High energy performance buildings are becoming one of the principal pillars of energy and climate policy in Europe. With the recast EPBD (Directive (EU) 2024/1275), emphasis is placed on the drastic reduction of energy consumption in the building sector and the gradual transition towards nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) throughout their life cycle. The building sector accounts for a significant share of final energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across Europe, making it central to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The recast directive reinforces minimum energy performance standards, introduces the zero-emission building (ZEB) concept for new buildings, and strengthens renovation obligations for the existing stock.

WB countries, including Albania, are aligning with these standards through legislative harmonisation and pilot projects that test new concepts in practice. Although Albania is not yet a Member State of the European Union, its commitments within the Energy Community framework require gradual transposition of the EU regulatory framework for buildings. On 16 June, the Albanian Parliament approved the draft law "On the energy performance of buildings". The approval of this draft law makes Albania the first country in the region to fully implement the latest EU directive in this field. The Law aims for a transition to ZEB stock by 2050. Under the new legislation, as of 2026 all new buildings must be designed to integrate solar energy systems, while all buildings offered for sale or rent should have an energy performance certificate (EPC), which must be displayed in public areas. 

The law includes the adoption of energy performance calculation methodologies, minimum insulation requirements, energy certification systems, and the training of energy auditors. Within this evolving regulatory landscape, demonstration projects play a critical role in bridging policy objectives and technical implementation.

Against this background, the "Low-Cost and Energy-Efficient Housing" in Korçë represents a significant moment for Albania. Implemented in 2017, this social housing complex was one of the first cases in which a low construction cost requirement was combined explicitly with the objective of high energy performance in one of the country’s coldest cities. Korçë is known for long winters and very low temperatures, which substantially increase heating needs and energy bills, especially for low income households. In such a context, energy efficiency is not only an environmental objective but also a social protection measure.

Climate context and conceptual foundations

Korçë is characterised by long, cold winters with frequent sub-zero temperatures and snowfall. Unlike much of Albania, where summer overheating is the dominant concern, the priority in Korçë is heat retention and minimising transmission losses. With average winter temperatures around 0°C and an extended heating season, the temperature difference between indoor comfort temperature (20 °C) and outdoor conditions generates significant heat loss in poorly insulated buildings.

_{Figure 1. Analysis of climate data in Korçë.}

The architectural concept therefore emerged from climate responsiveness rather than from a standard apartment block model. The project began with spatial logic rooted in local tradition.

Korçë’s vernacular architecture provided the conceptual basis. Traditional houses are compact, low-rise volumes organised around corridors, verandas, and courtyards that function as climate filters. Deep roofs and articulated edges moderate wind, precipitation, and thermal fluctuations. A key principle is minimising the surface-to-volume (S/V) ratio to reduce exposure to cold air.

This compactness informed the housing blocks. Volumes were designed to limit exposed surface relative to internal volume, reducing transmission losses at a geometric level before material selection.

Buildings were oriented with their longest façades facing south to maximise winter solar gains, transforming the south elevation into a passive "solar engine."

Glazed solar loggias on the south façade formed the core passive strategy. In winter, they function as greenhouses. Low-angle sunlight warms the enclosed air cavity, and heat is absorbed by slabs and walls, which gradually release stored energy. The enclosed buffer zone significantly increases thermal resistance, acting both as a passive collector and an insulation layer.

In summer, the outer glazing opens fully, converting the loggia into a ventilated balcony. Overhangs provide shading, reducing solar gains. This reversible seasonal logic enables adaptive performance without mechanical systems. East and west façades were treated conservatively, with reduced openings and vertical shading to limit overheating while maintaining daylight.

_{Figures 2 and 3. Design concept (Metropolis Design Studio) and completed project.}

Thermal layering and U-value calculations

Achieving low thermal transmittance coefficients through high-quality materials alone is not sufficient, the way layers are combined, thermal bridges are avoided, and volumetry is organised is equally important.

The south façade, including the approximately 150 cm solar buffer cavity, achieved a U-value of around 0.09 W/m²K, a notable performance level for Albanian social housing at the time.

An important element of the north façade is the use of intermediate spaces as part of the insulation. In areas with integrated wardrobes or where stairs and corridors pass, these volumes within the wall layer increase the effective thickness of the cold barrier. In calculations, this translated into more complex masonry sections, where in addition to brick and polystyrene, trapped air and additional materials (e.g., wood panels or pressed wood chips) were considered part of the thermal profile.

_{Figure 4.  Integration of furnishing elements into thermal calculations.}

_{Figure 5. Insulation details.}

Results showed heating demands of approximately 83.2 kWh/m² per year for the first building and 99.09 kWh/m²/year for the second. Although not aligned with later ZEB thresholds, these values significantly improved upon typical Albanian residential performance at the time.

Crucially, the project embedded documented energy calculations into social housing practice, shifting performance from assumption to measurable outcome. Achieving high energy performance within a constrained budget was a central objective. Enhanced insulation and quality windows were integrated without exceeding the social housing cost limits. The project demonstrates that substantial reductions in energy demand through passive design do not require complex technological systems, but rather early and integrated conceptual planning.

Although the Korçë project does not fully meet ZEB thresholds as defined in the recast EPBD, it satisfies the most structurally demanding component of the concept, the deep reduction of operational energy demand through architectural and envelope strategies. In regulatory terms, it represents a transitional high performance building positioned immediately below ZEB level, requiring primarily renewable energy integration and fossil-fuel phase-out measures to achieve full compliance.

Regulatory alignment and precursor role: strengthening the ZEB narrative

When developed in 2017, the Korçë project predated widespread use of NZEB terminology in Albania and the Western Balkans. Viewed through contemporary policy lenses, the project anticipated core principles of today’s ZEB framework as outlined in the recast EPBD.

Rather than treating energy performance as an architectural addition, the project integrated it into the architectural concept itself. Strategies such as compact form, strategic orientation, façade layering, and passive solar gains minimised thermal demand, reflecting the ZEB logic that demand reduction precedes renewable energy integration. In the ZEB hierarchy, lowering energy demand is foundational, only then can renewable systems efficiently achieve zero-emission goals. The Korçë project embodied this principle when formal regulation was still emerging nationally.

Since 2017, Albania’s energy regulatory framework has advanced significantly. In line with Energy Community commitments and anticipated EU alignment, the country has enacted legislation on building energy performance, introduced mandatory energy performance certification, set minimum insulation requirements, and developed professional capacity in energy auditing and calculations. These steps represent the initial stages of transposing EPBD principles into national law and practice.

Recent policy announcements indicate Albania is preparing mandatory zero-emission standards for new buildings, requiring integration of renewable energy systems such as solar photovoltaics. While not an EU member, Albania is committed to adopting EPBD provisions within its national regulatory framework, meaning future residential and public buildings will need to meet high performance thresholds and carbon emissions criteria consistent with ZEB targets.

In this context, the Korçë project gains renewed relevance. Its passive design strategies and focus on demand reduction align closely with early ZEB implementation pathways. The project demonstrates that major ZEB compliance challenges, drastic energy demand reduction through architectural and envelope strategies, can be achieved technically and economically, even under the limited budgets typical of social housing. Prioritising fabric-first solutions over complex mechanical systems, the project anticipated EPBD performance orientation and provides a foundation for integrating renewable energy solutions.

Regionally, in the Western Balkans, where energy poverty, climatic challenges, and fiscal constraints intersect, the Korçë case exemplifies what can be achieved within local construction culture and market realities. Supported by financing mechanisms, technical assistance, and regulatory harmonisation efforts, similar high performance projects are increasingly being promoted across the region, reflecting the same demand-reduction logic formalised in the ZEB concept.

Thus, the Korçë project is not a historical variance but an early applied example of ZEB principles, demonstrating feasibility under real-world constraints. Its integrated approach, from climate analysis and architectural strategy to energy calculations and cost optimisation, reinforces its relevance as a model for Albania’s transition toward ZEBs.

Future steps

Alongside regulatory developments, practical renovation and retrofit projects illustrate the translation of policy into practice. For example, the Agency for Energy Efficiency opened tenders in Elbasan and Shkodër to improve the energy performance of multi-family residential buildings, including comprehensive audits, certification, façade insulation improvements, and renewable systems integration. These projects worth several million Lek explicitly include energy auditing and certification in their scope, directly connecting field level implementation to regulatory expectations.

At a broader scale, draft national strategies and long-term renovation plans envisage the progressive renovation of a substantial share of Albania’s residential and public building stock under clearly defined energy performance criteria. These plans go beyond voluntary upgrades and move towards structured renovation pathways aligned with EU decarbonisation objectives. They foresee phased improvements to building envelopes, including façade insulation, roof retrofitting, window replacement, and thermal bridge mitigation, as well as modernisation of heating systems through higher efficiency equipment and gradual electrification. Minimum energy performance thresholds are to be applied during major renovations, ensuring that retrofits contribute measurably to reduced primary energy consumption and lower operational emissions. In parallel, public buildings are increasingly prioritised as demonstration assets, functioning as visible benchmarks for performance standards and compliance mechanisms.

Regionally, this process is reinforced by cooperation platforms that support policy harmonisation and technical capacity building. Initiatives such as the RenovAID project, a multi-level support programme across Albania and Kosovo, contribute directly to administrative strengthening, development of EPC frameworks, and improvement of audit methodologies. By providing technical guidance, training for energy auditors, and policy recommendations, such initiatives accelerate the alignment of national regulatory instruments with EU standards. They also help consolidate incentive schemes and financing mechanisms necessary for large scale renovation.

Together, these developments illustrate a process of regional convergence, whereby WB countries progressively synchronise regulatory approaches, calculation methodologies, and certification systems with the European energy performance framework. Rather than isolated national reforms, building sector decarbonisation is increasingly shaped by coordinated regional learning, shared technical standards, and mutual institutional reinforcement.

Taken together, these examples show a transition from isolated demonstration projects towards systemic integration of low-carbon building practice, legislation requiring energy performance calculation and renewable integration, formalised audit and certification systems, and a growing number of pilot and retrofitting interventions that operationalise energy performance standards. The Korçë case, though predating this formal framework, now resonates as a concrete example of the very principles Albania is codifying, deep demand reduction through passive design and measurable performance, and thereby gains contemporary policy relevance beyond its original historical context.

Conclusions

The low-cost, energy-efficient social housing project in Korçë represents a significant intersection of architecture, engineering, and social policy in Albania. It demonstrates how reading climate and vernacular tradition can generate compact volumes, thermal buffer zones, and solar-responsive façades that substantially reduce heat losses in one of the country’s coldest cities. As one of Albania’s first demonstrations of climate neutral performance in social housing, the Korçë project preceded formal national zero-emission building frameworks, yet it now aligns closely with the direction of current policy. In mid-2025, the Albanian Parliament approved a new law on the energy performance of buildings, designed to fully implement EU building standards and embed energy performance requirements into national regulation. Moreover, it mandates that by 2027 new public buildings be emission-free and all new buildings by 2030 be zero-emission, reinforcing the logic of the recast EPBD within Albania’s own legal framework.