News | Sunday, 22 February 2009

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A plan for a Piano

MaltaToday sought the opinions of three politicians about the proposed Renzo Piano plans for Valletta, their ideas and what they would like to see instead of the Opera House ruins

Francis Zammit Dimech
When Peter Buchanan published over fifteen years ago, ‘Renzo Piano Building Workshop Complete Works’ in four volumes, he observed that the products emanating from that workshop are characterised by his sensible and vibrant response to the ‘genius loci’ and to the country’s history as much as by his ability to blend traditional building materials with products that represent the ultimate in what technology can offer the architect in this day and age.
“While every project of his takes technology to its extreme limits,” Buchanan added, “it always does that in a way that exalts and regenerates the historic fabric as well as the natural characteristics of the area where the project takes shape.”
More volumes are now needed to comprise the complete works, and hopefully a future updated edition will include what Renzo Piano would have designed for our capital city.
Be it in Rome, Paris, Osaka, or New York, Piano tends to leave an indelible mark that enriches as much as it respects the environment on which he works.
Government deserves to be congratulated for managing to convince Renzo Piano to work on Project Valletta. His coming back to Malta represents a double hat trick – until only some months ago, we had assumed that after his initial visit in 1986 when he was recommended by none other than the world heritage watchdog UNESCO to give Valletta what would have been its most ambitious regeneration project ever, only to be rejected because of the controversy that lurked in the subsequent years, he would never touch base amongst us ever again!
Not only has he now done that and a few weeks ago was amongst us, but we are doubly lucky to have in the process an architect of such international calibre who has matured and evolved further in his design philosophy that can stand to our national benefit.
Malta has been lucky twice over.
To have Renzo Piano in town – and give our capital city an elegant entrance that emphasises and respects our history, as well as see to the Opera House and Freedom Square sites is not only good news but a cultural and artistic milestone in its own right.
That issue must be kept separate from the healthy discussion that is again evolving about what would be the more desired design brief especially for the Opera House site that cries out for a project that places all the emphasis on culture and the arts if for no other reason because that is the one and only way how to make a national and tourist attraction out of the site.
An architect will always respond to his client’s brief and I believe that we are still in time to ensure that the emphasis that is rightly expected from the general public in favour of culture and the arts be respected to the utmost.
Whatever choices are made now, we stand collectively to be judged by future generations for them. The value of that judgement that well transcends the present and immediate future needs to be deeply taken into consideration and appreciated.

Francis Zammit Dimech is a Nationalist MP and a former minister of tourism and culture

Victor Galea
Plainly speaking, I don’t agree that the Parliament should be shifted to the entrance of the city. A parliament in this location would contribute to the death rather than to the revival of the image and life of Valletta as a capital city. I simply hope that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will make a U-turn as he did on his obsession for a golf course at Xaghra l-Hamra. Other alternatives are available for the siting of parliament, such as the Mediterranean Conference Centre or Fort Saint Elmo.
I much prefer that people entering our world heritage city be welcomed by a cultural centre for various and different performing arts and a National Public Library. This will promote culture and give our local performers a future and will certainly help the development of the cultural tourism niche.
Malta is currently lacking a modern public library that can offer innovative and traditional services in a family friendly environment and this is a lacuna that needs to be addressed. Hence a public library and a performing arts centre at the Valletta entrance can become a landmark, a place where people can meet and participate in various cultural activities, find opportunities for lifelong learning and satisfy their information needs.
I do not want to comment on all those promises that have been made to revive the national theatre.
Alternattiva Demokratika welcomes the Maltese government’s intention to regenerate the whole area by 2013. We are open to suggestions on the regeneration of City Gate, but I would much prefer if Dr Lawrence Gonzi were to realise that a holistic remodelling and regeneration of the whole of Valletta is needed, rather than just focusing sporadically on parts of the historic and unique city.
As a taxpayer, I still do not yet understand how and why in this case one particular architect was picked up simply by what looks like an agreement between Lawrence Gonzi and Joseph Muscat. With all due respect to the world renowned architect Renzo Paino, one may note that “normally” for a national project of such quality, a public tender would be issued, giving a chance to all those able to come up with ideas to put them on the table. This would have provided much wider proposals to choose from rather than one single proposal. However the “norm” in certain instances can easily be adjusted accordingly.
I await to see the full plans proposed by architect Renzo Piano before saying whether I fully agree or not with what he is to present. Doing nothing is certainly not an option. I expect a public debate on the matter with an open mind.
Whatever is planned, I hope that it should respect the social and cultural aspects of Valletta as well as the residents, tourists and the needs of the business community. Valletta is a Common European Heritage Site and therefore has to be seen and managed in the context of the global and European dimension. Its development on the basis of its being a fortified city in a cross-cultural environment is a must.
Valletta deserves the best.

Victor Galea is Alternattiva Demokratika’s secretary-general

Owen Bonnici
Valletta deserves better. Capital cities around Europe celebrate and expose the very best of the splendour of a nation. In our case, our capital city, a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen, a unique gem of architectural beauty, has, along the years, been messed with in a most unfortunate manner – take Freedom Square and City Gate for instance – and has regressed from a true capital city buzzing with families and life into a purely administrative city.
The main political parties have the responsibility to plan ahead and contribute together to complete overdue capital projects aimed at regenerating the whole of Valletta while making our capital city more beautiful and exciting. During the last election, Labour has proposed a whole project for the regeneration of Valletta and the Harbour Area.
One important point to stress is that capital projects of the calibre of City Gate and the rebuilding of the Opera House will take more than the lifetime of one legislature, meaning that halfway through the project a change of government might occur. The main political parties should therefore agree on a way forward on major projects such as Piano’s and all that jazz, taking also into account the fact that Valletta will be one of two Capital Cities for Culture of the European Union in 2018 under the Culture 2000 framework programme.
Unfortunately the Nationalist Party in government decided to take the road on its own. Barely a few weeks after the Budget speech and right in the middle of the utilities issue, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi declared that the Opera House will be rebuilt into a new Parliament (something which I personally disagree with) and City Gate will be restored under the headship of Professor Renzo Piano. Needless to say, the electoral manifesto was absolutely silent on this issue, as was the Budget speech itself, and no attempt to reach consensus was made with the Opposition and NGOs prior to the announcement.
The Prime Minister, in the previous legislature, had already declared that his government will restore and rebuild City Gate and the Opera House. But these words and promises translated into nothingness as months and years passed by. Similarly, during Dr Eddie Fenech Adami’s tenure, the government had promised, in vain, practically the same thing at least twice.
We believe that the two main guiding lights which lead us forward in this issue are (1) the need of regenerating the whole of Valletta, not just part of it and (2) the need of engaging into a healthy debate in a limited timeframe with all interested parties. The government is failing miserably on both counts.
The government is not aiming at regenerating the whole of Valletta. Principal roads such as Strait Street are literally a mess and what’s worse, important buildings like Fort St Elmo are literally falling into pieces. There are whole pockets of Valletta which are in dire need of regeneration and revitalization and the government is absolutely turning a blind eye to the need of creating a stimulus of economic activity in a holistic manner.
As much as it is important that the City Gate, Freedom Square and the Opera House are rebuild to their prime glory, it is quintessentially important that the whole of Valletta experiences a renaissance. This was the Opposition’s guiding principle in the Co-Cathedral issue when we claimed that the Museum could be housed in parts of Valletta which are currently unpopular in order to regenerate the area and this is our guiding principle even in this case.
Secondly the government failed miserably in promoting a healthy debate. Of course, this issue can’t be stretched until eternity but it does not mean that we do not set a reasonable time limit within which all interested parties and experts put in their feedback. Cultural artists and architectural experts are sending dozens of emails to popular newspapers and to their elected representatives to air their views because this is an issue which they care about. However, they are doing this in full realisation that the decision has already been taken.
This is a shame because our citizens deserve to be listened, have a lot to say and have a lot to contribute.
The government should slow down, open itself up more, reach out and heed healthy advice. In this manner, through a revitalised Valletta, we as a nation would be able to flaunt our European cultural richness and diversity better with all the ties which link us together as Europeans. By depicting Valletta as a true gem in the heart of the Mediterranean, we Maltese would portray the prestige of our history and the beauty of our capital city.
If only the Prime Minister would believe that together everything is possible…

Owen Bonnici is Opposition spokesperson for youth and culture

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