After the presentation of the Prishtina project at European Forum Alpbach (Austria) Kai Voeckler has been invited by UN-Habitat, Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe and the Ministery for Economic Development Montenegro to give a lecture on the project in Prishtina and the future activities of Archis Interventions in South Eastern Europe (the Archis SEE_network) at the 5th Regional Vienna Declaration Meeting at Podgorica, October 22 – 23, 2007. The Prishtina project as the future activities in South Eastern Europe have been also presented by Kai Voeckler in Bucharest at the conference of NALAS – the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe, December 13 – 14, 2007. In the beginning of December a workshop with students of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Prishtina, has been held by Florina Jerliu, Ilir Gjinolli and Kai Voeckler. The students investigated along the analysis developed by Archis Interventions’ workshop in December 2006 different sites in Prishtina and drew worst case as best case scenarios of the urban development. The public presentation at the University of Prishtina at December 7, 2007 found great interest by almost 300 visitors. The student workshop has been part of a  wider cultural project about the future of the city, which has been initiated and financially supported by the German and French liason offices. One of the visitors, candidate for mayor Dr. Isa Mustafa has been highly interested on the results. After becoming mayor he asked in January Florina Jerliu of Archis Interventions to become an official adviser.

After a reconnaissance and fact finding mission in November 2006 Archis Interventions developed an action plan that was presented at the Alpbach Forum 2007 [pdf]. This as a prelude to further action and research. The situation in Prishtina is typical of cities that find themselves in a period of upheaval after a conflict. Most of the time, there is a complete lack of public bodies with the capacity and jurisdiction to enforce laws. In addition, a lack of social self-regulation leaves the field wide open for uncontrolled forces that cause lasting damage to a city’s urban fabric. Moreover, there is always a profound crisis of confidence in the public dimension of urban life.

Field research in combination with local experiences has brought the workshop to an approach that is focusing on short term and long term results. First is to raise an awareness of problems: showing examples and explaining that these are not isolated cases but representative of widespread phenomena. Second is to make people feel responsible for the current condition. Not as accusations, but in the sense that the way buildings are being put up affect peoples lives. And that choice is involved. The individual logic has to have a communal aspect as well.
Thirdly to provide information what can be done in these circumstances: professional help and advise.

Walking Prishtina it is quite apparent that the urban condition is in need of improvement. And that goes far beyond well meant early warnings we received on the plane. Yes, orientation is difficult without any indication of street names and yes, the layout of the streets does not suggest any spatial hierarchy or centre/periphery logic. And yes, the roads are in bad shape; even drain covers of the sewage system are sometimes missing, making a car ride and adventurous undertaking. But more worrying is the almost complete random distribution of small and big buildings, of housing and commercial spaces, of continuous alignment or the detached positioning of buildings… The worry is not only about (il)legal status and control, about destruction of existing qualities and historic values (including monuments), but first and foremost about living conditions and safety. No misunderstanding: after the rebuilding what was destructed during the war almost everyone has a roof and four walls and the average number of square meters per person is on the increase. But we are talking a future capital in Europe (UN volente) and in that respect the gap with European standards is huge. Whether yes or no sufficient urban infrastructure is available (the existence and capacity of sewers, electricity network, water supply, roads, parking lots) and whether yes or no the buildings themselves respect safety standards and fire regulations doesn’t seem to influence the reality of construction. Leaving apart issues like schools, medical infrastructure, playgrounds and other facilities that a city usually needs.
The number of buildings under construction, in various degrees of completion and use*, exceeds those in much bigger cities in the West, although Prishtina has probably no more than 200.000-230.000 inhabitants. You might even say that all of Prishtina is under construction, since even recently finished buildings might be redeveloped or extended when the money is there. The only real force in play seems the amount of money at hand for investment on a certain plot. Even though there is a Strategic Plan for the city, underlying the necessary Regulatory Plans for the various parts of the city (partly still dating from the 1980s) it is impossible to see the inner logic or coherence in the actual production of space in other terms than maximizing profit. In other words: the goal of each individual project is strictly individual. Any public awareness of individual builders and investors in terms of responsibility for the public interests seems to be non-existant.
The present situation cannot be solved by flying in another army of building police, patrolling the streets, ticketing offenders and instigating demolition of illegally built constructions. You cannot tear down 70-80% of the built fabric. Legalization of the existing has to be organized in some way or other. But the development of a strategy for the future is an urgent need.

 * The plastering of external walls is often postponed, since after finishing the building the owner is due to pay taxes.

Short description of the project
The illegal building activities after the war seriously affected the city structure of Prishtina heavily and raised social, infrastructural, and security problems. Because of the specific political situation and the lack of in its responsibility clearly differentiated institutional structures, the local administration as well as the responsible department of the United Nations (UN-HABITAT) are in the moment not able to establish necessary standards in the building process. There is also no public awareness of the fundamental problems of illegal settlement. In this situation the project will mediate between the interests of the private developers and the necessary regulation by the state in regard to the needs of the community. The project Archis Interventions starts in Prishtina will develop solution strategies. The specific problems of regulating illegal building activities in post conflict situations will be theoretically discussed and brought into the international urbanistic debate.

Situation in Prishtina
Prishtina is the capital of the UN protectorate and – as the Albanian majority of the population is hoping – the future independent State of Kosova. The number of inhabitants is rather unknown. Estimations vacillate between 270.000 – 500.000 inhabitants. Definitely Prishtina has doubled its inhabitants in the last 20 years. The last master plan to structure the city development goes back to 1989. At present only a “strategic plan” exists (Strategic Plan – Urban Development of Prishtina 2004-2020). On the basis of this “zoning map” the regulation plans have been drafted and the building permissions are given from 2006 on. Still there is no plan with a binding (law) character on which building permissions could rely on. After the war a vivid building activity took place, driven by the move of rural migrants to the city and the return of migrants staying abroad in exile during the war. The ones who had the financial opportunities, a building plot or real estate could make fast profit out of this situation. There is a massive investment also by returnees into housing, mostly for their own families. The effort of the local administration to regulate this process ended when the former director of the city development department had been shot. Presently the UN administration is focusing on the establishment of solid institutional structures, whereas the local government depending on the municipality is still in the process of tendering out master plans or regulation plans. In the meantime app. 75% of the city structure has been illegally newly built or remodeled. It is estimated that each day 10 new buildings are emerging. Serious is that most parts of the Old Prishtina have been damaged or will be damaged soon, also that basic and normal security standards are ignored (regarding fire and earthquakes) as infrastructures – especially water supply and sewage – are lacking or being overburdened. Also social problems are a result of an unregulated building activity – a common problem is that the building is stretched to the borders of the plot, ignoring the neighbors need. Because of these problems it is relevant to intervene with a professional knowledge into this process and to raise a public awareness either by the persons concerned as by the responsible ones.

The project
In 2005 a local NGO has been founded, together with three architects from Kosova, Visar Ramadani, Florina Jerliu (president of the Associations of Architects of Kosova) and Vlora Navakazi (lecturer at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Prishtina) with the aim to develop solution strategies for the structuring of the city housing development. Archis Interventions / Prishtina is a local agency, which documents unprofessional (mostly illegal) buildings and looks for opportunities to upgrade these. It will intervene into the ongoing building activities by providing professional advice in the building and planning process – to provide a free support of architectural knowledge to the mostly private developers, so that the most crucial problems can be avoided. This activity will be supported by a media campaign, which will raise a public discussion about the problems which resulted from the unprofessional and mostly illegal building activity. The aim is to develop solution strategies which can mediate between the local administrations, professional developers, and single house builders. The local NGO will be supported by Archis Interventions bringing international expertise and organizing the information exchange to develop a sustainable solution strategy. The results will be published and brought into the international urbanistic discourse as in a special Albanian edition addressing the Kosovar professionals. The focus of the publication is the problems related to the regulation of informal building activities in post conflict situations as the future aspects of architecture and town planning in this context regarding the specific social as political circumstances.

Realization
The project is structured into three phases. In the beginning a workshop with local and international experts will work out a strategic concept. It will be realized in the second phase from 2007 on and contains a public or media campaign (together with the Kosovar Televisions), the provision of architectural advise as necessary planning for house builders, and the mediation between local and international professionals (Archis Foundation/Volume magazine). The aim is to raise a public debate about the city’s future and to give professional support to avoid the most crucial problems. In a second workshop a model project should be worked out, which Projektbüro Berlin can show exemplary, how building can be organized in a way, that social and physical sustainability is guaranteed. The elimination of the most relevant problems due to security and infrastructure will be in the foreground, but also a participation strategy (community building) will be needed, which is aware of the social problems which accompanying informal building activities. In the third phase (2008 – 2010) this strategy should be implemented. Good contacts with Kosovar politicians as with professionals already exist. Ilir Gjinolli, head of the Institute for Spatial Planning, assured his support of the project. The contact to the responsible body of the UN administration (UNHABITAT) will be made soon.

Organization structure
Body responsible for the project is the Archis Foundation in Amsterdam. The project management is headed by Archis Interventions / Berlin (Kai Voeckler). Archis Interventions / Prishtina is registered as a NGO by the United Nations in Kosova and will together with Archis Interventions / Berlin and Archis Interventions / Amsterdam develop and realize the project. Members of the international board of AI Prishtina are Kai Voeckler (Berlin) and Ole Bouman (Amsterdam). Archis Interventions / Amsterdam is part of the Dutch Archis Foundation and will be responsible for the publication.
_ Research of the existing situation in Prishtina regarding the emerging patterns of informal settlements, in Prishstina and in general in Kosova. Elaboration of typologies and a draft for a strategy to qualify the urban development in Prishtina. [Kai Voeckler / Visar Ramadani] _ Funding of Archis Interventions as a Non Government Organization, which addresses urban issues worldwide in collaboration with local branches.

2006 / 2007
Phase 1
Preparation and conceptualization of the project / workshop. Contacts with local agents (UN, Ministry of Building, Municipality) [AI Berlin / AI Prishtina] _ Workshop I (November 2006) Elaboration of a concept for a strategy to legalize the informal settlements and to regulate the future city development in regard to housing (which includes a communication strategy to raise public awareness as a theoretical reflection for professionals, an organization structure for the architectural assistance giving by local professionals to house builders) by integrating international expertise. Result: »Manual« - strategy concept; organization structure, communication concept [AI Berlin / AI Prishtina / AI Amsterdam]

Phase 2
TV production / Kosova TV Result : Weekly distribution at TV for about 2 months [AI Prishtina] _ Architectural support (Advise and planning support by local architects for house builders) Result : Prevention of the most crucial infrastructural and constructive problems; building confidence [AI Prishtina] _ Workshop II Identification of a model project. Development of a legalization concept (catalogue of criteria to judge and to deal with existing problems; flexible building law). Community Building – Development of a participation strategy. Design strategy. Result : Structure of a model project implemented 2008 – 2010. [AI Berlin / AI Prishtina / AI Amsterdam] _ Publication as an issue of Volume magazine (Dutch/English) together with a special edition in Albanian. Theoretical reflection of the project and its strategy by bringing it into the international urbanistic discourse by integrating the local architects and planners. R e sult : Contribution to the international urbanistic debate about regulation [AI Amsterdam] _ Exhibition at Aedes Forum for Architecture Berlin of the results of the research made by Visar Ramadani and Kai Voeckler including the analysis and the strategic concept; including a film by Luise Donschen, Hamburg. English / German publication »Prishtina is everywhere«, edited by Kristin Feireiss and Kai Voeckler. Result: Contribution to the international urban discourse 2008–2010

Phase 3
Guarantee of the sustainability by implementing the developed strategy and its discussion in the public.
2007- Model project: Realization of the concept developed at Workshop II/2006 Guarantee of the workability of AI Prishtina as an independent working NGO as part of the global Archis Interventions network. Further development of the strategy and the project [AI Berlin / AI Prishtina]. 2009 Publication and exhibition of the results in Kosova and Germany.

It is January 12, 2007 and again a count down is running to the 22nd this time, the day that the UN will finaly settle the status of Kosovo: independent state, autonomous state or semi-autonomous province in the state of Serbia. Ladies and Gentlemen faites vos jeux!

Mentally, going to Prishtina seems not that far, but physically it is quite a journey. After leaving Vienna and flying around Serbia (lengthening the journey with an hour) we approach Prishtina only to discover that landing is impossible due to the fog. From a height of 7.000 feet the white, bubbled blanket of clouds between the mountain tops look beautiful, like virginal fields of fresh fallen snow, but in fact it indicates that there is no wind at all to sweep away the thick mist on the ground. So in the course of landing, constantly losing height and speed, suddenly the plane takes off again. After a second failed attempt – even more scary – we land in Thessaloniki, refuel and return to Vienna. If this is indicatory of the peace process and future of Kosovo…
So what was it we were going to, what was the reason for this visit?
Let’s quote from the announcement of the workshop and meeting we are heading for:

‘The new Prishtina. The qualification of the urban development in Prishtina, UNMIK (Kosovo)
Beirut, Kabul, Grozny, Prishtina, these and quite a few others are the cities that today are facing an enormous challenge: to reinvent themselves again after conflict. Very often the conflict still slumbers. Most of the time there is a complete lack of public bodies with the capacity and jurisdiction to enforce law. And always there is a profound crisis of confidence in the public dimension of urban life. Archis Interventions, a not for profit branch of Archis Foundation (also known for its magazine Volume) has set itself on a course to provide cities with clues and concepts to revive the public domain, to re-energize its urban spirit and to revitalize their trust in dialogue as the essence of civic life. Out of this ideal, Archis Interventions starts its activities in Prishtina.
The illegal building activities after the war seriously affected the city structure of Prishtina and raised social, infrastructural, and security problems… The project will develop solution strategies. The specific problems of regulating illegal building activities in post conflict situations will be theoretically discussed and brought into the international urbanistic debate.’

After a day the sky had somewhat cleared and flying on Prishtina became possible again.
Prishtina, here we are….