Danish architects BIG and UK-based builder Buro Happold are among the team appointed to design and develop a new 27,000sq m (6.7 acre) cultural centre and museum in Tirana, Albania.

The complex will include a Museum of Religious Harmony, an Islamic cultural and heritage centre and a mosque.

THe winning entry was selected out of a short list of five finalists, which included Spanish Architect Andreas Perea Ortega; Architecture Studio from France; Dutch SeARCH and London-based Zaha Hadid.

The winning team, lead by BIG, also included Martha Schwartz Landscape, Speirs & Major, Lutzenberger & Lutzenberger, and Global Cultural Asset Management.

The plans are of many large projects planned for the Albanian capital Tirana, which is undergoing an large-scale urban transformation.

The government is investing large amounts in the restoration and refurbishment of existing buildings, the construction of a series of new public and private urban structures, and the complete reconceptualization of the city’s Scanderbeg Square.

The square will be the site of the new cultural complex and plans include opening up a series of plazas to serve as an urban extension of the place of worship.