Healing homelessness and informality by re(pre)fabricating social and sustainable housing

During Socialism, an interesting cheap and fast technology was implemented to build high-density housing units in Albania, called the “Parafabrikate-t”, which were no less than five-storey high buildings made with precast concrete panels. Prefabricated systems have been used recently in a variety of projects proving to be time, cost and energy saving solu-tions, too. Learning from the (Albanian) past and analyzing the recent examples worldwide where this technology has been implemented, should not be underestimated by the central government and local administrations, as long as budget limitations and lack of public land prevent them from satisfying the high demand for social housing. Although might seem un-related, an interaction between the recently approved Social Housing Strategy 2016-2025, law Nr.116/2016 for the energetic efficiency, and the ongoing legalization process of informal buildings in the national territory, is more than possible to obtain land for building energeti-cally efficient social housing units for everyone.