The Valletta local council has slammed plans to install a rooftop viewing platform and panoramic lifts at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, describing the proposal as “ill-conceived” and “not respectful”.
In a strongly-worded objection, the council raised concerns about the effect of the proposal on the heritage of the Grade 1 scheduled building, originally the Sacra Infermeria of the Knights of St John, as well as issues of noise pollution and traffic generation.
The council also said that the approval of proposed rooms at roof level, larger than would be required for stores and bathroom facilities, opened the door for catering facilities to be created further down the line, rather than allowing the roof terrace to remain an area from which visitors view the surroundings.
The extensive proposal, which includes restoration works, would create a raised viewing platform and glass railing on the roof of the MCC, as well as two “panoramic lifts” intended to ferry 32 passengers directly from the roof to the Long Ward. The railing will be receded and should not be visible from street level but it is still likely to affect a number of other key viewpoints, including the Great Siege Bell and surrounding buildings.
The insertion of the glass lift structures would mutilate and trivialise these architectural volumes, turning a sombre monument of the Hospitallier Order into a Disneyfied joy-ride of dubious value
The proposal is recommended for approval by the Planning Authority case officer and has the backing of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and the Heritage Advisory Committee.
Objectors, however, have highlighted the visual impact of the rooftop additions and the effect of the proposed panoramic lifts on the fabric of the historic building.
“The insertion of the glass lift structures would mutilate and trivialise these architectural volumes, turning a sombre monument of the Hospitallier Order into a Disneyfied joyride of dubious value,” said Reuben Grima, a nearby resident who has worked in the cultural heritage protection sector for more than 20 years.
The view down St Ursula Street.Heritage NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa, which is also among the objectors, said the proposals would irreversibly change the layout of the building.
“The triviality of making this permanent change to the historical interior of the hospital of the Knights, for the sake of taking up tourists to its roof, makes a mockery of the Sacra Infermeria,” the organisation said.
The Unesco World Heritage Committee has requested Malta to prepare a views and vista analysis for the project. The analysis is still being prepared and objectors believe it could prompt a revision of the original heritage assessment, based on “partial information”.
The Valletta council also voiced concern about the lack of emergency fire escape routes from roof level in the developers’ plans. The council questioned how people would escape from the roof in the event of a fire, given that the lifts would be inaccessible in an emergency.
As for the negative visual impacts, the council insisted that simply creating a setback of the railing would not be enough to mitigate the effect.
“In reality, the proposal implies that an extra one-metre height will be added to the existing parapet wall, which is already in itself an accretion, and thus the intervention will make this accretion permanent,” the council said.
The proposed interventions include the restoration of the Perellos Chapel and the conversion of a disused tank room into a new multi-purpose hall for events and performances.
The PA case officer has recommended it for approval on the basis that it complements the existing use of the site, and on the strength of the cultural heritage bodies’ endorsements.
The SCH raised concerns only about a new emergency exit required for the proposed multi-purpose hall, which would require the demolition of the original British-era Polverista access.