Abstract
This paper presents information about the moisture content and temperature level of brick walls
in Tirana, Albania. The buildings whose walls have been studied were built in two different eras, throughout the
twentieth century, and in more recent times. Given that during the second half of the twentieth century, Albania
has been isolated from most of Europe and the West, and consequently the new architectural ideologies of the
time, have not had the proper implementation there, the paper focuses on the characteristic types of bricks used
in Albania, the functions for which they are used, and their effectiveness in achieving comfort (thermal,
moisture content control) during the two time periods mentioned above.
Depending on the functions bricks perform in the walls studied in this paper, the walls are separated into two main
groups: Walls in which bricks have structural role (red silicate brick walls, white silicate brick walls) and walls in
which bricks do not have structural role (concrete block walls, holed brick walls). For all the types of bricks
mentioned above, indoor moisture content and temperature measurements have been performed in all four
cardinal directions. For the walls in which the bricks have a structural function, moisture measurements have
been performed in all the facades of the buildings, because moisture in the bricks of these types of buildings,
being a very important factor, directly affects the structural performance of the elements.
The aim of the paper is to show the differences in moisture and temperature levels of the walls of these
buildings, depending on the engineering and architectural techniques used during the building process, the use
of insulation, and the masonry composition.