Architecture alumnus designs project in Albania

Photo courtesy of Mark Kritz
SCAD alumnus Mark Kritz constructed a kiosk in Albania that features glass-covered bulletin boards for posting information.

By: Amanda Tower

Published: Friday, March 31, 2006

While many architecture graduates immediately seek positions with well-known or influential architectural firms, Savannah College of Art and Design alumnus Mark Kritz (B.F.A., architecture, 2002; M.Arch., 2003) chose an unlikely path by joining the Peace Corps.

During his fourth year at SCAD, Kritz noticed a flyer for a lecture by two returned Peace Corps volunteers, one a SCAD professor. “I was interested in working overseas,” said Kritz. “I attended the talk, and I knew halfway through the presentation that I wanted to join the Peace Corps when I graduated.”

He immediately began the application process and, by the time he graduated, he was accepted to the program and given his assignment. Kritz served for the required 27 months in Lac, Albania. He was one of more than 50 Peace Corps volunteers in Albania who assist with health care, education and municipal development. The small country in southeastern Europe is struggling to strengthen democracy.

The Peace Corps program began in Albania in 1992, but volunteers were forced to evacuate in 1997 after civil unrest erupted in the country, threatening their safety. According to the Peace Corps, the unrest was due to the collapse of some pyramid schemes, which caused many Albanian investors to lose their life savings. The country soon recovered, and in 1998 approved a new constitution in a strong step toward building a democracy. Kritz was part of the first group of Peace Corps volunteers to return to Albania in 2003.

His first three months in the country were spent living with an Albanian family while he attended language training at the local high school six days per week. When he first arrived, he realized that the family he lived with did not speak any English, and Kritz could not speak Albanian. “I just sat on the couch and everyone looked at me because we couldn’t communicate,” said Kritz. “It was helpful to live with them, eat my meals with them and spend time with them, because I slowly learned to communicate. It took me a year to get a good grasp of the language.”

When he arrived on site in Lac, he was given a small apartment in which to live. His living conditions were vastly different from what he was accustomed to in the United States. He was only allowed water from 7-8 a.m. and 6-7 p.m., so all chores that required water had to be done during these two hours every day. Electricity was only available for six hours per day, between 6 p.m. and midnight.

Kritz was assigned to work with the local municipality in the urban planning department with Albanians who had never before worked with an American. He assisted the local government in writing grants for development and infrastructure work, working with the water supply, repairing and constructing roads, repairing equipment and teaching AutoCAD. Perhaps his most impressive endeavor in Albania was the design and construction of an information kiosk in the Lac city hall courtyard.

Kritz designed the project, wrote the project proposal, secured funding of $4,000 from the George Soros Foundation, and constructed the kiosk. Because there is very little public confidence or trust in any level of government, the kiosk serves as a means of communication between the municipality and the community of Lac. The location is easily accessible to the community and the municipality can post information about the various services it provides, such as council meetings, times when the mayor and other officials are available, and instructions for applying for certificates, licenses and permits.

“The kiosk is not only a transmitter of information, but also an attractive representation of the municipality,” said Kritz. “Posting the information gives it credibility and elevates the status of the municipality in the minds of the citizens.”

Kritz’s project was selected as a success story to be included in the 45th anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps this year. His project, completed in difficult working conditions and in the Albanian language, is an example of the Peace Corps’ focus to help communities increase their ability to effectively address local issues.

Working in an unstructured environment to produce a successful project is a skill Kritz said he developed at SCAD. “The studio classes let you pursue your own path individually,” he said. “Instead of each person going in the same direction, it was all on me.”

Kritz’s immediate goal is to complete the three-year process of earning credits toward his architecture license, but he wants to work in firms throughout the world and eventually come back to the United States to teach architecture at the college level.

Kritz recommends the Peace Corps to all students, but emphasizes that the commitment is not to be taken lightly. “Two years is a long time,” he said. “Sometimes the conditions aren’t what you’re used to in the U.S. and you’re not going to make any money. It can be frustrating sometimes, but it’s a wonderful experience.”


Tower is a publications editor.