Friday, 27th November 2009
Call for higher density residential areas
A leading architect yesterday launched an appeal for more high density urban development as a way to avoid eating into more of Malta's limited virgin land.
Higher density should not be a "dirty" term, the Dean of the Faculty for the Built Environment at the University, Alex Torpiano, said. "It is a reality that should be addressed" by study and research to ensure a future balance and a distinction between inhabited and uninhabited areas.
He was addressing students during another graduation ceremony.
He argued that Malta needed beautiful urban spaces capable of accommodating higher residential densities than currently.
"The environment is an important part of our life and not only in terms of air quality, or water quality, or climate change. Rather than teaching our students how to design houses and apartments, it is therefore important that the faculty addresses these wider issues, in technological terms but also in a socio-political context."
A medical graduate, Raymond Galea also spoke during the ceremony. He said doctors must be aware of the responsibility that comes with their profession.
"It is essential for them to understand and commit themselves to high personal and professional values. This applies to all professions but the more so to doctors where the health and well-being of the patients depend on us," he said.
He said the medical profession was developing in leaps and bounds; what seemed like science fiction 10 years ago had become possible today, if not available already.
According to some predictions this progress would not only be sustained in the future but gather momentum. This meant, he said, that the expectations of patients and the public would also increase and they definitely could and should not be let down.
The graduates
Master of Science in Road Engineering
Sponsor: Prof. A. Torpiano
Kylie Ann Borg Marks, Mark Caruana, Antoinette Marie Conti, Graziella Galea, Sandra Magro, Oriana Micallef, Sarah Pace and Mariella Xuereb.
Master of Science in Engineering
Sponsor: Prof. R. Ghirlando
Clifton Bonello, Patrick Cauchi, Ryan Cremona, Michael Galea, Alexander Micallef and Kenneth Spiteri.
Master of Science in Integrated Product Development
Sponsor: Prof. R. Ghirlando
Mario Mifsud.
Master of Philosophy in Engineering
Sponsor: Prof. R. Ghirlando
Marc Anthony Azzopardi and Kevin Degiorgio.
Master in Information Technology
Sponsor: Dr E. A. Cachia
Dominic Bellizzi, Jean Borg, Alexander Camilleri, Steven Camilleri, Vanessa D'Amato, Neville Micallef, Peter Micallef, Hamish Schembri, Clive Seguna, Jesmond Silvio, Jonathan Spiteri and Pierre George Theuma.
Master of Science
Sponsor: Dr E.A. Cachia
Ranier Bonnici, Claudia Borg*, Stephen Fenech, Alan Gatt, Adam Pierre Gauci, Christopher Charles Porter and Christian Tabone.
Master of Philosophy
Sponsor: Dr E.A. Cachia
Oliver Gauci.
Master of Science
Sponsor: Dr E. Sinagra
Lourdes Abdilla, Christopher Camilleri, Renato Camilleri, Richard Nicholas Cassar, Trevor Giles Chircop Bray, Christian Colombo*, Rachel Theresa Decelis, Ali Ahmed El Fituri, Julian Evans, Helena Francalanza, Francesca Pia Gravino, Colette Grima, Gilbert Haber, Monique Inguanez, Matthew Pulis, Brian Spiteri, Deborah Vella* and Cheryl Zerafa.
Master of Health Science
Sponsor: Dr S. Buttigieg
Trevor Abela Fiorentino, Christian Axiak, Anthony Baldacchino, Joconnie Bartolo. Victor Bartolo, Christopher Borg, Daniela Farrugia, Arlene Galea, David Grech, Kevin John Holmes, Joseph Mamo, Shawn Meilak, Valerie Mifsud, Ruth Pace, Kristin Sammut Henwood, Peter Paul Sant, Maria Schembri, Gordon Scicluna, Mary Connie Scicluna, Carmen Tabone and Emanuela Zahra.
Master of Gerontology and Geriatrics
Sponsor: Prof. J. Troisi
Ingrid Magro.
Master of Science
Sponsor: Prof. G. Laferla
Andee Agius, Andrew Agius, Dominic Agius, Fabrizia Azzopardi, Ian Baldacchino, Maria Louise Borg, Bjorn Mario Buhagiar, Kristine Buhagiar, Analisse Cassar, Andrew Corrieri, Clifton Curmi, Roberto Debono, Christopher Deguara, Pierre Fava, Maria Felice-Klaumann, Anna Maria Fenech Magrin, Antonella Grima, Jonathan Mamo, Mario Saliba, Gianfranco Spiteri, Elaine Vella, Charmaine Zahra and Monique Zerafa.
Master of Philosophy
Sponsor: Prof. G. Laferla
Fiona Borg, Bernard Coleiro and Peter Zarb.
Doctor of Medicine and Surgery
Sponsor: Prof. G. Laferla
Nikki Abela, Fahad Alabdulghani, Talal Alanzi, Ahmad F Alkharaza, Mark Aquilina, Rachelle Asciak, Carol Diane Attard, Sarah Marie Azzopardi, Stephanie Marie Azzopardi, Caroline Bartolo, Edward Basile Cherubino, Muriel Bellizzi, Glorianne Bezzina, Matthew Borg, Andrew Busuttil, Anne Marie Busuttil, Sarah Busuttil, Paul J. Cacciottolo, Christian Camenzuli, Justine Camilleri, Monica Camilleri, Stephanie Camilleri, Alexandra Camilleri Warne, Erika Carachi, John Paul Cauchi, Jan Charles Chircop, Melanie Debono, Angel Paula Farrugia, Dorianne Farrugia, Chantal Fenech, Joseph Fenech, Karen Fenech Imbroll, Benjamin Galea, Candice Galea, Ruth Galea, Bettina Gauci, Maria Grech, Matthew Joe Grima, Stephanie Hili, Peter Klesken, Jean Paul Mangion, Lara Meilak, Liam Mercieca, Paul Micallef, Pamela Miceli, Alec Mifsud, Judith Marie Mifsud, Alice May Moore, Elias Papadopoulos, Juanita Parnis, Ian Psaila, Richard Pullicino, Ian Said, Anne Marie Scerri, David Sladden, Karl Spiteri, Arlette Vassallo, Marie Claire Vassallo, Jessica Wyatt Muscat, Marie Claire Zammit and Christine Zerafa.
Doctor of Philosophy
Sponsor: Prof. G. Laferla
Raymond Galea, Anna Grech and Edith Said.
Doctor of Philosophy
Sponsor: Dr E.A. Cachia
Reuben Farrugia.
Doctor of Philosophy
Sponsor: Dr E. Sinagra
Marthese Azzopardi.
* in absentia
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Comments
(.........spoken like a true architect ! )
But do we WANT "more high density urban development" when we already have 50,000 - 70,000 vacant dwellings ???
:-)
Surely, in your travel you must have encountered many high rise projects which blend well with neighbourhoods, are aestethically pleasing and function very well. I admit that such a measure, in Malta, will meet with comments like, 'will deprive us of a view... will not see sun any more...cannot hang our clothes on our roof...etc.' I wonder how millions in modern cities cope with all these calamities!
With regards to the university's course in road engineering, the only comment I have is that at least the course exists when not too many years ago the University was all but shut down while roads were being built on soil and standards were nonexistent.
If the Dean, who knows that there are over 75,000 empty houses/flats in Malta, can say this thing then we know why we are in such a bad state in Malta.
Tajba, he pretends to defend the environement and forgets that we have some of the worst air pollution of all Europe in our towns where most of us live and die prematurely.
He also knows that until our hopeless public transport is sorted out (if ever) more high-rise simply means more traffic jams. It often takes me an hour to get to from Zejtun to University in the morning rush hour - a drive of 10 minutes
At a time when the construction industry is struggling all over the world he wants to burden us with the increased carbon footprint of building more empty flats which would for sure have penthouses so you cant put solar panels. And for who, it's not like foreign buyers are flocking to our country-look at his Fort Cambridge, its sales are almost non-existent
The Dean conveniently seems to discard the high rate of empty premises/residences and the adeverse effects of the precarious traffic problems and air pollution caused by high density accodmodation and business centres like the one in which he is involved in Sliema.
Now the Dean is proposing high density residential areas under the pretext of protecting what is left of the environment while conveniently forgetting the large number of empty residences.
It is about time that the University (which is so efficient at censoring its students) enacts a code of ethics for its academics, some of which have repeatedly placed personal gain above the interest of the community and the taxpayers which subsidise their University salary.