Comments on: Renzo Piano

By: Sybil

Sybil — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:39:38 +0000

“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.

By: Leo Said

Leo Said — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:58:26 +0000

Malta seems to have many problems, past problems, present problems and probably also future problems.

By: J Grima

J Grima — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:59:00 +0000

@Sybil

Yeah… With a “Perit” as Prime Minister one would have expected better… A lot better… Or not?

By: H.P. Baxxter

H.P. Baxxter — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:37:27 +0000

Er, need I point out that I was taking the piss?

By: Sybil

Sybil — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:21:50 +0000

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.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:36:21 +0000

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.

By: J Grima

J Grima — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:38:01 +0000

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

By: Sybil

Sybil — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:18:16 +0000

Now that’s a very interesting perspective of matters. :)

By: PG

PG — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:28:04 +0000

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.

By: Corinne Vella

Corinne Vella — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:28:48 +0000

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.