Examining the Internal Anatomy of Socialist-Era Hotels in Albania: Spatial organisation, Geometry, Structure, Circulation, and Function

Abstract
In Socialist Albania, the hotel facilities were created under a controlled planning and design process. The aesthetics of exterior, the ideological significance and the development of these accommodation structures, built between 1945 and 1990 have been a subject of studying by scholars and professionals, while the internal organization and spatial layout has been perceived as separate and in the territory of Albania, remains underexplored. This study sheds attention to the architectural anatomy of selected case studies of socialist hotels, with the purpose of comprehending the distribution of functions, circulation spaces, the communication with the access points and examine the relation of the presented geometry with the spatial configuration. The study focuses on understanding the correlation of the analytical component of geometrical configuration, structural matrix, space utilization, access and circulation, with their impact on shaping the spatial configuration of hotels. In order to achieve this, the research proceeds with a comparative diagrammatic method that abstracts the plans into logical analytical schemes, including geometry, structural grids, access and entrances, circulation paths and functions. This approach allows structures of different sizes and designs to be compared while preserving the fundamental logic of each project.
The results show a common rational design strategy based on functional differentiation, modular structural systems, and regulated geometries. the three cases do not conform to a single standardized spatial model. While the structural matrices exhibit varying degrees of regularity and adaptation to the architectural form, their geometrical arrangements produce unique spatial and organizational patterns. Accessibility and the distribution of functions are directly impacted by entrance and circulation systems, which vary from centralized layouts to branched and primarily linear networks. The examination of space usage also exposes many methods for dividing housing, public, service, technical, and circulation areas as well as for concentrating or distributing served and serving spaces.
The paper shows how comparative diagrams can expose both recurrent principles and design variants throughout socialist hotel architecture by refocusing attention from architectural image to underlying spatial logic. The proposed framework provides a systematic method for documenting and comparing twentieth-century Albanian hotel architecture and may support future conservation, restoration, and adaptive-reuse strategies.

Keywords: socialist-era hotel architecture, geometrical configuration, structural matrix, entrances and circulation, space utilization, served and serving areas.