Architecture students propose motor racing leisure town

A motor racing leisure town off the coast of St George's Bay is among the project designs being exhibited by architecture students.

The exhibition of the thesis projects of this year's Department of Architecture graduates opens today at the newly restored Pinto Stores on the Valletta Waterfront.

The purpose of the exhibition is to promote and expose the work of this newly emerging generation of local architectural talents.

This year's project theme was the creation of an artificial island on reclaimed or restored land. Three projects designed by three groups of students shall be displayed. Two of the projects utilise inert waste to create artificial masses of land or reef, whereas the third project proposes the idea of a floating city. All three projects combine modern building techniques and energy conservation systems through the use of the latest technologies and innovative design concepts.

ShiCANe Islands - designed by Claire Abela, Daniela Carla Agius, Tiziana M. Caruana and Miriam Muscat - propose a motor racing leisure town to be located off the coast of St George's Bay. The project consists of four interconnected islands that together form a luxurious complex that includes a 25-storey high-rise tower, a motor racing track with different layouts for use by different motor sports, a grandstand with a seating capacity of about 30,000 people, a residential complex, a gymnasium, health spa and numerous open leisure areas.

The project attempts to further embellish this stretch of Malta's coastline and promote a new type of tourist attraction.

The EcoCity, designed by Daniel Bernard, Melissa Giordmaina and Victoria Valletta, aims at the future revival of the Maghtab area and its coastline.

The key objective is to raise the prestige level of the area while assisting the upgrading of the area on an environmental level.

The proposed mixed land uses and phasing of the development ensures feasibility, while the architectural design of the island attempts to set the trend for building energy-efficient structures in Malta, using renewable sources of energy and recyclable materials as much as possible. Poseidonia - designed by Mark Abela, Piotr Armatys, Jason Gellel and Alexis Inguanez - is a luxurious floating resort community that attempts to combine the pleasures of a Mediterranean Sea cruise together with the intimate joys of home. Measuring over 800 metres in length, this self-sustainable moving city provides its residents with all the necessary amenities required for a full life on board: shops and restaurants, a theatre, exclusive sport facilities, a conference centre, educational services, a private beach and forest as well as ample entertainment and health services.

The exhibition, open till Sunday, is being hosted by the students themselves and representatives shall be present throughout the exhibition period to answer any questions.