Piano's piano

If I had to write the brief for Renzo Piano I would ask him to design a space that constantly changes. I would ask him to put in structures that have gas-like qualities, structures that form and un-form depending on who is looking at them, on who is using them. I would ask him to design a contradiction: an understatement that screams. I would ask him to open up by closing in. I would ask him to be emotional and artistic yet soberly military and austere. I would expect him to be innovatively old. I would ask him to give me a memory of the future.

Alternatively, I would ask him to capture the essence of the most public of spaces in our capital city and convert it into a design; a design that will enrich a gem so precious that it belongs to the whole world.

Mr Piano carries the heavy load and honour of being the best at what he does. If there are five people in the world that can pull off such a tall order then he is one of them. But, then, assessing Mr Piano's worth is, to a certain extent, irrelevant. The heart of the matter here is not Mr Piano but what we want for city gate and its environs.

Diverse as our answers might be there are things we all agree about. While we will not achieve consensus on the details of any new design, we all agree that the entrance to our city is crying out for an inspiration. While we might not agree on its future use, we all agree that the Opera House site should not remain a WWII relic. We all agree that Freedom Square should not be a car park. Just as we all agree that Parliament should no longer be housed in the Grand Master's Palace. This will pave the way for the urgent and necessary works that need to be done to restore the Palace to its rightful place as the capital's showpiece, a showpiece that will be accessible throughout the year and not restricted to when Parliament is not in session.

The relocation of Parliament will also mean that our armoury collection, one of the most important in Europe, will return to its original seat. We have been agreeing on the need to do something on these shortcomings, yet, collectively failed to address them. More than that, we have complained and moaned about our inability to act. The Prime Minister announced on Monday that the time to act is now.

We should use this opportunity to make the city gate and opera house site area more public than it is today. The proposed design solution must take nothing away from the public ownership of the site. If anything, it must increase the emotional attachment there is to this area.

I want to walk into the city and feel Maltese, proud of our past achievements and confident of our potential to perform at par with our fellow Europeans. I look forward to structures that unlock space rather than confine it. City gate should be an invitation for people to travel between the streets of Valletta and the gardens and open areas of Floriana.

I hope to see a Parliament building that opens up to the citizen. I imagine a building that showcases the proudest moments of our nation, that displays our colours with pride and that houses symbols of our nation for one and all to see. The proposed building should marry the spaces necessary for the proper functioning of a modern Parliament with cultural and artistic spaces.

I hope to see a project that unlocks the potential of our city. I hope to see an entrance that opens up Valletta and its monuments, including the splendours of the Grand Masters Palace, to the world.

The Prime Minister has pledged the necessary resources, €60 million to be precise, to make this possible. This project will be over and above the tens of millions of euros being spent to upgrade our tourism product. This makes good economic sense. The worst thing we should do in a time of economic slowdown is to stop investing in our capital needs. This investment will give a welcome boost to the economy in the short run while guaranteeing future income from tourism. Of course, we need to invest wisely. After all, chi va piano va lontano (who goes slow, goes far).

Dr de Marco is Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism.