Written By | Fashion and Design Desk
A Dutch MEP says Prime Minister Edi Rama is rushing approvals for a Kushner-backed development before EU environmental rules apply to Albania.
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A Dutch MEP says Prime Minister Edi Rama is rushing approvals for a Kushner-backed development before EU environmental rules apply to Albania.
TIRANA, Oct. 23, 2026
A sprawling luxury resort project on Albania's southern coast is again at the center of a design and planning controversy. According to Dezeen's Oct. 22 report, Dutch Member of the European Parliament Tineke Strik has accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of "sneaky and disloyal" tactics to advance the development, arguing that he is rushing approvals to avoid EU environmental rules before Albania, an EU candidate country, becomes bound by them.
What Is Being Planned
The plans include thousands of upscale villas on ecologically sensitive land, including Sazan Island and the Vjosa-Narta wetland, which is home to flamingos. The project is backed by Jared Kushner, who first revealed it in 2024, and Ivanka Trump, who in May called it "almost daunting in its size," according to Dezeen.
Kushner has said the goal is to meet high design and environmental standards. Albania is expected to join the EU by 2030, the report adds.
An Architecture Question Mark
No architect is officially attached. Dezeen reports that LAVA produced an earlier proposal for the Peninsula site but has left the project. BIG, Kengo Kuma & Associates, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, K-studio and Emre Arolat Architecture were reportedly commissioned to develop a framework. BIG says it is no longer involved.
For a project of this scale, the absence of a named design lead matters. Masterplans for large resorts generally carry the reputation of their architects, which can act as a check on ambition. When well-known studios step away, as the reports indicate at least two have, the design narrative loses its public guardians.
The Legal and Political Fight
The legal issue is a law that allows "strategic investors" to build in protected landscapes, which has drawn criticism. The European Parliament pressed for its repeal in June. Environmental opposition has grown into the Flamingo Revolution, a movement that began in June after groundworks started and has led to protests in Tirana. A BirdLife Albania ecologist told the BBC the project "would completely destroy that wild region."
Strik's allegation adds a procedural angle: that the timing of approvals is designed to precede EU accession obligations. That is an accusation, as Dezeen frames it, and the Albanian government's response to this specific claim was not available in the material reviewed for this article.
Why Designers Should Care
Analysis: the story is a test of how much architects and designers share responsibility for the places their reputations help create. Resort masterplans do not arrive in the world as neutral drawings; they are tools for securing permits, financing and public goodwill. The reported departures of LAVA and BIG show that some studios judge reputational risk to be significant.
The case also illustrates a growing planning tension in Europe. Candidate countries face pressure to align with EU environmental law before membership, and major investors know the window before that alignment can be commercially valuable. How that tension is resolved will set precedents for other coastal developments in the region.
What This Means for You
For travelers, the project is a reminder to examine where new luxury destinations are being built. Albania's coast has been a rising holiday destination, and the proposal places development pressure on one of its most ecologically distinctive areas. Visitors who care about wildlife may prefer operators with transparent environmental credentials.
For design students and professionals, the project is a live case study in ethics, client selection and the limits of design-for-good claims. For residents and citizens in the EU, it shows how enlargement policy can intersect with local planning decisions.
Conclusion
Nothing in the reporting suggests a quick resolution. Protesters remain active, the European Parliament has already weighed in, and the project's design team is unsettled. The next signals to watch are any formal approvals, the naming of a lead architect, and the government's response to Strik's accusation.
