The world of one of Austria’s foremost architects, Peter Lorenz, seems to be a parallel universe, with his statements about how road widening is neither avant-garde nor the solution to traffic and how it is no longer fashionable for youths to drive cars.
A 25-year-old law in Vienna states that if a tree, even the size of the plant pot on the coffee table in front of him, is removed, it would have to be replaced by one of the same diameter. If it is old, that could mean planting as many as 80 young trees, making the Austrian city one of the greenest.
Mr Lorenz, well-known for his humanistic approach to his profession, unconsciously hits one raw nerve after another.
“Everything starts with nature, and I do not know a single good architect, personally, from around the world, who is not a total nature lover. That is, after all, the inspiration for every idea.
“Either you respect nature, the city and human beings together, or you disrespect all three,” he stresses. They go hand in hand.
In Malta to address Sunday's first Architecture Alive series, organised by studjurban, supported by the Planning Authority and involving regular design talks by world-renowned architects, the founder of Lorenzateliers is familiar with the island.
He has seen “incredible” changes to the “uncontaminated landscape” since his first visit 30 years ago.
“When the economy boils down to profit-making, in the long term, it destroys many aspects of life,” he explains. In terms of architecture, although there are no hard and fast rules, generally economic well-being means investors have no time to think and only money counts. His theory, although not set in stone, is that “if you are too well off, you don’t think anymore”.
Mr Lorenz moves on to, unintentionally, burst another bubble, pointing out “the big danger” of tourism in relation to Valletta, for example. It was another story 10 years ago and he is surprised at the number of tourists today, which is not necessarily a good thing.
When the economy boils down to profit-making, in the long term it destroys many aspects of life
“Every place in the world can only suffer a certain percentage of tourism,” he maintains.
The problem for Mr Lorenz is that Valletta attracts investment and is being regenerated only because it attracts tourists – and tourism is good business.
“This means that only certain elements of a country are saved and it gives the excuse to do nothing about the rest.” People invest in a landmark that is attracting the masses; then they clear their conscience and the rest falls by the wayside.
“It’s like the gangster who gives a cheque to someone in public on TV and behind the scenes is a criminal,” Lorenz continues. “It is not about ethical standards; it’s just about business.”
His indirect comparisons with the city that houses the headquarters of Lorenzateliers, also based in Innsbruck and Trieste, are not intended to create a utopia, and he is critical of Vienna too.
But the fact remains that it has been number one in the world for quality of life, according to Mercer’s ranking, for the ninth consecutive year. This is on the basis of 36 criteria but primarily because “it has managed to achieve a balance between the economy and social respect”.
Lorenz concedes that “certain innovation does not start in a country like Malta but in the big urban structures”. Still, the fact that, in Madrid, the six-lane roads across the city are about to be reduced to two, while Malta is starting to widen them, is disheartening.
“The fight for a city starts by reducing the cars, which destroy it,” Mr Lorenz says, pointing out that, 12 years ago, Stockholm closed off the centre to traffic from one day to the next.
Back home, it is simply “uncool” for youths to drive cars. “I gave my son a used vehicle but after three weeks, he apologised for giving it back, saying it was nothing but a hassle and an expense. My son has six bikes!”
Mr Lorenz’s projects range from product design to large-scale urban planning, and he also lectures at universities around the world.
“The focus of our work is not ‘style’ and ‘form’, but living space for human beings, which provides the ideal environment for their unfolding development.”
The subject of Saturday's talk at the Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa was Renaissance of Urbanity – the Responsibility of the Architects, and Lorenz, a passionate ambassador for the architect’s ethical responsibilities, assumes it all.
He claims to have refused jobs that did not fit his ethical standards and, of course, he has had some difficult years, making a loss. “But you cannot do everything for money.”