Pardon. I was just wondering about kollox possibli in Malta.

[Daphne – Ara x’ghandu x’jaqsam, Leo. As if anyone can be held to account for what their uncles (or nephews) write.]

Moggy: Where would you like this sort of thing, given that it was designed specifically for the site in question?

To my mind, Daphne, a Parliament house on stilts and a roof-less theatre are going to look out of place too, irrelevant of the fact that Piano had seen the site beforehand. I’m not saying that I don’t like modern architectural design, and I would love this sort of thing elsewhere, however not at the entrance of Valletta.

@Leo: There are plans to demolish Evans anyway, incidentally, with a five star hotel planned for the site – at least that is what they were saying the last time I looked. At the moment the place just needs a good scrub – especially the part entered through the back of the building, where the passport office and the civil registry is. The amount of dirt on the window panes and window sills in the stair-well, as well as on the staircase, is outrageous.

http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=8324&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Renzo Piano is one of the most ingenious architects of his generation. Mr Piano’s lifelong work of restoring and rebuilding historical sites of great importance for humanity’s cultural heritage has been outstanding. He designed some of the world’s most avant-garde architectural structures such as the Parisian landmark Georges Pompidou Center and the Kansai Airport in Osaka, Japan.

He has won numerous international prizes and distinctions in this field and his work features in many books and films. Renzo Piano’s restoration campaign of historical sites includes the ancient city of Rhodes, the city of La Valleta in Malta and the historical centre of Genoa.

[Daphne – Yes, I wondered about that. Where does he plan to get the bones?]

Nonetheless, does modern Malta offer any aesthetic town and country planning of any significance?

Would it have been a better plan to restore St.Elmo to former magnificence, demolish the site of the former Evans’ Laboratories and rebuild an opera house plus adnexa in the immediate vicinity of the restored Sacra Infermeria?

Here’s what that link says:

“After almost eight years of preparation for the process of obtaining planning permission, a public referendum on whether to build the bridge was held in 2005. This resulted in a majority voting for the bridge…”

She’s Joanna Spiteri Staines, an architect with Architecture Project (AP), the firm coordinating this project ‘on the ground’ for Renzo Piano.

Kemm jiflah ikun antipatiku!