Renzo Piano
Just got back from supper, where we talked briefly about Renzo Piano and Valletta. I mentioned that at the moment I am more interested in the reaction to this news, rather than in the proposed project itself, which I can’t help feeling will go the same way as the original 1989 plans.
There is a recurrent theme to the comments posted beneath the story on www.timesofmalta.com:
WHY DO WE NEED A FOREIGN ARCHITECT TO DESIGN OUR GATE?
This sentiment runs all the way through the comments section. It’s kind of like asking why a foreign painter was commissioned to paint The Beheading of St John for St John’s Conventual Church. Why wasn’t a competition organised among homegrown painters?
For yes, somebody has suggested a competition, of course – and what’s more, one in which The People will vote for their preferred design. When The People chose their preferred design for our euro coins, the result was so horrendous (and unworkable) that The People had to be over-ruled. Design is one area in which democracy has no part to play.
52 Comments Comment
Reply to Graham C. Click here to cancel reply
Depends which people, i remember voting for the 8 pointed cross one and they’re pretty popular in Europe.
Then again, whats the point Daphne.
From what I heard anybody can be selected to be in a Jury, so basically if go to court for something, I could have leli the road sweeper and zeza tal-halib voting to see if I’m guilty or not. Is that democracy or ..
After all if it is an important area, why shouldn’t the people give their input? Maybe I wouldn’t like the City Gate to be turned into some artistic Steel framed colossus.
Note that the Love monument and the Luqa Cock monument weren’t chosen by the people and the City Gates and the opera house site are very important sites & I wouldn’t like it to be another Luqa-Up .
I don’t want the city gates to look like a Phallus & I certainly do not want it to spell Love upside down.
Yes, Democracy is a double edged sword, but there isn’t a better system. All those who thought they had a better system than democracy….well I’m pretty sure you know your history..the opera house was bombed by those who thought they had a better system .
I’m not at all bothered by who will be the architect. I’m bothered by the proposed use of the Opera house as a parliament building … I believe the Opera house ruins should be restored to its former glory not some fancier place for all the politicians to “hang out” & rustle each others feathers.
I am a firm proponent of restoring what was once a pretty nifty imposing building with very classical lines to its former glory. I hanker or an Opera House in Valletta, and I want what was once there. I wouldnt even mind a Piano interpretation using the original design as a foundation. As for city gate, i loved Piano’s design, as long as those horrendous flats above City Gate are done away with and the even more horrendous harridans et al living in them relocated to somewhere less prominent, perhaps. Those shops should then be relocate underground beneath the square and a proper holistic treatment of the City Gate area would then be possibe. As for a foreign architect, who do we have in Malta that is able to have the depth and breadth of experience to interpret this?
In my vew the best solution would have been to organise an international competition . However the real problem now is that after back tracking on Piano,and having done nothing for 40 years, would probably result in no big name being interested in a “banana republic” . It must be noted that in a competition the participants spend a substantial amount of resources and there is only one winner, so for the rest they just get nothing out of it.
It surprises me that some people view the idea of a parliament building as though the taxpayer is building some villa for the MPs . Parliament is the highest institution of a country and it is indeed embarrassing that the most important building in Valletta is the office of the PM – this is reminiscent of a dictatorship (after all it was Mintoff’s idea for his office to be moved to Castille).
So yes ,Malta needs a dignified building for our parliament, which I am sure will be designed with a semi-circular seating where govt and opposition are facing the speaker and not yelling at each other. Even this will improve debate in parliament. Re popular vote: sorry to say I can’t trust that with the Maltese. I know for a fact that to avoid having a religious emblem on our euro coins, thankfully a great push was made to chase people to vote for the Maltese cross, which is a great marketing Maltese icon.
If you wish to see a great Parliament building, a visit to the Reichstag in Berlin is a must, designed by Sir Norman Foster (Google it). It is probably the most visited building in Berlin. I have no doubt Renzo Piano will deliver. And l am confident that Gonzi will execute the project notwithstanding the harsh opposition from the opera house dreamers.
Given the abysmal opinion people have of politics in general and our politicians in particular, I consider the House of Parliament right there as soon as one enters Valletta as a slap in the face. People just won’t be able to escape its presence.Why not take it to St. Elmo as somebody suggested and build the area for the promotion of culture?
Can’t people understand these basic concepts?
1. That Parliament is Malta’s most important institution. The people there like them or not, are chosen by us. They represent all of us. The choice of who leads the country is left to us. Unfortunately, the 2 party system in Malta has made politics “us and them”. Whilst other countries fight for democracy, the right to choose who governs them, as our fathers’ have done in the past, we must appreciate this and give US the Maltese a parliament which we can be proud of. Parliament is ours, not of the MPs!!
2. By moving Parliament to the Opera House site, the Palace will be used to house the armoury, one of Malta’s real treasures, in a more dignified manner. I am not sure how many of you know that these are currently exhibited in Paris, due to their beauty and uniqueness.
3. Renzo Piano is this century’s Caravaggio. As the latter left his mark on Valletta in the past, may Piano do the same thing.
Renzo Piano may be a brilliant architect of the contemporary school but, in my humble opinion, he is not the right architect to be inserting gates into four hundred year-old bastions, and building edifices at the entrance of walled, Baroque cities. I am afraid that anything designed in his usual style will stick out like a sore thumb – a very sore thumb.
[IM9 – 3. Renzo Piano is this century’s Caravaggio. As the latter left his mark on Valletta in the past, may Piano do the same thing.]
A poor argument. Caravaggio was executing his works in Valletta at the time when Valletta was being built and embellished, and he did it is a style which matched perfectly the Baroque style predominant in Valletta. Renzo Piano’s style is nothing of the sort, and although I admit that styles must change with the times, and that architects cannot be expected to design something new in the Baroque style (neither was the Opera House in the Baroque style), one must be sympathetic to the style of the city when planning to insert a new building in an old city. We have enough eye-sores in the area already – the City Gate Arcades, with those flats atop come to mind, not to mention City Gate itself. Let’s not add another.
IM9:
That exhibition in Paris you mention is not due to the artefacts, but due to the initiative and persuasiveness of Malta’s ambassador to France.
I may be completely wrong (and have no time to research this just now), but is government not bound by EU law and national law to organise an EU-wide design contest for public procurement of this magnitude?
A lot of people seem to be concerned with the fact that the Renzo Piano style will not fit into Valetta and that we should go back to the original design as a template for the new.
There is often controversy when a design that is linked to an old building is presented to the public; the Louvre in Paris is a very similar example. When I.M Pei, a chinese born american architect, started building the Louvre Pyramid everyone was concerned that the glass pyramid would ruin the original Palace. It is now completed and one cannot say that it isn’t a spectacular structure that works elegantly with the surrounding Palace.
Sometimes the new must be interlinked with the old in order for something to work – recreating something out of the Baroque period would probably lead to failure because the present architects are not Baroque themselves.
I have no problem at all with Renzo Piano as it is a great and legendary name we are talking of here. My only issue is that we could have been a bit more pro active and organized an international competition as has been suggested here. That is the way to go around these projects. Some would argue that its too late but in this case its never too late. Let’s finally get rid of this stigma forever. And I agree that all those horrendous flats surrounding City Gate should be sent to where they deserve – the demolition yard.
my personal favourite would have been Norman Foster but then perhaps he would have been far more expensive as befits his status.
What could be essentially wrong in engaging a contemporary Italian architect?
“david s” referred to the Reichstag in Berlin, which was rebuilt according to Sir Norman Foster’s views.
An Italian architect, Francesco Stella, has now been chosen to rebuild a historical Berlin palace.
It is worth mentioning that a considerable amount of controversial discussion and debate preceded the eventual choice.
http://www.young-germany.de/news-verwaltung/news-singleview/article/8b1b151ca2/italian-architect-francesco-stella-wins-berlin-palace-design-contract.html?no_cache=1
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=avO0wpFPMfNM&refer=muse
http://www.magazine-deutschland.de/en/artikel-en/article/article/italian-stella-wins-berlin-palace-design-contract.html
http://www.aamgalleria.it/pubblicazioni.php?id=1192
Jane: Parliament is a public institution, not a private club. The quality of its members is not what matters on this particular issue.
“I wouldn’t like it to be another Luqa-Up.” Good one…
What i just cannot understand is , that the bus terminus is again being mentioned to be on a smaller scale but still outside valletta . Can we afford to leave the football ground in floriana in its present state ? Why not a 2 storey building underground one for private parking which could take hundreds of cars and on top [ still underground ] a bus station .On top of all the football ground could be redone . All this wont be higher than the main road alongside the Mall This could easily involve private business
This could be another means of solving the parking problem outside valletta
In Monaco which like us they have a problem with space they built a 3 storey building to house a sports complex . In the first floor for obvious reason because of weight they built an olympic size pool . Second floor they have the indoor games arena and on top of all the Monaco Football ground
Not all Renzo Piano projects are exactly masterpieces; vide:
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/nemo/index.htm
[Leo Said – http://www.young-germany.de/news-verwaltung/news-singleview/article/8b1b151ca2/italian-architect-francesco-stella-wins-berlin-palace-design-contract.html?no_cache=1%5D
I note a Baroque exterior in fitting, most probably, with the surroundings in Berlin, although the interior is decribed as modern and contemporary. I do not think that most people will object to such a project. However, will the architect whose work critics have described as “a hodgepodge of tents, greenhouses and scaffolding” rise to the occasion, like Francesco Stella has?
Local or foreign architect doesn’t matter, as long as it isn’t someone trying to make a name for himself by being radical or controversial.
City Gate is not the place for that kind of thing. It’s not an airport, or a football stadium. Valletta is priceless history, and has been treated shamefully enough already.
The look must be instantly nice, beautiful without question, and not something that you might ‘get’ or not ‘get’.
It would be nice to keep Freedom Square as an open area, something which is not seen in Renzo Piano’s early plans.
(And at all costs no involvement of Richard England. We have enough grotesque creations of his littering this fine land. Thank You.)
PS: in the meantime, how about a good clean up of the area – starting with re-locating those white-taxis elsewhere, if not 100 miles away (which would be nice), at least off the bridge leading to the gate.
The current situation is appalling – anyone who has entered City Gate recently will know what I mean. I wonder if anyone in govt. has recently…
Tax payer, what you’re proposing has not only been done in Monaco, but something similar is currently under construction in Malta. The Tigne development is going to include a massive underground parking area, on top of which will be a four storey shopping complex, on top of which will be a full-size football pitch!
Do we have to build something on the theatre ruins? Can’t we just have a large open piazza as the main entrance to the City? I’d do away with the present gate and those horrible apartments, and have a large piazza instead. Obviously no parking permitted. And no stupid carnival shows either!
[Daphne – Just to make things clear – these are not my mum and dad.]
no no :) it’s a silly pseudonym.
In my opinion, at this point, what’s important is not what happens to city gate / opera house, but that something happens about it. And yes, the government should now put his foot down and get on with his plans. Years of consultation with the public has led to a lot of money being spent on project proposals without anything ever getting done. Whether the opera house site is a parliament, a cultural centre or a theatre, it’s already likely to be a lot better than the eyesore it currently is. As it stands, Valletta is like a beautiful lady wearing a tattered dress, and it’s about time we give back the deserved dignity to our unique capital city.
Did you know that German prisoners of war were ordered (one book states they volunteered) to rebuild the theatre but the GWU protested because they claimed that this would mean less jobs for locals?
Yes, but the question is: Can Piano blend his creation into the surrounding architectural features and respect our unique national heritage? Has he ever worked on aluminium kiosks? Or latrina glass-breezeblock? Will he include bread and hair-braiding stalls in his design? Will he create a unique niche worthy of the “Ittanta xortik Sinjura” lotto town-crier? Will he preserve the national treasure that is the Tarag tal-Yellow Garage, used as a public urinal since 1566?
Yet another masterpiece from the PN strategy team. Just when the new utility rates are on everyone´s lips the government throws such a great distraction into the field! Well done strategists. They dug up an old, dusty and forgotten file,which was totally defeated by public opinion, dug up the name of Renzo Piano, and declared beforehand that there is no way that the place be used as a theatre. Well, in a few words, the PN strategy group has thrown all the ingredients with which it hopes it might create an artificial storm so that we look the other way and dont notice the bills and the spying on citizens.
It almost seems that the PN has taken a strategic decision to be ready for an election in a moment’s notice.
But noone needs to worry. Come next election, the place will still be exactly as it is. Only the bills and taxes would be of course reduced because in the 4 years to come we have to do sacrifices to ensure that the PN can once again artificially give a boost to the economy!
Just think, people. We are being called to do sacrifices so that the PN, in 4 years time, can claim to have put the country’s finances on a sound footing. Just as they were 10 months ago, remember? Then after the next election, down does everything again.
Is it possible that there is still one intelligent voter around who has not noticed this cycle? Do the PN really believe we can be fooled like this forever? Goodness gracious!
I am all for a Renzo Piano Project, to tell you the truth I would have considered our Richard England. The knights commissioned Laparelli to plan the new walled city but asked our Girolamo Cassar to build many of the palaces inside the city.
Valletta is a Baroque city and I think this should be taken into account by the renowned architect.
What I would like is that we do not end up with another “unfinished symphony”. The fascist style gate we have today has two empty niches. We haven’t seen the finished work.
The statues of pope Pius(?) and Grand Master La Vallette should take prominence on the new gate .
About consultation on the project with the opposition : the MLP proposed that ferry boats should pass from Marsamxett to Grand Harbour through the ditch down below Putirjal “Inqabbdu l-perit Charles Buhagiar?”!
@Albert Farrugia: I concur, goodness gracious indeed! Someone in this blog also had the insight to point out how conveniently timed the US elections were too. Just the thing to deviate the public’s attention from the looming high electricity bills.
Those damned Nat strategists… they took our minds off l-ogholi tal-hajja with the EU battle and then there was Euro polemic. They also built a new hospital to keep our attention away from whatever there was that we should have been focusing on then… the bastards, may they rot in hell forever!
And, bir-rispett kollu, I wonder how much they pay ‘Daph’ to maintain this fascist blog.
@NGT
Ok ok, sorry! How silly and naive of me to imply that there is political strategy in all this! It is all MLP, sorry PL (or is it LP when writing in English? But then again we don’t write NP for Nationalist Party do we?)…I was saying…it is all MLP/LP/PL propoganda tas-Suwperwann to allege that there is a strategy team within the PN! Like it was Suwperwann propoganda to imply that the PN/NP is collecting personal information on those who use government services.
How cruel of me to think that this info does not belong at PN HQ. How unthankful I am to Father State for his interest in my personal wellbeing.
I recant.
“The horror, the horror!” from ‘Brain of Deadness’ (apologies to Conrad)
Mario Farrugia (1 day, 2 hours ago)
ghandna fiducja fil-maltin ukoll !!!!!! Id disin barrani se jghamlu ? Dan min hu ….. ? Fuq kollox jien ma nemminx li il-PN kapaci jghamel progett bhal dan, kieku xi TINDA iva; esperti !! Issa drajnighom “ALJANAZJONIJIET’ biss. Ghandna problemi kbar quddiemna u hargu b’din il-hrafa –
Those who object to having Renzo Piano as the architect/designer for the City Gate Project are oblivious to the fact that Mr Piano has a track record of successfully creating urban environments that are suitable for their intended purpose, and in particular for regenerating activity in historic city centres.
A key aspect that is evident in most of Piano’s designs is the timeless nature of the end product, which is a must for anything that happens in the urban fabric of our capital city.
Architectural and Urban Design are an Art. There is no such thing as design by committee. Design is not a democratic process.
Let us wait for the proposals before commenting.
If I was in Renzo Piano’s shoes, I would be very excited and probably sleepless too. It is definitely quite a challenge to propose a new design, 20 years after the first proposal was so vehemently criticised!
erm, – ok, sure. I mean, what’s the point?
No NO NO, please not yet. We are in dire straits, through no fault of ours, but still these are bad times guys.
So let’s get our priorities right, and use the money to improve Malta Inc in other spheres like better roads, other infrastuctural works, and a cleaner Malta. Surely, for the time being a lovely big square will do.
I know nothing about Renzo Piano (The Philistines have arrived, Daphne!) which may explain why I’m more worried about how this contract was awarded than who it was given to. I don’t care if Piano is Italian, Maltese, or Congolese. The simple fact is this: if you’re going to spend 80 million euros, the least you could do is have a bidding process.
Whilst I’m at it, a word about finances. This building will cost 1% of Maltese GDP (shame on the EU for not funding additional houses of parliament!). We seem to be the only country in the world juggling white elephants with factory closures. No wonder our MPs need a bigger talking shop.
I find this Piano sonata a little bit off key. Wasn’t it only a few months ago that we were told that the Piano Project for the Opera House site and entrance to Valletta launched 10 years ago had been abandoned?
Why the change of heart on both the Nationalist government and renzo Piano himself to resuscitate a very controversial project that received as many criticisms as much as applause when it was announced.
Could it be that this is another government ploy to distract public attention from the mess it is in at the moment? I am just thinking aloud.
@IMB
Comparing Renzo Piano to Caravaggio is a little bit over the top. I would love to see how many Piano constructions would still be standing 400 years after his death when art lovers from all over the world would be still admiring the many Caravaggio masterpieces, hopefully still well preserved for posterity
A competition was held about 20 years ago and the general public, at the time were invited to give their views.
The authorities had chosen the Piano plan but then shelved it because it was very unpopular all round.If I remember correctly, the plan included breaching the historic bastions.
Having the people vote for the design in a competition:
Well, if the plebs are considered mature enough to cast their vote every five years then they are mature enough to decide on other issues too I guess. If I remember correctly too, Piano had designed his plans without actually bothering to come to Malta and see what Valletta looked like first if all.
Ray Borg:
Exactly my thoughts.
What’s more, I wonder how many Piano monstrosities would still be standing in a hundred years time even as structures built four or five thousand years ago would still be entrancing tourists from all over the world.
Drew:
Digging beneath Valletta is not exactly a piece of cake because the area is honey-combed with antique tunnels and a drainage system dating back to the time of the knights, and other protected artefacts.
9AM:
Matter of opinion, same as that dreadful Pompidou Centre that looks like a eviscerated dinosaur.
@ Holland
What about the NEMO. I am not here to defend Piano or not. He has the money to hire skilled people for that, but the NEMO is built over the IJ tunnel….and its a very useful and probably unique in the way the tunnel and the NEMO connects the old part of the city to the ‘new’ part of the city! Think before you speak! Also it houses a very interesting science museum and exhibitions! Maybe and only maybe, the problem about the new proposed project is its new use, (i.e.) parliament! I beleive a much better use should be found, but dont mention operas! Go to the manoel and see if it is used by the general public as it should be! we need numbers, and we already have 4 (or more) theatres that can stage opera in the Maltese Islands. There is no need for an other one. Fullstop!
Sybil: We could adopt the Swiss attitude to democracy and have a vote on everything. It won’t be cheap, but it’ll give us all the feeling that we have a say in every single matter. But it would deprive us of the ability to gripe about things not getting done, because we’d have no one else to blame but ourselves.
I say just go for it. The old Piano plan was magical and I’m sure the updated version will be just as spectacular. Piano is a genius of an architect and well apt at blending the old with the new. Beautifully designed strutures give me so much pleasure when i come across them abroad and i have longed to see something of substance in Malta.The only buildings of note in here date back a century or two. So much for Maltese architects. Berlin’s breathtaking contemporary buildings, sprouting up all over the place, have been designed mainly by internationally acclaimed architects, Piano included.No nationalistic outcry there. Tigne, a five star site, which I had high hopes would be tackled with imagination and creativity,turned out to be a disaster, especially when viewed from Valletta. A real shame and an opportunity lost. You can have all the international competitions you may wish for.At the end of the day rest assured that public opinion will always opt for the safest and most conservative option.
The goverment is finally acting on a number of issues which were debated intensly in the past but were left to fester mainly for politacal cosiderations.It must have woken up to the reality that re election is well nigh impossible and that it might as well act in accordance to the best interests of the country.
Now that’s a very interesting perspective of matters. :)
Vote? I don’t like Renzo Piano’s architecture, however there isn’t something like a ‘vote on everything’. That is plainly silly. You wouldn’t ask people to give you their best bet when you feel a symptom would you? You’d go to hospital and ask a doctor wouldn’t you? So following that same argument, the viral attitude of democratising everything is plainly and simply, a big failure. That said, the government shouldn’t rely on a single architect. Several people who have something to say about it should be consulted and the public should be kept informed
The architecture of our international airport, the Mater Dei hospital and Malta financial Center, just to name a few, were very well designed but designing an entrance city door and parliament building to a baroque city involves special and exquisite sketch. A flare of flamboyance is a must. There is a place for modern architecture in Malta but Valletta is unique because it is not a modern city. In my humble opinion the city gate should blend well with the rest of the city’s historical buildings. From my point of view when someone pass through the city gate one should experience the feeling that they are going back to the past-the 1500’s. Hence the government needs to treat it at such. Any short of this mind set can be detrimental to the government in 4 years’ time. I’ve travelled quite a few places but a building that left me with a good impression is the Vienna State Opera House. (Google it). A building like that would be very fitting in Valletta.
Mr. Baxter, Improving historical structures in Malta is not a PN ploy to distract people from the utility bills. I like to think you work hard for your money, so why do you want the government to use your hard earned money to pay for my frivolous electric habits? You don’t know me but I am grateful to you and people who think like you for paying a portion of my utility bills. Your hard earned money should not be used to pay for my waste. As far as I know Maltese people are just as cultural as the French or the Germans. Enhancing the national treasures of our tiny island should be a national movement. On this issue the MLP and PN should join hands.
J Grima Thursday, 4 December 1638hrs
That said, the government shouldn’t rely on a single architect.
That is what the goverment of the day did way back in the sixties when the lovely old gate was dismantled to make way for the present garage-door horror we have been lumbered with since then.
Er, need I point out that I was taking the piss?
@Sybil
Yeah… With a “Perit” as Prime Minister one would have expected better… A lot better… Or not?
Malta seems to have many problems, past problems, present problems and probably also future problems.
“J Grima Friday, 5 December 1259hrs
@Sybil
Yeah… With a “Perit” as Prime Minister one would have expected better… A lot better… Or not?”
The old gate was dismantled in favour of the present garage-door horror when Borg olivier , and not Mintoff was PM.