L’edilizia residenziale prefabbricata nell’Albania socialista (1950-1980). Caratteri tipologici e costruttivi.

Prefabrication systems were the tool by which European countries, both socialist and capitalist, tried to stem the post-World War II housing demand. In the first case, however, the prefabrication in residential buildings was closely linked to the construction of the communist society. The exclusively quantitative response to housing needs, the economy imposed by the Plan and the introduction of innovative materials and technological solutions not tested over time, resulted in the rapid deterioration of the prefabricated building stock in former socialist countries. This involved both the aspects of housing and architectural quality and, over the years, also energy and environmental features. The directives and research programs promoted by the European Union continue to highlight the centrality of the issue of the residential buildings refurbishment, to reduce the environmental impact both in terms of land consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The huge building stock built by industrialized and prefabricated techniques requires a decisive disciplinary study to make the refurbishment more effective. The paper analyzes the main prefabricated construction systems developed in socialist Albania and intensively used since the 1970s in the construction of the large neighborhoods of Tirana and other major urban centers. The contribution, through the tools of Construction History, aims to define the technological horizon relating to the use of heavy prefabrication and two-dimensional elements in the Albanian context, as an essential prerequisite for an economically and socially sustainable neighborhoods redevelopment.