Government Villa “No. 5”, also known as “Villa Number Red” (short “No. Red”), was rebuilt through a series of closed procedures, confidential contracts, and decision-making unclear to the public.
With around 6 million euros of public funds spent on design, implementation and supervision, its reconstruction took place without an open competition and without transparency over the real architectural and artistic authorship.
Data analyzed by Citizens.al shows that all contracts were awarded through negotiation without prior announcement, while the winning bids were almost at the maximum limit of the funding limit.
This combination – closed procedures, rushed deadlines, and lack of documentation – raises serious suspicions of favoritism and abuse of public money.
Citizens.al's reporting on these issues has led the Supreme State Audit Office (SSA) to express its positive opinion regarding its inclusion in the 2026 audit plan.
Designer: "Atelier 4", contract with 98.5% of the limit fund
State residences are managed by the Directorate of Government Services (DSHQ).
For the design of the reconstruction of the "No. Red" villa, DSHQ selected and signed a contract with the "Atelier 4" studio, through negotiation without prior announcement.
The contract was signed. on November 17, 2022, with a value of 3.9 million lekë – 98.5% of the limit fund of 3,952,500 lekë.
The studio, (led primarily by Alban Efthimi), had only 45 days to deliver the project.
Implementer: "Ad-Star", contract for 99% of the limit fund
Four months after signing the design contract, on March 15, 2023, DSHQ carried out the procedure for implementing the works, again acting with closed negotiation.
What is negotiation without prior announcement? The procedure with the lowest level of transparency. (Click on the text)
This procedure allows for the conclusion of contracts without competition and without prior invitation. Companies are invited directly by the contractor. It is permitted in special cases, including unforeseen emergencies not caused by the contracting authority. The law requires that the use of this procedure be accompanied by a documented justification, which must be verifiable.
The company "Ad-Star", (Alfred Çoma's venture), was announced the winner on April 3 and was contracted 15 days laterIt offered 494.7 million lekë, which constituted 99% of the limit fund of 499,696,978 lekë.
The deadline for the works was set at only 6 months. But the villa opened two years later in June 2025. A private invitation reception was organized by the Prime Minister as part of the "Bread & Heart" architecture festival.
DSHQ did not provide information on when the works were completed or when it took delivery of the building.
Supervision of works: "Dricons", contract with 95% of the fund
On the same date as the construction tender, i.e. March 15, 2023, the tender for the supervision of the works was also held. Again, the DSHQ operated with a closed procedure.
The winner, the company "Dricons" (a venture of Vladimir Topi), was contracted on April 18, 2023. Dricons offered 5.6 million lek, which is 95% of the maximum fund of 5,901,353.33 lek.
About two months later, in June 2023, Topi was arrested by SPAK. He was accused of corruption Secretary General of the Ministry of Health.
It was suspected that he had received favoritism in tenders for the supervision of works in several health centers in Tirana and Durrës.
By August 2023, “Dricons” changed hands twice for symbolic amounts of 100 thousand lekë (1,000 euros). In 2024, the company passed into the name of Topi's wife, again for the same amount.
That year, Topi was sentenced to one year in prison. His case deepens doubts about the lack of control in public contracts. Especially for objects of special importance such as the government residence in question: “Villa Number Red”.
Read: Villa “No. Red” or the courtyard of government architects
The SAI will audit "secret procedures""
In closed procurements, without prior notice, institutions themselves select the companies they will invite to tender. This practice has been frequently criticized by the SAI. It is considered vulnerable to abuse and favoritism.
According to law 162/2020 "On Public Procurement", Closed tenders are only applied when open tenders have failed. They are permitted when there is an emergency, security risk, lack of competition or special technical reasons.
However, documented arguments are required for the reasons why open tendering is avoided.
In the case of the “No. Red” villa, its reconstruction did not constitute an emergency. Despite repeated requests from Citizens.al, the institutions did not reveal any documentation that justified the avoidance of the open tender, on the contrary. DSHQ said that it proceeded according to law 36/2020 "On procurement in the field of defense and security". So, not under common law.
Citizens.al had prolonged communication with DSHQ. The justification for the closed procedure and copies of the contracts with the parties involved were requested. But DSHQ insisted, even after the intervention of the Commissioner for the Right to Information, that they were "confidential".
DSHQ argued that the villa "No. Red" contains elements related to secret information. This is because it serves state purposes. For this, she said that the procedures and contracts cannot even be declassified as security is compromised.
But the facts show that the villa was used for civilian activities with no connection to national security. The architects of the “Bread & Heart” festival were received there and the calls for proposals of the Albanian Investment Corporation (KISH) for the project were announced. Faith Park.
Law 36/2020 has been criticized for being misused for non-military procurement, depending on interpretations. This was the argument used by former President Ilir Meta when he sent it back for reconsideration in May 2020.
Citizens.al informed the Albanian Supreme Audit Institution (ALSH) about this situation, the institution responded that plans to control the procedures followed by the DSHQ during 2026. This directorate appears not to have been previously audited for such procurements.
One gift, many questions...
Despite the fact that DSHQ officially contracted the studio “Atelier 4” to design the reconstruction of Villa No. 5, the project has been widely attributed online to the international studio Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (link; link; link).
In an official communication with Citizens.al, Bofill confirmed that it has developed a concept-project for Villa 5, which it has offered to the Albanian Government free of charge, as an initiative of the studio itself and without any contractual relationship or public expenditure.
The studio explained that it has been present in Albania since 2021 and that it became interested in the villa as an unused and unfinished government residence.
According to her, the concept was developed as a creative proposal and handed over to the state for free use, in case the building was reconstructed in the future.
Bofill also emphasized that the color red is a characteristic element of her architectural philosophy, linked to the Mediterranean tradition, and that its use in this villa was "self-evident" in relation to the context and landscape.
However, the studio did not explain the specific manner in which the concept was submitted to Albanian institutions, whether it was aware of the fact that the government subsequently contracted Atelier 4 to design the same building, or whether there was any form of communication or coordination between the parties.
Further questions from Citizens.al on these issues remained unanswered.
The silence of "Atelier 4" and the uncertainties over official roles
Citizens.al repeatedly reached out to Atelier 4 studio, both through official emails and through direct contact with one of the shareholders, Andi Eftimi.
We sought comment to clarify: Atelier 4's specific role in the project, whether the architectural or conceptual authorship was its own or subcontracted, whether Bofill's concept was used, adapted or referenced, and whether DSHQ was notified of any potential collaboration.
None of these requests from Citizens.al received a response.
This lack of transparency leaves open fundamental questions about the real content of the 3.9 million lek design contract, the architectural decision-making process, and the division of professional responsibilities for a government facility financed with public funds and treated as a special security facility.
Similar ambiguities and relationships outside of public contracts are also encountered in the artistic interventions in the villa's interior.
Inside, there are written works with visual elements, some of which were also made during its official opening during the “Bread & Heart” festival by invited architects. But the artistic interventions seem to have been carried out outside of the announced public contracts.
According to confirmation received by Destil Creative Hub, the center was contracted by the implementing company Ad-Star, in a private relationship, to curate the artistic intervention and engage several artists, including Loumaye Hadrien, Ledia Kostandini and Lib Shkupolli.
On the web, Brussels artist Val Smets, claims authorship of Ismail Kadare's fragments artistically conveyed on the walls of the first floor. She says that the work "was commissioned by the Prime Minister" during the months of January and April 2025 and the topic was on request.
Otherwise, Destil told Citizens.al that there was no dictated theme and that the artists freely intervened on the walls, according to their personal approach.
This fragment of the process highlights another gray area, the interplay between public funds, private contracts, and artistic authorship, without clear institutional documentation of roles, boundaries, and responsibilities.
Read also:
- Villa “No. Red” or the courtyard of government architects
- “Bread, heart and concrete”
- Bjarke Ingels in Petrelë: “Faith Park” above the ancient site of Përsqop
- MVRDV's winning project for "Asllan Rusi": A 20-story "concrete ball"
Erblin Vukaj has completed his studies in “Communication Sciences” and further mastered (MSc) in “European and International Journalism” at the University of Tirana. Since 2012, Vukaj has been working as a professional journalist, gaining experience in online media, print media, radio and television. He has covered various issues such as current affairs, health, environment and sports. In parallel, he has led and been involved in several research projects on the communist past in Albania.
