Before & After: In Albania, Two Sisters Turn a Ruin Into Twin Seaside Apartments
The duo overhauled the roofless stone structure with custom built-in furniture and a balcony overlooking the old town of Dhërmi.
The duo overhauled the roofless stone structure with custom built-in furniture and a balcony overlooking the old town of Dhërmi.
As children, Erazmia and Anxhela Gjikopulli reveled in summers at their parents’ house near the beach in Dhërmi, an idyllic Albanian village some three hours south of Tirana, the capital. So, when their father bought a dilapidated building in the historic center, the ambitious sisters were keen to transform it into an inviting home and forge new memories.
"For as long as we’ve been coming to Dhërmi, it’s looked like a ruin," says Erazmia of the once-neglected structure. In the past, it was used for storing and pressing olives, but for Erazmia and Anxhela it evokes nostalgia on a more personal level because it neighbors the home their grandparents resided in before they abruptly left during communism.
Before: Facade
At first, Erazmia, a Tirana-based architect and urban designer, and Anxhela, who works as a product owner in Munich, envisioned the renovation unfolding as one commodious, duplex-style apartment. Ultimately, they decided to create two pieds-à-terres—Sea Apartment 1 and Sea Apartment 2—one for each of them to relish in between guest bookings managed by their mother.
After: Facade
The sisters preserved the structure’s outer stone walls in a nod to the village’s characteristic architecture.
Erazmia Gjikopulli
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: In Albania, Two Sisters Turn a Ruin Into Twin Seaside Apartments
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