This competition proposal repositions the Asllan Rusi Sports Palace as part of Tirana’s ongoing transformation. Completed in 1963, the iconic building once served not only as a venue for athletic events but also as a stage for political and public gatherings. Over time, however, urban densification diminished its architectural presence within the city.

Beyond the renewed Sports Palace, the concept introduces a mixed-use complex combining sports, residential, commercial, and public functions. A compact strategy of three-dimensional urbanism interweaves these programmes and integrates the arena, a publicly accessible roof landscape, and a residential high-rise within the urban framework.

The diagonal volume of the cantilevered roof defines the main entrance and gives the Sports Palace a distinctive presence. This gesture is emphasized by a red architectural fence that unifies the ensemble, tracing two broad external stairs and enclosing the accessible roofscape. At roof level, the Urban Sports Garden accommodates fitness and play areas arranged as sculptural elements across the surface. Together with the informal public stage offered by the open stairs, the Urban Sports Garden becomes a social hub between the surrounding residential quarters and the city centre. A slender high-rise slab forms a backdrop to this ensemble and frames an Urban Window aligned with the Sports Garden, opening views towards the city and the surrounding mountains.

By combining programmatic density with accessible public space, the proposal strengthens social interaction and diversity within the neighbourhood. It re-establishes the Sports Palace as a civic landmark, proposing a model for sustainable densification and forward-looking urban development.