Impressive Villa Bonici Projects by Architecture Students
The Tony Mifsud Architecture Awards organised by the Sliema Local Council, the Architecture Department of the University of Malta, and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar were presented on Friday 6th May 2011.
This award aims at sensitising tomorrow’s architects to the particular needs of urban conservation and countryside sites, encouraging them to apply their skill to different community issues. This year’s edition dealt with Villa Bonici in Sliema which was earmarked to accommodate a home for the elderly in the 2006 Local Plans and was subsequently scheduled in 2010. With the Villa Bonici project, the students faced a triple challenge – that of designing a home for elderly people in an ecological site set in an urban conservation area.
This year’s assignments were of a very high standard, and in fact seven students received an award, the highest number yet. The projects presented by Brenda Camilleri, Joe Galea, Nicky Psaila-Savona, Matthew Sciberras, Stephanie Xuereb, Zack Xuereb Conti and Rebecca Zammit all differed considerably, however all laid great emphasis on retaining the greenery of the site and allowing the public to access Sliema’s last green lung.
As part of this celebration of architectural ideas and sustainability held at the newly-restored Baroque setting of Obelisk Antiques Gallery, Dr. Douglas Kmiec, the US Ambassador, donated 19 architecture books to the Architecture Department library. Dr. Kmiec commented very favourably on the levels of excellence attained by the students’ projects, remarking on how they all combined sustainability with ideas to ensure that the residents remain integrated in the community by including public facilities like a kindergarten or a youth cafe in the complex.
Professor Denis De Lucca, Head of the Department of Architecture at the university, commented that all the projects presented showed a sensitivity to the restoration requirements of Villa Bonici and to the existing green landscape. Choosing this site for the assignments provided an opportunity for the students to study different options for innovative new building-old building-landscape relationships.
Sliema Councillor Cyrus Engerer invited the students to present their project to the Sliema Local Council and residents, while confirming the Council’s commitment to improving the quality of life for Sliema residents.
Dr Stephanie Xuereb, Director for the Elderly and Community Care who was invited to attend the presentation, admitted that she had not expected such a high standard in the projects or the depth of research that the students had undertaken in order to understand the special requirements of residents of such facilities.
Astrid Vella, Coordinator of Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar concluded this event by saying that Obelisk Auctions’ Villa Druscilla was chosen as a venue for the award presentation as it reflected FAA’s ethos of restoring old buildings in order to put them to good use. Ms Vella thanked Dr. Kmiec for his ongoing support of the NGO’s activities.