to visit.

Two reasons to come back

Someone climbing the roof and someone returning to a workshop use the same landmark differently. The steps make room for an informal visit; the learning programme brings an ongoing routine inside. That combination is what makes this reuse interesting to us: the architecture can be encountered in passing and inhabited over time.