Last October, the committee of the organisation that represents architecture and civil engineering students (SACES) held a workshop entitled SACES: City, dealing exclusively with the regeneration of our capital city. Participating students were split into different groups, each one discussing a specific area in Valletta. Naturally, our discussions also included Freedom Square, City Gate and the opera house site.
Just a few weeks later, we are being given the opportunity to view and discuss the designs of one of the best architects of our time.
Renzo Piano's project will undoubtedly give the entrance to Valletta a new lease of life. But what is particularly crucial is that Mr Piano has addressed the whole area in a holistic manner. Not only has he been sensitive in adapting his designs to the surrounding buildings and squares but the architect has also sought to bring the plans in line with the whole regeneration programme for Valletta. The launch of the schematic designs has undoubtedly created another opportunity for debate. Bloggers have rushed online to give their opinions and letters are pouring into Malta's newsrooms. While debate is healthy, I feel it is crucial that as many people visit the exhibition at the Museum of Archaeology in Valletta so that the discussions may be informed, not to give rise to misconceptions.
The exhibition itself is very well set up. The plans and models help even the most inexperienced individual to understand the depth of Mr Piano's ideas for our capital city.
It is clear, for example, that the opera house site is far too small to fit a modern opera theatre. With the proposed simplistic design, the ruins shall be reinstated as a living monument. And while the intervention here seems to be quite minimal, hence elevating the importance of our past, the fusion of old and new technology befits a capital city in the heart of the Mediterranean. The new open-air theatre is therefore a sensitively judged conciliation of the years that have passed since the site was bombed over 60 years ago.
The schematic designs show that the bridge shall be narrowed down to its original size and, consequently, to its original function. A bridge must have a clear direction; what we have had to bear with over the past decades is nothing more than a tarmac piazza on stilts.
Mr Piano's intervention in City Gate is architecturally very humble because it shows deep respect for the walls built and the materials utilised by our forefathers centuries ago. What's innovative is Mr Piano's use of the same materials (stone) in a different manner by changing the scale drastically and by separating the new and old parts of the bastions to create a clear gap for onlookers entering Valletta.
Though inevitably governed by its function, the new Parliament building must also be viewed from the perspective of use of space, contextuality and, most importantly, the application of materials. While the two buildings in Freedom Square will be constructed using traditional materials, we will witness different modules to what we have been used to. The shading devices are also cut out of stone but the concept of utilising louvers is both effective and efficient in this case. Through the skilful use of the rigid geometry and clear lines that relate directly to the context of St James Cavalier and the surroundings, the Parliament building will be transformed into an integrated part of the entrance to the city. Placing a building on a square sounds wrong. However, Mr Piano is proposing a "permeable" building, in the sense that it is elevated on stilts, revealing (and, therefore, accentuating) the real Freedom Square. I am struck by the way Mr Piano allowed the urban historic context to determine the project's strategy, astutely exploiting aspects of our culture, tradition and past to bring them to life.
We, the public, will now be given spaces back that are ours by right. Mr Piano's contribution shall help erase the cosmetic excuses we built years ago, replacing them with humble interventions with the overarching principle of respect throughout their holistic design, bringing the city's real beauty to the surface.
Mr Piano describes Valletta as a magical city. I believe it is just about to receive a deserved magical touch.