Parliament building for Opera House site

The burning issue of what is to be done with the opera house site was tackled during a business breakfast, entitled "Valletta a Theatre of Dreams: the Opera House Site and Other Issues", organised by the Chamber of Architects in collaboration with The Malta Financial and Business Times last Wednesday.

The function was addressed by architect David Felice (Chamber of Architects), Martin Scicluna (Din L-Art Helwa), Valletta mayor Dr Paul Borg Olivier, Evarist Bartolo (Labour spokesman on urban development), and Urban Development Minister Jesmond Mugliett.

Mr Felice stressed the importance of bringing "this part of our history into the next chapter".

Dr Borg Olivier explained that Valletta was developed from a city of conflict during the mid-16th century - due to antagonism between the European-Christians and Ottoman-Muslims - to a cultural centre in the 17th and 18th centuries, where it served as a bridge between nations through architecture, literature, music, trade and cuisine.

Mr Scicluna strongly feels that the regeneration of Valletta should follow the lines of the Baroque style in which it was built and that the site should fit in with rest of the city.

The mayor of Valletta used the Reichstag, the German parliament building, in Berlin as a prototype for the design of a possible future parliament for Malta: "a democratic forum, a commitment to public accessibility, sensitive to history, and a rigorous environmental agenda".

Dr Borg Olivier agrees with the idea of building a parliament only on the condition that it is built with "the same intense philosophy, in context to our identity".

Dr Borg Olivier quoted the French 19th century poet and critic Charles Baudelaire who described Paris as a city that changed faster than a mortal's heart. In the case of the opera house site, "the physical form of the site has remained unchanged, lying in repose, longer than the lifetime of a mortal", the mayor said.

Mr Scicluna emphasised that an issue of such national importance as Valletta cannot be ignored; also that the city is unique and that we can't afford to experiment. Unlike other European cities, Valletta cannot incorporate modern architectural buildings. He held that we must conserve the unique character of the remnants of the city.

Minister Mugliett said that every prime minister since the war had tried to reconstruct the site. Government is now inclined towards having a parliament building on the site and the Cabinet has decided to put Architect Richard England in charge.

Professor England is currently studying accessibility to the public, and the extent to which the site is to be developed, for it also comprises Freedom Square, and the project would also involve an underground parking and commercial development.

Mr Mugliett explained that the shops in the Opera House site itself and those in the arcade of Freedom Square need to be relocated, consequently opening up the space in front of St James Cavalier.

He pointed out that the entrance into the city should not remain a building site for a long period.

Mr Bartolo said that we need a dynamic society that is not self-centred and mediocre, in which people need to rethink and not simply sweep issues under the carpet. However, funds are needed to reconstruct the opera house and not enough money is available. He said that the government cannot keep spending money on what will buy it a vote.

According to Mr Bartolo, Labour's 1998 proposal for reconstructing the site by means of a public-private collaboration is the only solution. The private sector can construct an underground car park and commercial spaces, which will in turn finance the cultural facilities above ground, which will be taken care of by the public sector.

The new building can house a large theatre, concert hall, and contemporary museum, also permitting cultural activities to take place there.

The public itself is the force that will make this project more feasible. "We need a vigorous educational background and cultural policy to attract more children and young people to culture and the arts", he said.

Mr Bartolo presented figures released by the National Statistics Office a few years ago showing that "in 1999, 81% of our citizens never went to a concert; 81% did not go once to the theatre; 70% did not visit a single museum".

These "dismal statistics" should be enough to spur on an action plan that will change the public's attitude towards culture and the arts.

A more culture-oriented people will aid our economic conditions and contribute to the realisation of a successful Opera House site project. "To avoid building a cathedral in the desert we need a vigorous educational and cultural policy to attract more children and young people to the arts", he said.