The proposed development of a 17-apartment vertical extension of the iconic Ramel Buildings in Sliema was flagged by the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage (SCH) and now has been deferred by the Planning Commission to revise the plans.
The application would see an additional six-storeys built.
The building is located across from Balluta garden on the corner of Tower Road and Triq Dun Karm Psaila, which is part of Sliema’s Urban Conservation Area (UCA).
“The property in question is an apartment block dating to the first half of the 20th century and is located in its entirety within the Urban Conservation Area of Sliema,” the SCH said.
The description of the application reads: “To construct 17 apartments over existing airspace and construction of lift shaft within the common area”.
The SCH voiced its objections against the proposed development on 4 October.
It pointed out how the building is Class A according to the North Harbour Local Plan (NHLP) street classification map, and said that therefore “no additional floors or significant structures should be allowed over the existing property”.
The SCH expressed its concern about the overall height of the proposal which it said exceeds the height of the adjacent building on Tower Road.
The SCH also flagged the “squat proportions” of the additional floors and criticised the design as being “alien” to the design elements of the historical building.
Lastly, the SCH said that there needs to be more information on the proposed structural interventions and methodology which would include the “appropriate measure to ensure the safeguarding of the historic structure and fabric”.
Although the proposed development had been flagged by the SCH, the case officer recommended the proposed development for approval on 5 December.
The case officer report pointed out that the way the building currently is, “the overall street quality is low and inconsistent when seen from Triq it-Torri where this landmark building is best appreciated from”, as it does not integrate with the contemporary taller buildings surrounding it.
The report said that although Ramel Buildings is a landmark building and considered a Category A streetscape which would not allow additional floors to be built, this can be countered if the whole street context is taken into account.
Currently Ramel Buildings is flanked with much higher building height limitation (8 floors, 35.5m) on Triq it-Torri, and a Category B streetscape for the rest of the building block located within the UCA, therefore based on the street context, the report said that the additional floors can be built.
“The height of the building at the lower street level on Triq it-Torri is lower than the permitted 35.5m maximum building height of the adjacent site, whilst the street façade is being kept lower than the permitted 32.1m (31.8m), with the 8th floor even being designed with a setback from the street façade so as to create a better height ration with the existing landmark façade.”
The report added that the proposed building does not damage the skyline as it is meeting the height of adjacent buildings.
The report said that “the emphasis should be on high-quality contemporary designs that seek to introduce new positive urban design principles into the streetscape.”
“It is considered that the proposed built massing and design, as per latest drawings, seek to achieve this goal by introducing new contemporary architectural design elements which due to the minimal design treatment enhance the highly decorated architectural grammar of the existing landmark building.”
Following the recommendation for approval by the case officer, the Planning Commission agreed to defer this application to 17 February 2023, during a board meeting on 20 December, and it asked the Architect to liaise with the SCH about their comments.
The architect is requested to publish a works method statement (WMS) that considers amending the design façade to reduce the “squat appearance” and adjusting the building height on Triq Nicolo Isouard to create a better building height transition.