Nikolla Vesho

XXXIV Cycle - (A.A. 2018-2019)

IDAUP
Home Institution: Polis University Tirana
Scholarship (with research contract)
Curriculum: Architecture
Research Topic: Heritage, restoration & seismic rehabilitation
Tutor DA-UNIFE: Riccardo Dalla Negra
Tutor Polis University: Merita Guri
Nationality: Albanian, Greek

Email: nikolla.vesho@unife.it

Profile

Biography
Born in Berat in 1987, Nikolla Vesho is currently a PhD candidate on the International PhD program in Architecture and Urban Planning – IDAUP Cycle XXXIV (University of Ferrara, Italy). He has two masters of Science, first on Structural Engineering and second on Environmental Engineering. Also two postgraduate certifications, first on “Expert in Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Auditing” and second on “Evaluation of real estate”. He is currently an assistant professor (Lecturer) at the Polis University, Faculty of Architecture and Design. His fields of interest are Seismic Engineering, Rehabilitation & Retrofitting of Existing Structures, Historical Heritage Restoration, Theory of Structures and Advanced theory of structures. In the past he worked as “Structural engineer” and temporary “Seismology researcher” at “Speed Engineers Ltd.” design studio, Tirana, AL.

Research skills
Historical Heritage | Restoration | Seismic Engineering | Innovative Structural Retrofitting

Scientific activities

ORCID ID:
0000-0003-2520-4782

IRIS UNIFE ID:
rp61646

Doctoral research

Studies to Improve the Effectiveness and Seismic Performance of historic heritage between 1920-1940 in Albania, Integrating Architectural values with Structural Engineering

The study will initially focus on the context of Tirana's historic buildings during the 1920-1940s, collection of literature, which will be further compared with the European context, Italian architecture and other known cases of these buildings. Tirana represents a very special occasion, unique in terms of intertwining Italian architectural design with Albanian motives. This feature has resulted from many political, economic and social factors of the time that fundamentally changed the way of vision and architectural conception in our capital. Since then a long time has passed, now the architectural-structural vision of modern Tirana is changing but preserving the most valuable part and the beauty of old architecture. The historical period considered is marked by a rich production of projects, sometimes realized, sometimes not, which have however produced a trace in the collective imagination, often marking a change in the way of "living in the city", closely linked to politics and to the ideology of power. The current situation of these buildings today can be considered problematic. Referring to the buildings in the study we can say that they are "neglected" in their structural aspect. These buildings, being the main axis and the capital's identification, have been constantly restored to their façades in aesthetic terms, mainly in painting and plastering. There has never been any structural restoration or anti-seismic retrofit. Apart from this, no structural engineering studies have been carried out over the years, on the capacity and current state of their construction. One of the most important research question is shown below: It’s always argued that great designers of the past have realized the perfect structural and architectural building. But, is enough this conservative view enough, in the actual reality, not to intervene with a genuine seismic retrofit in these buildings? The main difficulty in seismic rehabilitation of historical monuments is the dominance of ambiguous but compelling values of the structure that comes across with the transparency and ease of structural (or seismic) engineering techniques in reducing seismic hazard risk on buildings. The gap between these two different classes of problems is similar to the gap between art and science and reconciliation can be achieved only based on morals.

Keywords
Anti seismic Restoration | Non-linear Analysis, Pushover | Italian Architecture in Albania | Historical values | Seismic Performance