Richard England, St Julians
Opera House site designs
I refer to the centre page spread (May 10) which featured proposals for a building on the Opera House site by architect Giovanni Trevisan on behalf of the Edward De Bono Foundation.
I would like to bring to the attention of readers that the project captioned "An eventual stone embellishment that will be applied to the high-tech structure", as illustrated, is not a Trevisan project but a proposal of mine dating from 2006 for a multi-purpose building on this site. My project (shown above) envisaged the restructuring of the Barry façades with a high-tech glass box placed within the skeletal framework.
I regret to say that I find it unethical that another architect would utilise my design under the pretense that it was his.
I would also like to state that I have no connection with the Trevisan-Edward De Bono Foundation project and remain perplexed as to how a proposal of mine ended up as part of this scheme.
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Christopher Ripard
May 17th 2008, 00:56
I can't say I'm a great fan of Richard England's work but on the other hand, I think lateral thinking has got to be the biggest con of all time. Professor England is quite right to cry "foul". As usual with Lateral Thinking its all very glib and suave but in reality, put someone on a desert island and I assure you his creativity will soon come out when it comes to survival. All credit to Debono though, he's managed to convince people he can teach them to do something they've always been capable of and made himself a fortune in the process.
I wonder what Professor England thought of LT prior to this case?
Joseph Buhagiar
May 16th 2008, 09:43
To Charles DeMicoli: Just enter the architecture building at the university of malta and you will see a building with only form but no function.
chris Ebejer
May 15th 2008, 16:53
There is no need to mark our own age on a masterpiece building like Barry's opera house to introduce the idea of glass as if it is like any other commercial building.
We respect Richard England for his good and bad things he did but we can’t no longer experiment with ultra modern designs on historic sites especially on the rebuilding of the opera house. Our respect has to be first and foremost to none other than to Barry. He was the creator and his masterpiece has to be RESTORED as he originally projected it. Any other interventions and vague ideas by other architects on his designs are presumptuous and intolerable! They should experiment elsewhere.
Ralph Attard
May 15th 2008, 15:27
Let's just hope for the sake of the nation that when (and if) the Royal Opera House will be reconstructed, it would be an exact replica of the formerly glorious architectural jewel it once was. Valletta is a unique city, and no experimenting with architectural design to suite modern tastes or fancies should ever be thought of, let alone accomplished, whoever the architect in question may be.
We have already witnessed what I consider to be the irreparable rape of a part of the city by the modern look of what today is the Embassy Shopping Complex. The modern architecture to this building would be perfectly fine elsewhere, but it becomes a monstrosity when built in the heart of Valletta!
As for Richard England and others embracing his style: Hands off Valletta!
Charles DeMicoli
May 15th 2008, 15:01
To Joseph Buhagiar: you have no class. Richard England is one of the world's great architects. It is an honor and a matter of pride that he is Maltese.
Keith Chircop
May 15th 2008, 13:31
Are Trevisan's "stone embellishment that will be applied to the high-tech structure" and England's "high-tech glass box placed within the skeletal framework" one and the same?
A.Sciberras
May 15th 2008, 13:29
why do we have to include glass in the facade of a building that is situated in the heart of a beautiful baroque walled city. Have we not already destroyed our pitoresque village cores for the sake of modernisation. Will we ever learn
To tell you the truth I like the facade. Just remove the glas from it and replace it with our magnificent stone
Koe Grima
May 15th 2008, 11:39
This incident can only be categiorised under the " Only In Malta" series. Where else would the professional work of such an important and well known architect as Richard England be apparently plagiarised in this manner in broad daylight?
Joseph Buhagiar
May 15th 2008, 11:12
Please, not another Richard England Design!
Paul Xuereb
May 15th 2008, 10:40
If, as I feel sure, Richard England is right to complain about this allegedly new design, we might now be faced with an example not of lateral but of oblique thinking. The true lateral thinking has apparently been done by the Prime Minister who seems to favour the erection of a Parliament building on the opera house site.
Paul Xuereb