Hundreds of people visited the exhibition of the proposed projects for the entrance to Valletta, being held at the Archaeology Museum. Close to 400 visited in the morning.
The plans, by world renowned architect Renzo Piano, were launched in Republic Street yesterday evening.
This morning they were visited by 125 architects and architecture students in the presence of Mr Piano. Their reaction was that the projects would take Malta to the 21st century.
Mr Piano is proposing the replacement of City Gate with a breach in the bastions, an environmentally friendly Parliament House on Freedom Square, and a roofless theatre incorporating the ruins of the former Opera House.
While the general reaction of people interviewed by Claudia Calleja in the vox pop above has been positive, concern was expressed iover the fact that the proposed theatre is roofless and that Freedom Square would no longer be an open space.
See also:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090627/local/revealed-the-new-face-of-valletta
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090627/local/the-new-city-gate-and-parliament
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090622/local/renzo-piano-interviewed
The designs are available at:
www.opm.gov.mt/vallettaprojects