Din l-Art Helwa Executive President Simone Mizzi yesterday addressed the organisation’s annual general meeting, reflecting on ‘The Good, the Sad and the Beautiful’ of the state of the country’s aesthetics and heritage. She argues that two small words contained in the new National Environmental Policy – ‘Step Change’ – may just represent the quantum leap Malta needs if it is to save its visual environment from further degradation. Following is a synopsis of her address
The Good
Mrs Mizzi opened her address by saying that Din l-Art Helwa has continued to do much this year to save many splendid landmarks and artistic works that are essential to the island’s cultural and natural heritage, salvaging them from neglect or from the developer’s axe. Projects such as the restoration of 17 British period barracks at Ghajn Tuffieha in the Majjistral National Park Scheme are extraordinary, as are the challenge of the Delimara Lighthouse, which is at its most exciting phase now with its canopy undergoing conservation, work at St Anthony’s Battery at Qala Point nearing completion, a new phase of restoration of the Wignacourt Tower that has finally found a financial champion in the MTA, external conservation projects such as those of the Nine Monuments at Maglio Gardens, and Mattia Preti’s paintings in Sarria Church, to name but a few, show how much can be done by so few and with so little.
The extraordinary privilege of working to turn the clock back on the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Valletta has seen DLH launch a highly successful National Appeal with many generous people donating funds to this project. The organisation succeeded in doing all this while continuing to upgrade and maintain the other historic properties it holds in guardianship, to find funds for new demands placed on it by health and safety regulations, steeper services bills and insurance, and to find volunteers to man and run them, all great examples of the commitment of the organisation to its mission.
Ms Mizzi said this week was an unusually satisfying one for the environment and for built heritage. Malta’s tireless and hard working Minister of Tourism, the Environment and Culture, when announcing that European funds are promised for St Elmo and St Angelo, also launched the National Environmental Policy, indicating that €2 billion are being dedicated to environmental upgrades. “This comprehensive document, if embraced by all, and if implemented in all its excellent detail,” Ms Mizzi observed, “should put an end to the environmental deficit,” adding that she was proud DLH was able to contribute during its formulation.”
Ms Mizzi welcomed the new fiscal and monetary packages aimed at the restoration and rehabilitation of scheduled buildings adding that she hoped these could be extended beyond Urban Conservation Areas. Compulsory renovation of dilapidated facades was to be enforced. She also welcomed the creation of land or development trusts mentioned in the Policy that was to assist with long term planning for below standard developments or abandoned buildings, a most enlightened initiative that needed exploring. The long awaited high-rise policy was promised by 2012 and it is hoped that the caution advocated for tall buildings would be adhered to till its implementation. Sadly noted by omission, said Ms Mizzi, was any intention to relocate aquaculture developments away from the island’s best coastal waters. She hoped that this would be addressed through marine spatial planning and when the 2012 Aquaculture Strategy is launched as determined by the Policy. The thorny issues of hunting and trapping and illegal occupation of land were not mentioned, she observed, but she also wished that the Enforcement Unit of Mepa will have the support it has been promised and that it be fully operational this year.
Step Change: two small words but a giant
leap for visual environment
There has been one quantum leap forward, observed the DLH Executive President about which she was particularly excited, and that was the promise in the National Environment Policy to “prioritise improved urban quality and design where a ‘Step Change’ is needed”. However, said Ms Mizzi, beauty, like taste, cannot be disputed, and though she certainly was no arbiter of style, she felt that the serious degradation of Malta’s visual environment entitled her to speak her mind on an issue she has closely to heart: that is the protection of the beauty of Malta and its reinstatement where it has been lost.
“For those of us insisting on aesthetics, a word that is unfavourable ‘planning speak’ on the grounds it curbs creativity, the promises for a Step Change in Urban Design, together with the intention to protect the landscape, finally signifies that recognising the urgency to halt the ‘uglification’ of Malta, has finally come, and of course, better late than never.
She hoped therefore that her reflections could serve to reinforce this recognition and that a Step Change mentality would shake everybody into seeing the deterioration of our daily surroundings, those valuable assets which, whether man-made or natural, give us our quality of life. The Environment Policy is enlightened, but it is only a first plan, it needs to be embraced by ALL involved. It needs determined action to be taken now to prevent further losses of the islands’ scenic qualities, its traditionally pleasant streetscapes, historic town centres, its imposing fortifications and its Mediterranean views.
“These make up that extraordinary Maltese cultural landscape which is our legacy,” Ms Mizzi said, “and are the assets that have made our islands one of the most unique and privileged places to live in. They give us our own identity and sense of place.”
Appropriately, but perhaps also ironically, commented Ms Mizzi, the Policy is beautifully illustrated with images of old traditional Malta and of natural spaces that are still unspoilt, leaving little question that these visual assets are pivotal to a good quality environment, a citizen’s most singular and most valuable resource and a basic human need.
Sadly, a combination of forces, mainly those of chaotic unplanned growth and lack of awareness on the importance of retaining good cultural landscape by our leaders and planners has resulted in the loss of a great part.
The bad and the sad: a legacy of ‘new’ built heritage
The unbridled building binge of the last decades has given the island a legacy described by Ms Mizzi as Malta’s ‘new built heritage’. The sights that greet our visitors and us on a daily basis are mainly made up of unfinished or neglected developments, incredulous colour schemes, inappropriate adjacencies and degraded urban and rural areas. Our vision is filled with endless rows of metal fronted garages with overlying apartments, empty showrooms, and our valleys are given over to still more cement. Ms Mizzi pointed out that all this too becomes heritage, the bad is classed along with the good in the definition of the sum that makes up the cultural landscape of a country. “The bad, or rather the sad,” said Ms Mizzi, “has become difficult to exclude and we have become immune to shabbiness and do not question it.”
Sophisticated new buildings even in high value landscape areas eat away at the public horizon because ‘views’ sadly are commodities, as recently expressed by Mepa, and are not protected. This was an outrageous notion, and she demanded that the European Landscape Convention to which Malta subscribed addresses this issue. When there is an area of particular scenic appeal, continued Ms Mizzi, it is targeted and becomes owned by a few. Subsequently, it benefits only a handful and is lost to the majority. A high price to pay and a case of man ‘poisoning his own well.
Ms Mizzi said while building is in the island’s DNA, we still have to address this national obsessive compulsive disorder, that of thinking that building over every spare patch of land is the panacea for all the island’s economic ills. The 70,000 buildings that lie empty and the resulting slow down in construction, which needs to focus on the regeneration of the uglified parts of Malta and make them beautiful once again, have disproved such sustainability.
For that reasons, ‘Step Change’ for quality of urban design is maybe a small step after four decades of a building jamboree, but a giant one for Malta’s future visual legacy. Ms Mizzi also welcomed the proposals put forward by the Kamra tal Periti (Chamber of Architects) to entrench the concepts for the establishment of a Centre of Architecture and Built Environment and of Design Review Panels within the Policy. These are far sighted and she said she looked forward to their realisation.
The DLH Executive President gave a few sad examples to highlight the importance for Step Change mentality as prioritised by the National Policy. She said she was confident that with the new approach of the Mepa Board, insensitive mistakes of the past would not be repeated today. She showed a baroque chapel in Lija almost totally obliterated by a 60s residence in the old village core, and the 17th century church of Tal-Hniena in Qrendi with its exquisite baroque lineaments completely ruined by its neighbour. “These,” said Ms Mizzi, “were mini blasts from the past, but they have not stopped today.” The recent extraordinary turquoise development of a lovely corner of old St Julian’s vying with the colour scheme of a neighbouring building was the last blow to the ruination of one of our prettiest creeks, saved only and always by our beautiful sea. Ms Mizzi said she was satisfied that after much lobbying and changing of applications, the demolition of the old Villa Fleris has not been permitted and was pleased that this will be restored. “However,” she went on to ask, “now that these last green terraces of St Julian’s are to go, will the planned development redeem what was once one of the most picturesque corners of Malta, or will it just continue to add to the confused visual clutter that crowds our vision?”
She then showed what in her opinion was a most unusual creation, and example of a questionable permit on the Bahar ic-Caghaq coast, which, in her own words “never ceases to amaze me when I see it, as see it you must, as there has been no attempt to respect its surroundings.
“These and so many other like them, are insensitive and brutal buildings built for those on the inside to enjoy, not for those of us on the outside. The responsibility of a building and of those involved in its creation is to fulfil the needs of both, and if they are unable to do so, that is where formal guidelines MUST take over. So far submission to design adjudication will only be voluntary, a good start, but it needs to become compulsory.”
Opportunities for best practice
“There are opportunities,” said Ms Mizzi, “which we must not fail to take if Step Change is to work.” Two cases in particular came to mind. She asked that good practice be shown for Mistra Village’s latest proposals at Xemxija, where perhaps the ‘tall building’ policy is yet to demonstrate how topographic sensitivity can be used. “Or,” she asked, “would it pip the ‘high rise’ policy to the post as have the new towers just approved for Tigné Point with their increasingly nefarious effect on the Valletta skyline? Ms Mizzi pointed out that one now has to look long and deep for Valletta’s bastions to find them, yet the Tigné/Cambridge colossi can be seen from everywhere. Again these are examples of buildings built for those on the inside and not for those on the outside.
Ms Mizzi concluded her address saying that there was one important opportunity “we can and must not fail to influence if Step Change’ is to prioritise sensitivity, an integral element of good quality design”. She was referring to the next large scale development about to take place: that on Manoel Island, an area that currently represented the only open space left within a horrendously dense and busy part of Sliema and Gzira.
Ms Mizzi said she was delighted with the work and attention to detail and the visible care that has saved Fort Manoel through restoration, that ‘model of fortifications,’ quoting from Quentin Hughes. ‘”The Fort,” said Ms Mizzi, “is a likely candidate for a World Heritage Monument listing, and a most commendable restoration worthy of the Europa Nostra Gold Medal.” However, she expressed concerns that the developing hand that saved might now bury it with the proposal to build some 470 apartments and a medley of residential and commercial spaces. She sincerely hoped that the scheme would not dedicate every square inch to cementification. She also expressed her hopes that sensitivity is applied to the proposed heights of the buildings in their relationship and adjacencies to the Fort and around the Lazaretto, which together make a most welcoming and iconic vista, the best of Marsamxetto. She looked forward to the proposed restoration of the Lazaretto and hoped that it would be given for appropriate use.
Here was an opportunity for a ‘Step Change” mentality to influence the general architectural style and vocabulary, said Ms Mizzi, “and retain Malta’s sense of place and identity.” She said she spoke on behalf of all members of the organisation and called on the Mepa Board and its planners to champion the cause of the visual integrity of Manoel Island and its historic monuments.
The DLH Executive President observed that if Manoel Island has to be built at all, she hoped that its style could serve as an example for the mammoth task ahead for future builders, architects and developers, as they had centuries of work ahead to put whole areas of Malta to right. “In some Mediterranean countries,” commented Ms Mizzi, “bad built heritage has started being pulled down, and we too can claim a token victory in this respect. Din l-Art Helwa had demanded the demolition of the Law Courts extension, and this, she said, is to come down and be resized.” “Application of design or aesthetic guidelines in planning has so far been taboo. If we are to improve the visual environment, imperative for the quality of life of those who follow, this taboo, too,” concluded Ms Mizzi, “must be broken.”
The beautiful
Ms Mizzi then asked the audience to forget the beauty that has been lost to that which can still be saved, saying that Malta is fortunate there is still so much. She thanked previous DLH presidents for their vision and sheer determination of championing the project to save Our Lady of Victory Church for more than 12 years. It is thanks to them that she now has the privilege of leading the project. She thanked the new Minister of Culture for entrusting DLH with its care, as this was a responsibility of the highest order. She also thanked the many members and sponsors who have come forward, rallying to the National Appeal for funds and it was due to them that the project could now be undertaken. Din l-Art Helwa needs all the support it can get to turn the clock back on this exquisite first church of Valletta. She listed the many tasks at hand, the restoration of its many works of art, its 18th century organ, vestry, woodwork and the Alessio Erardi vault paintings. This is the last corner of Valletta between Lascaris Wharf and the entrance to Valletta to remain untreated. The last image to emerge from centuries of grime following the recent work on the Erardi vault was that of Gabriel, the Archangel. She hoped that this image would serve to inspire DLH and its volunteers to continue with their mission to save cultural heritage.