Albania built one for every 4 citizens, and since they're constructed of concrete and steel, most are still intact, guarding nothing at all.
Albania has 750,000 concrete bunkers dotting its hillside pastures, craggy mountaintops, and sandy beaches, all built during the Communist era to protect them against an enemy that never arrived. They're odd looking things—like partially buried gun turrets atop a bomb shelter. Albania built one of these bunkers for every 4 citizens, and since they're constructed of nothing more than concrete and steel, most are still intact, guarding nothing at all.
Gyler Mydyti and Elian Stefa have whimsical notions of transforming these into viable habitations, and in turn promoting Albania as a "future node of Mediterranean tourism." What do young tourists want? Cheap beds in interesting locations. PSFK reports that Mydyti and Stefa aim to transform these blast proof igloos into "a network of eco-hostels, cafes, gift shops."
In order to spark this re-use revolution, the duo have issued a nice little book through Creative Commons, a mini documentary, and soon, a "transformation manual."
[vimeo][/vimeo]
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