Between Ideology and Identity.
A Comparative Study of Socialist Hotel Architecture in Albania and the Balkans
Authors
Dr. Malvina ISTREFAJ (KOLIÇI), Department of Research and Innovation, POLIS University, Albania,
Abstract
This paper examines the ideological foundations and architectural development of Albania’s
socialist-era hotels, placing them in the Balkan context and Eastern Europe’s reconstruction
following World War II. It explores how communist governments used tourism infrastructure,
especially hotels, as a socio-political instrument to support ideological narratives through
architectural form in addition to promoting state-approved leisure. The study looks at common
typologies that reflected global modernist tendencies while incorporating regional socialist
values, all while drawing on comparative case studies.
The study focuses specifically on Albania’s “Rational Period” and highlights important
architectural traits that indicate the rigidity and control of the communist state. In terms of
design, usage, and ideological function, the paper identifies both common trends and
distinctive national adaptations through comparison with those in other communist regimes,
such as Bulgaria’s state-run Black Sea hotel zones and Yugoslavia’s mixed-economy resort
models.
During the Rational Socialist Era in Albania, hotel design placed a strong emphasis on
geometric repetition, formal austerity, and practical clarity – elements that were strongly
associated with the regime’s ideology. In cities like Tirana, Gjirokastra, Elbasan and Shkodër,
hotels had two purposes: they were places of political control and foreign diplomacy, as well
as tangible symbols of socialist advancement. The seaside typologies along the Adriatic and
Ionian beaches, on the other hand, reflected pan-European experiments in leisure architecture
by emphasizing mass accommodation and spatial collectivism.
The research advances our understanding of how architecture was used to create a communal
identity – one that was both unified and contested – across the socialist Balkans by interpreting
the spatial and symbolic language of socialist tourism infrastructure.
In its concluding section, the paper calls for a re-evaluation of socialist hotel architecture not
as obsolete or politically burdened relics, but as vital components of the region’s architectural
heritage
Keywords
Socialist architecture, hotel typologies, ideology, form
