Reasonable Dreams represents the identification of an architectural firm with the visions and inspirations that fed the most influential architectural projects in Valletta. Conceived by Architecture Project, the exhibition is a thoughtful journey through the city’s transformation, linking past and future seamlessly around three main axes: historical dreams, realised dreams, and the fragmentation of time-space through artistic dreams. Changes to the urban fabric of Valletta as a capital city are revealed through an empathy with the origins of planned and realised capital projects that have contributed to the transformation of Valletta from its Renaissance beginnings to its current revival through projects such as the on-going City Gate project by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, or the Barrakka Lift by AP.
Barrakka Lift. Photography © AP - Sean Mallia. Image courtesy of La galerie d'architecture.
"Dreams" are understood here not merely as manifestations of an oneiric state, but, rather, as the origins of the creative process that find their way into the founding myths of the city. These will be expressed through the tensions created by the juxtaposition of historical and modern-day urban dreams, and the questioning of their contemporary relevance. The exhibition includes drawings, models, video installations, sculptures and historical plans, that describe realisations and suggestive traces in order to further our understanding of their inherent architectural process, and, more especially, to serve as an inspiration for new explorations and proposals.
Barrakka Lift. Photography © AP - Sean Mallia. Image courtesy of La galerie d'architecture.
Barrakka Lift. Photography © AP - Sean Mallia. Image courtesy of La galerie d'architecture.
Barrakka Lift. Memory of project.
This twenty storey high panoramic lift, commissioned by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation plc and designed by Architecture Project (AP), is located on the edge of Malta’s historic fortified capital city of Valletta. Valletta is being given a new lease of life as the island prepares to host the presidency of the European Union in 2017 and the city having recently been named European Capital of Culture for 2018.
The structure is designed to enhance movement of large numbers of visitors and residents between the Grand Harbour and Valletta. The Barrakka Lift project required a certain rigour to resolve the dichotomy between the strong historic nature of the site and the demands for better access placed upon it by cultural and economic considerations.
The renewed connection serves the needs of thousands of visitors approaching the city from the traditional arrival point at the foot of the bastions. The heavy demands of accessibility to and mobility around the town required a much larger footprint and a stronger vertical statement within the skyline of the historic harbour were therefore inevitable. In order to resolve this, a cavity was created by pulling the two lifts apart, where a staircase could be threaded in between.
Not only does this space accommodate mandatory safety requirements, but it also reduces the visual weight of the lift structure itself and accentuates the vertical proportions of the structure.
Text.- AP
Exhibition dates.- From 6th December 2013 to 11th January 2014.
Venue.- La galerie d'architecture. 11 Rue des Blancs Manteaux, 75004 Paris.
Opening Hours.- Tue-Sat from 11h to 19h.
