Tuesday, 2nd December 2008
Parliament to move to Opera House
PM calls for national pride in City Gate project
The government is forging ahead with the idea of moving Parliament to the old Opera House in Valletta in a project that should see the theatre and City Gate rebuilt by world-famous Italian architect Renzo Piano.
The project should be finished right at the end of this legislature, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday as he unveiled the plans.
Speaking at Castille, Dr Gonzi said Parliament will be removed from the President's Palace where it will be replaced by a number of museums. The plan is to transfer it to the site of the old Opera House, which would also feature a cultural centre facing Republic Street and will be designed with this dual-purpose in mind. The shops currently housed inside the building will be relocated.
The idea to have Parliament transferred to a rebuilt Opera House had sparked a raging controversy when it was first suggested in 2004 by then Infrastructure Minister Jesmond Mugliett.
The Prime Minister yesterday said the government chose not to rebuild the Opera House as a theatre because it did not want to saturate the area, which already has three theatres. Moreover, the footprint of the ruins was not big enough for today's theatrical requirements.
Dr Gonzi and Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt discussed the proposals with Mr Piano personally in Paris last week.
The idea is to have an entrance that invites people into the city as well as a unique landmark that integrates the national heritage of Valletta, Dr Gonzi said.
Mr Piano's contact with Malta started in 1985 but his master plan for Valletta was shot down by public opinion.
Dr Gonzi yesterday emphasised that the new plans will be updated from the ones presented more than 20 years ago, to suit current trends.
The project will have to be concluded within the next four years.
The two projects will cost between €60 and €80 million and will not be co-funded by the private sector, Dr Gonzi specified, saying he does not want the entrance to Valletta to become a hub of business but one of culture and heritage.
"Mr Piano knows Malta and Valletta well. He sees Malta as being at the centre of the Mediterranean, an island bet-ween two continents that needs to be brought back to the stature it deserves, in its historic context," Dr Gonzi told members of the press.
The Prime Minister said he wanted to entice visitors to explore Valletta and so these projects will be undertaken in the context of a complete regeneration of the capital city by 2018: from City Gate to Fort St Elmo, with the President's Palace as the fulcrum.
The palace is to be restored to its former glory, housing various museums and exhibitions on its ground floor, while leaving the President's quarters where they are today. The square facing the palace will also be upgraded.
Old plans to turn Freedom Square into a car park, and to rebuild the bus terminus underground, were also scrapped. Instead, Freedom Square will be the link between City Gate and the Opera House and will be regenerated to welcome visitors.
The bus terminus will be reduced in size as part of the public transport reform which will see fewer buses working more frequently. It is planned that the terminus would not have to house more than 20 buses at any given time.
Dr Gonzi added that Merchants Street, which this year was freed from the open market, will continue to be restored with the use of street furniture and should also be complete within four years.
EU funds will not be used for City Gate or the Opera House, because according to Dr Gonzi this would commit the government to reaching a number of employment and touristic targets.
On the other hand, projects such as Fort St Elmo, the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Harbour will probably be EU funded, Dr Gonzi said.
Fort St Elmo is to be restored to become a centre of culture and the arts, with part of it used to enhance tourism with a special focus on the cruise liner industry.
Dr Gonzi said both the government and Mr Piano were willing to listen to NGOs and the public about their suggestions but he called on the Maltese to take pride in this national project.
"This project has been 60 years in waiting. It is satisfying to have finally taken a decision and brought one of the most famous architects in the world on board," Dr Gonzi said.
Taxpayers will have to fork out between €15 and €20 million each year for the Opera House and City Gate project but Dr Gonzi is confident that the country can afford such an investment, especially because it will strengthen Malta's position at a crucial time of global recession.
He added that all deadlines will be published as soon as everything is finalised with Mr Piano.
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Comments
Yes Indeed and Many thanks Agree.
this is a National Project let away with political feelings, at the the end Everybody is going to gain, Our Valletta City deserves the best, Grazzi PRIM.
If the Birmingham town hall's website is correct, it was built in 1834...its neoclassical facade was actually considered pretty contemporary at the time and again, was recently renovated, not rebuilt.
And @ Edward Caruana Galizia...there's a huge difference between a heritage building that exists, like that grandmaster's palace and one that was destroyed, like the opera house.
Your plea for aesthetics will not be answered by building replicas of the past, but by a carefully designed infill to the opera house site which can only be judged once plans are released.
Until then, you can occupy your time by reading some key conservation literature which you are evidently unfamiliar with. On one of these comment boards Karl Ebejer mentioned Cesare Brandi's 'Teoria del Restauro', which would be an excellent place to start.
a) Govt is continuing with this direct order. I repeat another's appeal; why not organise an anonymous international competition ? b) Why move parliament to city gate? it is easily accessible to the public but a luxury car show by the Hon Ministers is not the proper 'welcoming' scene for a Noble city. Why not convert Fort St Elmo to house the parliament ? It will again become decisive for Malta's future, has ample parking facilities, ample room for conferences, offices, regenerate the area, etc. cruise-liner cultural centre my foot - cruise passengers hardly have a chance to say 'Amen' wherever they go before they are whisked back on board to proceed with the itinerary, let alone visit a cultural centre ! Well, may be the place may be a trifle too damp and salty for the MP's state of the art (and not so fuel efficient) chariots!
Apparently a budget on the eve of a horrible budget and a full speech attacking the change in Labour's statute were not enoygh!
We had to resurrect Piano in order to hide the excessive increased tax burden, errrrrmmm sorrry......tariffs!
With tariffs instead of taxes and help instead of subsidies, I can't but confirm that the last resurrection of this project was also a pantomine like this one. What worries me most is how come that the Government did not mention anything in the last budget. Wonderful eh?
Sure, the same national pride we have in our roads.
Sure it was the fault of Hitler, Mussolini, Churchill, and I don't have to mention the americans who were always powerful with the weak. At least they provided Marshall Aid and later food stuffs under the CARE system.
But was that enough to repay the Maltese for all the bravery they had shown to safeguard Europe from collapse? Remember Malta was the unsinkable aircraft carrier!
And unsinkable it will remain if only we can have another Dom Mintoff to rebuilt the islands from the wreck that this government is leading it. The late Dr. Herbert Ganado wrote "Rajt Malta Timbidel". And today I can unashameably say "Qed Nara Malta Tinqered" and under whose guidance? -The twenty years of a Nationalist Government.
As I said at the beginning, I will never be able to see the Royal Opera House in my lifetime because I do not believe this Prime Minister anymore, because by four years for completion he actually means 40 years.
If it will house the Parliament or a Theatre, why not both. After all our Parliament is nothing more than a Theatrical Arena.
I'm all for anything cultural on the present Opera House site, (even if not strictly an opera house) be it a concert hall, multi-purpose arts centre, or, as ably suggested by Lino Bugeja in a recent issue of The Sunday Times, a venue for the magnificent Flemish Tapestries and other treasures currently housed at the makeshift St John's Co-Cathedral museum, thus doing away with the equally controversial plans to create an underground museum in front of St John's. Alternatively, the Flemish Tapestries can be displayed in the Ground Hall at the Palace now housing the Armoury, when the latter is transferred to the current House of Representatives. Whatever the choice, Parliament should ideally be sited somewhere else. How about the Main Guard in St George's Square? Or in Fort St Elmo once this is finally rehabilitated? But DEFINITELY NOT in what is, in my opinion, consecrated cultural ground at City Gate.
Then why dont we just pull down the entrance to Mdina while we re at it. Don't you see it s the same thing. I have no idea why the original entrance was taken down before, but if it were still standing we wouldnt even dream about pulling it down.
I think it s more along the lines of- why do we maltese seem to think that just because it looks abstrace and modern then it has to be good , never mind the fact that it doesnt fit in and/ or isn t liked by anyone. It s all well and good for architects to look at it and say it s a good structure. but really that s all it will be. What ever happened to aesthetics? OH i ve got an idea, lets take down the grandmaster's palace and ask Richard England to build us a spaceship instead. It will be modern and abstract so it MUST be a good idea! Don t you see that all around the world they do their best to preserve their historical buildings. Build modern buildings, but in a place where they fit in! ie- NOT VALLETTA!
As I have stated elsewhere, it would be useful for this issue of the Opera House and that of the City Gate regeneration should be considered by Jimmy Magro's foundation re Fort St Elmo. Maybe this could be a wider foundation for the effective and sympathetic regeneration of Valletta as a whole to keep it as the architectural gem it is.
Further to your comments, what about the German Reichstag which has its old facades outside and a modern Norman Foster designed interior and top, its only concession to modernity being the glass dome on top. Also secondly, Birmingham Town Hall retains its Greek acropylipse inspired outside and a modern state of the art inside. Old and new can co-exist with sensative design and it is not about recreating the past but something that is sustainable, compatible with townscape and above all what the Maltese people want and are proud of as it is their taxes that are paying for it. No I am not Maltese, but I love Malta very much and visit often from my home in UK where in Birmingham we have lost much heritage and yes I am a regeneration officer!
Why parliament needs to move further up the road evades me. I do appreciate David Zammit's comment though. Our prima donnas must have a pressing need to excercise their lungs and house their egos in a fitting space. If the space is to be used at all let it be for a cultural purpose and hopefully some consideration given to the needs of the residents of Valletta. It is a suspect move though in a time of crisis, if it ever gets off the ground I just hope that citizens can truly benefit from footing the bill.
NB
WIll there be any consideration /provision for recreational facilities for Valletta's children/elderly/whole community?
Yes it's true the plans were unveiled 20 years ago or so. IT has been stated that the project will not however be limited by these plans but start afresh, so I think everyone should be more prudent before making any sweeping statements.
A note aside I would like to put forward the question: Why are we as Maltese so afraid of modern interventions? There are countless conservation projects in historically sensitive sites worldwide which are very successful. Valletta needs such sensitive developments, but at the same time we must realise that we are not living in the Knights' era anymore. Rebuilding replicas of what there was in the past simply doesn't make sense. Valletta will never come back to life if it is treated as a museum, it must be treated as a city of the future, with strong roots in the past.
Mr. David Magro, i agree with you 100%...
Also, i think that the timing of the announcement of these projects is used as a cheep political move, as they have been announced just a few months before the mep`s elections, next June, and also that it has a tentative completion date of a few months before next general elections......!!!!
It`s not that i don`t want these projects to be FINALLY done and over with.. But the sacrosant fact that such important projects were NOT even merely mentioned in the budget a few weeks ago, makes me stronly wonder beleive of political `foul play`...!!
Finally, i think that One very important fact we must ALL keep in mind, is the obligation which we all have, that after all these years, we MUST DO SOMETHING WHICH IS HIGHLY COMPATABLE with our City of Valletta, and which make us ALL proud of and to pass it on to our NEXT GENERATION, as something that makes sense..
So let`s NOT make a mess of this too with all kinds of controversies and hidden political agendas, ecc.. ecc..ecc...
@ Mario Farrugia..." Dan min hu ..... ? "...he is one of the most famous architects in the world...update yourself
Also, we all appear to forget that the knights had little qualms about repairing and rebuilding mdina in their own contemporary style which righfully adds layers of progessive history to the city...then again god knows how many stone masons at the time thought they could have done a better job of the design themselves...
I agree with all those saying that we should wait for some visuals before complaining
Shall I ask myself whether Gonzi cares about all this?
Why Renzo Piano again? Was there no new architectural talent (Maltese or foreign) over the last 20 years?
How many museums can Valletta hold? The way this sounds is that Valletta will become one big museum piece. There are no new imaginative uses of the land or buidlings. For example, Fort St Elmo is the perfect place, historically and strategically to host our maritime forces
As far as the parliament moving to the opera house, that is the greatest visible legacy that this government will leave to the Maltese population. Instead of a symbol of enjoyment and culture for the people, we shall have a symbol perpetuating big brother government and politicians brimming with self-importance.
I hope that this proposal, like the one before it, will not go through and another 20 years will pass before someone comes up with new plans without regurgigating a Piano or England master plan. Meawnhile, we are stuck with the Mintoff legacy for City Gate.
Valletta's gate should be one of morale pride as i call it. When entering the city the gate one should look upon it as historical and a work of art. As for the Opera House becoming Parliament, that would be an insult to all Maltese.
If people in Malta will not stand and shout to stop this so called world-famous Italian architect Renzo Piano, then i am afraid Valletta's gate will be lost forever.
Valletta is such a beautiful old city with so much character that i am proud to have been part of that city as that is where i was born.
JVG wrote, "...The P.M. grasped the suggestion - in his usual 'no room for consultation".
Is sixty years of consultation, debate, tentative starts, abrupt stalls, foreign architects' designs, local architects' designs, lay opinions, professional opinions, politicians' opinions and minions' opinions not enough? Do we start with another ten years of debate and consultations?
Is there one single project presented by a government in Malta which is not automatically assumed to be wrong?
After sixty years of criticizing successive governments for inaction, now we want to trample on plans which will rid the City of a wart so ugly and a City Gate which is practically falling to pieces.
Self appointed art critiques do not like what Renzo Piano designed and considered his works unsuitable for our Capital City. Eureka! As far as I know Mr. Piano's other works were for other cities and locales which do not match the City of Valletta both in size and architecture. Surely whatever plans he had can be and probably will be changed and will stand for more scrutiny, no doubt.
Anyone expecting a general consensus, will be grossly mistaken. Enough talk - let's have some positive action!
Quickly, pass the plans to excavate and destroy the knights graves at St. Johns Co-cathedral so they won't be able to turn!
Valletta is such a beautiful old city with so much character - yes it needs a lot of TLC and refurbishment - but Sliema and so many other places have already been destroyed, at least try and preserve the city of Valletta.
If anything, we would be saluting our elders for the suffering they went through during the war to protect our dear Islands. We have no moral right to change their wishes. It should be rebuilt as was and no funny gimmicks should ever be accepted, parliament and no parliament.
Let's show some respect and oppose those politicains who should know better.
come on guys about 8 months ago you casted your votes and if i remember correctly pn and pl put forward plans for Valletta, pn won therefore their is no need for public consultation as it was held about 8 months ago.
As for the Ole' Opera House, a bliddy shame Malta hasn't the guts to resurrect it to its formal glory like most such edifices that where destroyed all over Europe during World War !!.
"The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical,
historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral, scene individable, or
poem unlimited: Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light. For the law of writ and the
liberty, these are the only men."
It also shows an interesting sense of priorities that our Government,which cannot find more than 33 million Euros annually to fund the University is proposing to use up to 80 million Euros to rebuild City Gate and the Opera House, as well as 14 million Euros on the Saint John's underground extension.
Public opinion will remain divided as to whether Piano is the right architect for the job. there is Valletta's eternal well-being at stake! Personally I am not impressed by Piano's creations - they do not fit in with Valletta's architecture. The Pompidou Centre in Paris is fast degenerating into a sorry architectural blemish. Where is our Kamra tal-Periti in this issue? A call for periti to submit new plans for the project would have been preferable considering the time span that has gone by since the first submissions. And as for housing Parliament in this building - that is ludicrous!
I believe this 'project' serves one purpose - taking people's minds off pressing problems. Need we mention them one by one? That must have been what Fr. Peter - self-acknowledged political strategist for the present administration - really wanted: diversion for the masses. And he got his way.
Bet the final bill will be about three times as much as what it is estimated now. You wait and see!
So much for consultation!
If you oppose this project, join us on FACEBOOK on
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55347446880
A parliament right at the entrance of a city - really and truly Il-Parlament tal-Malata then. When are those 69 people sitiing in comfortable chairs going to grow up? Do they really think that we are stupid.
No wonder this country is in such a pitiful state
Valetta City Gate and the Theatre should be built to their original grandeur. It's only an excuse that it would saturate the areas and that the footprint is too small. Come on - don't give us that. The park and ride is the solution for this - or not - Valletta should be left ONLY for pedestrians thus saving what remains of it. parking spaces should be provided for those residing in Valletta and the rest should use the electric cabs or il-karozzin.
And to add insult to injury - why should the MPs (mangia passeggia) be awarded - it's better to reduce the MPs to 35 - do we really have to carry the burden of all those MPs? Malta is overpopulated 360 degrees INCLUDING THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE. Taxpayers of any colour or creed WAKE UP.
If we are asked to pay for this project, we should at least be consulted - it's only RP and some fat cat who will benefit from this waste.
I want real opera.
This is rally one hit below the belt. Maybe the Govt intends to fund it from EU monies? Or perhaps Dr. Gatt might label it as part of the EU Road Network? Ot is it 'subsidised' by our W&E bills?
I hate to think that our politicians, with an ego the size of Milky Way (not the chocolate bar), are now looking at some way to glorify themselves with this structure. Think about it - many cities have the House of P or presidential palace as something prominent, but Valletta is just the size of a car part compared to larger european cities, so we've got to be very careful not to construct omething that's overwhelming.
Why not develop the area into a Museum as I once suggested months ago during the San Gwann Cathedral discussions?
And why do we keep turning onto Piano? I know that Prof. RichardEngland has lots of praise, but do we need Renzo Piano to regenerate Valletta? Just because we fail to find the will to do it properly, ourselves?!
I am afraid that our Prime Minister is losing the little bit credibilty that he had from last March.
Anyone who thinks that he and his government is going to listen to what the people have and shall say on this is living in cuckoo land as everything has been decided.
It would be a magnificent embarassment for us if we are going to have an egocentric design by Renzo Piano.
He is good without any shadow of a doubt but he is not the one to embellish and restore the Capital City.
It should be noted on how our Government thinks on the local architects and designers. These were surpassed and trampled on. I am sure that we have enough talented persons to submit good and harmonised plans but this wafer thin majority of Govt thinks differently.
Regarding the 4year time limit, this shall not be acheived as many problems shall ensue and it would the Delimara/Mater Dei revisted.
The track record of this Government is quite dismal, shabby and unrealistuc where expences and timeframes are a must.
National Pride? MY FOOT!
Dear Prime Minister do you think that we are stupid?
We've already had more than our fair share of personal kudos as in the case of Malta in EU,
Independent Malta, Republic Malta, Presidency of the world, etc so please Mr Piano do keep in mind that in future the precious little space will also need to house lifesize bronze effigies like the ones which dot around castille square!
Anything "Renzo Piano" in our capital city will be akin to an abortion.
Piano's modern art and architecture is fine, but not in Valletta, thank you very much.
Re: the Opera House - I hope we're not going to end up with some wacky design which us Maltese seem to favour.. but rather go for something more classic, in keeping with whats left of Valletta's character.
I heard tourist with my own ears one afternoon complaining about the lack of security they feel, thanks to the hundreds of african immigrants wondering around OUR CITY.
People habitually mention the Centre Pompidou as an example of his bold and imaginative style. That building might well fit in within its location but, can anyone seriously imagine something similar in Valletta? No matter how bold and functional it is, the fact remains that it is reminiscent of a building site, complete with scaffolding and an outside chute for debris! See http://farm1.static.flickr.com/209/487697682_9ddec85e0d.jpg?v=0
Commission Piano for something else if you really must - but please spare our Capital from a repeat of the abomination that he proposed some years ago, which proposal was, quite rightly, soundly rejected by the people at the time.
Have you by any chance already seen any of Mr Piano's Plans?? How on earth do you know what they will look like and how on earth can you compare something you haven't seen to a bird toilet, let alone a glorified one??
A word of consolation to the building contractors who have recently lamented about dwindling work.You have a new parliament building, the windmills at issikka l-bajd...a new proposed hospital, the new american embassy in Ta' Qali, the contoversial/NON-eco friendly Ghadira project etc. Buon Natale!
"We can now start consultation in earnest"
Hellooooo The decision has already been taken No consultation is needed
Ilu li waqa 60 sena dan it teatru
Ilna 45 sena indipendenti u dejjem nghidu li missna nibnuh…ilha sejra 45 il konsultazzjoni
Issa ghax kien hawn minn iddecieda, se nintefghu nergghu niddiskutu.
l-ahjar li l-kamra tal periti, david felice, jghinna ftit…u jaghti statement li jfahhar lil arkitett barrani li ntuza. Dalghodu fuq calypso radio, enzo Guzman intefa jghajjar lil gvern u lil prim talli ghazel perit barrani!!!
By contrast, our sister island Gozo, has two opera houses on the same street.
What kind of message are we sending out to the rest of the world by letting this happen? Don't we have any kind of pride whatsoever?
So if we had gone along with the project 20 years ago, now we would be looking at an outdated tired design. Will it be the same case now? Will the 'new' City Gate be just a trendy design?
I am all for doing something about City Gate, even a daring modern project if need be, but as Mr.Bugeja said further down, those disgusting flats and that horrid shopping complex below them must go. What point is there in going ahead with such a massive project only to have it ruined by those low-class blocks of mediocrity sticking out on top?
Renzo Piano can be sensitive and he can be shockingly modern. His projects have nearly always regenerated run-down areas, controversially or not. I'll reserve my opinion until I see the plans.
And the arrogance, by the way, is beyond belief - even for someone who does not care much about local politics. Why is not the Opera House being rebuilt, despite the huge popular support for this? Why isn't this subject to a competition as in other countries? It seems as if whatever Piano comes up with will be accepted and commissioned by the few men in the cabinet. Hands up anyone who has any fate in the tastes of men like Pullicino. This is abuse of power, no less. This from the same collection of men who are now 'noticing' that Fort St Elmo is a national disgrace. Obvious that was a last minute gesture to take people's minds off the utility bills issue - and yet this is a v imp project! I fear the worst!!
Go on Dr. Gonzi with the project, if Maltesee where to listen to the MLP and all the little Elves we still be experiencing water and electricity shortages.
The arrogance is getting out of hand completly
At long last, it seems the Government has put its feet down and decided to go ahead with this project.
Let us hope, the Government won’t be put off by some criticism that emanates from some quarters, as has happened in the past and which unfortunately do not have the right qualifications and expertise to decide on such projects.
Such decisions should be left to the experts, the REAL EXPERTS and not to every Tom, Dick and Harry who happens to drop a line on these columns and who is nothing but the modern “Cassandra” of today!
I cannot think of any one more qualified than RENZO PIANO for this kind of majestic project and with the assistance of RICHARD ENGLAND (who is Maltese, like us), will make a great team together!
So, let’s get started and not waste any more time. It is already sixty years too late!
But as the saying goes “It is Better Late Than Never” !
AJA
What baffles me, is the reasoning that the bus terminus will be reduced in size as part of the public transport reform, when we get complaints that there are not enough buses, especially during the summer. And let not Minister Gatt try to convince us that trams are the solution either. Our roads definetly aren't wide enogh to have a tram service.
After the increase in water and electricity rates, car licenses, gas and a tax on drainage taxpayers are expected to fork out 15 to 20 million euro towards a project that though paid for by the war damage funds has remained derelict for over 60 years.
This must be the best proposed form of public spending in a world struggling to get out of a hard hitting economic crisis.
The only consolation is that the reduction of excise duty on spirits will enable us to drink ourselves silly whilst our earnings are being milked!!!
How about putting a lid over that monstrosity of the car-park, it is by far the biggest carbuncle which has defaced the entrance to this jewel of a city in the Mediterranean.
I am sure that Renzo Piano can remedy this eyesore by covering it up and landscape it as part and parcel of this project.
mmmmmm...anyone smells a rat?
The suggestion of using the site for a parliament house is by far the worst of many idea put forth for this site.
The mind boggles at this skewed reasoning.