Ecotourism project "repurposes" Albanian bunkers

Albania's 750,000 military bunkers find new life as luxury stop-overs

In Albania, where 750,000 military bunkers litter the landscape as an indelible reminder of the Cold War, plans are afoot to turn symbols of hostility into hospitality. Built to survive bombardment, the domed pillboxes have proved costly and difficult to destroy – but two Albanian graduates from Milan Polytechnic have found a sustainable use for them: as bars, cafes and small, perfectly formed hotels to kickstart a flagging eco-tourism industry.

Elian Stefa and Gyler Mydyti, who studied landscape architecture, have mapped and categorised the bunkers and identified uses for them – ranging from highland hotels for two with mountain views (albeit through a slot), to ten-bed igloos for backpackers. Their Concrete Mushrooms Project is now seeking to raise funds and engage stakeholders, including UNESCO.

As well as “giving bunkers value instead of having them as a burden”, claims Stefa, the project will create jobs. It will also “preserve the memory of a significant period in Albanian history”.

Built between 1950 and 1985, the bunkers were the brainchild of an increasingly paranoid Enver Hoxha, Albania’s Stalinist prime minister, who alienated not only the West, but neighbouring Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and China. Fearing attack, he began a programme to build one bunker for every four Albanians, each big enough for a family or a squad of soldiers.

Vicky Murray, sustainability advisor to the tourism industry at Forum for the Future, applauds the repurposing of the bunkers. “It demonstrates the potential for innovative, sustainable tourism to have a positive impact on destinations,” she says, adding, “I hope they use our Paradise Found guidelines to ensure this develops as sustainably as possible!” – Andrew Purvis

Image credit: Concrete Mushrooms