Malta Millennium Project
Date : 1997Site Area : 30,000m²
The Malta Millennium Project was an initiative of TeleMalta Corporation, a high profile public corporation, to develop its property situated at the heart of Paceville, the mecca of nightlife entertainment in Malta. The proposed development covered an area of nearly 30,000 square metres. The high-rise, multi-purpose telecom tower was the crux of the project.
The interest of TeleMalta Corporation was to create a high quality development. The Corporation was not aiming at a development which would become the epitome of Paceville, but for a catalyst and a landmark in urban design development in Malta: "the high-rise, multi-use telecommunications tower will be the focus of the Malta Millennium Project and will represent the greatest architectural and engineering feat ever taken on Maltese soil".
The basic functions of Mercury House, a Grade II listed buildings, were the Telex Exchange, the Branch Office, the Training Centre, the Contracts Department and the International Department. On the other hand, a major section of Pender Place was devoted to dry-land agricultural purposes and landscaping around the three villas, which accommodated offices in connection with the World Telecom Development Conference and the Media and Public Relations Sections.
The primary land use around Mercury House was for commercial/leisure purposes, the main emphasis being hotels and entertainment outlets; on the other hand, Pender Place was mostly surrounded by residential areas.
Three major constraints were identified: cultural, natural and social. There were two main 'cultural' assets on the sites: Mercury House and one of the detached villas at Pender Place. From a bio-physical survey of the sites, soils at Pender Place proved to be of inherent high fertility. A number of native trees/shrubs were identified as being worth protecting, and were to form part of the soft landscaping of the development in order to further upgrade the said development. Developing all sites through a holistic, sustainable high grade business/entertainment centre would be profitable to society if the social benefits exceed the social costs, that is, if the net present value of the project to society was greater than zero.
Click here to download the site plan.