Guardian of Future Generations Maurice Mizzi. Photo: Mark Zammit CordinaGuardian of Future Generations Maurice Mizzi. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

Planners should design a “standard building” to be used by architects for future construction, the Guardian of Future Generations Maurice Mizzi said.

Addressing a seminar on the urban environment, Mr Mizzi argued that this standard building could be used to give certain symmetry and beauty to future streets.

“Prague, Vienna and Corfu have building regulations which give the buildings a uniform look and uniform height irrespective of the number of different owners,” Mr Mizzi said.

“Why not learn something from these beautiful cities?”

Some architects unleashed their artistic flair only to ultimately produce despicable constructions, he lamented.

Having a form of template would kill architects’ creativity

However, Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers president Alex Torpiano shot down the recommendation, arguing it “simply would not work”.

Having a form of template would not only kill architects’ creativity, it would also not help create better structures, Prof. Torpiano said.

Just because some musicians created bad music, it did not mean you would condemn all musicians to play the same song, he added.

Instead, the best projects that add architectural value should be chosen, he said. 

Prof. Torpiano suggested that some design competitions could be reserved to emerging architects, so that young people could win commissioned projects. Publicly funded projects, he added , should be commissioned through design competitions and not by other means such as tendering or political patronage.

Mr Mizzi had also touched on the “building spree” in the country, saying it was resulting in unhealthy dust being added to the air.

“Furthermore, one rarely sees trucks with their load of rubble properly and securely sealed with a tight covering,” he lamented.

He went on to recommend improvements to the quality, management, planning and infrastructure of the urban landscape and its urban engineering to improve people’s quality of life.

Mr Mizzi noted the push for higher rents had been caused by the ever-increasing number of foreigners who are staying for weeks on end renting flats and country houses.

The vast majority of Maltese are home owners – a positive sign – but it doesn’t mean either that all families have their minds at rest under a secure roof, free from eviction risks, Mr Mizzi said.

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