Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1177088
17.10.19 6 NEWS THE winners of the first design compe- tition organised by the Kamra tal-Periti were announced last week. e competition was organised as part of the policy "Sustainable Communi- ties: Housing for Tomorrow", spear- headed by the Housing Authority and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Social Accommodation. Following a call for applications, two NGOs were selected by the Specialised Housing Board to take forward their proposals. Mid-Dlam ghad-Dawl pro- posed a project which focuses on the provision of supportive housing and therapeutic services to prisoners and their families, with an aim to create a homely domestic and child-friendly en- vironment which supports integration and which emulates real life scenarios. e Richmond Foundation's project aims to offer support to homeless moth- ers with mental health problems and their children, through an integrative approach towards housing and service provision which will enable them to achieve independent living. e NGOs were then allocated a dilap- idated property each, one in Birgu and one in Bormla, and the Kamra tal-Periti launched the design competition, invit- ing professionals to put forward their proposals for the rehabilitation of these two buildings in line with the briefs of the two NGOs. Seven proposals were submitted for consideration by the jury, which was composed of Dr Rachael Marie Sci- cluna representing the Specialised Housing Programme Board, Mariella Mendez Cutajar representing the Spe- cialised Housing Programme Board, Perit Jacques Borg Barthet and Perit Edward Said representing the Kamra tal-Periti, Prof Alex Torpiano repre- senting the Faculty for the Built Envi- ronment, Dr Andrea Dibben represent- ing the Faculty for Social Wellbeing and Caldon Mercieca representing Valletta Design Cluster. e jury was very impressed with the high calibre and attention to detail that each project was given by all submis- sions which, in one way or another, en- gaged seriously with the core criteria of the competition in terms of innovation, conceptual strength and response to the brief. is made the selection process more laborious but also exciting. e winning proposal for the Rich- mond Foundation project was titled "Home: An Active reshold for Be- longing" and was submitted by Local Office. e jury selected this project for the sense of home embedded in the overall design. Motherhood, daily do- mestic rituals, and children's needs in- formed the core design. e depth of re- search and awareness to mental health considerations, the regard for process pre- and post-occupancy and the over- all attention to social, functional and budgetary aspects were exemplary. e user-centred design was brought out through a sensitive interplay be- tween the self and domestic daily rhythms, with architectural specificity. Overall, the design proposal demon- strated a strong social research basis, and a careful balance between the pri- vate individual spaces and those ful- filling the needs of the community was handled sensitively. e provision of sanitary facilities, the texture of materi- als and colour schemes within the sep- arate apartments was also considered important, as was the emphasis on the collaborative workshop both during the design stage as well as during use. "Birgu: e Ordinary House" by open- workstudio was the winner for the pro- ject to be led by Mid-Dlam ghad-Dawl. e jury selected this project in view of how it transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary through architectur- al innovation, contemplation and in- depth research. Structural constraints were transformed into a creative and conceptually stimulating design, which breaks away from the traditional setting of supported accommodation. e do- mestic dimension was carefully chore- ographed along lines of visibility which maximise space but also offer a sense of privacy and homeliness. Additionally, the use of participatory parity was embedded in the process of building this home, where prisoners will have the possibility to construct their own furniture – a process which in itself instils hope and aspiration to a brighter future. By keeping the retro- fitting of the building to a minimum, this project was able to focus on the in- timate by opening up spaces that have the potential to heal. Sustainable communities: Winners of design competition announced The winning proposal: "Home: An Active Threshold for Belonging" SR Technics, a world leading MRO service provider, has been awarded a seven-year exclusive engine maintenance contract with Ukraine International Air- lines (UIA). e agreement cov- ers a minimum of 34 CFM56- 7B shop visits. Meanwhile, work began on the first engine in the SR Technics engine shop in Zurich in August of this year. UIA and SR Technics have had a continuous partnership since April 2017, when the airline signed a five-year contract for integrated component servic- es with SR Technics for UIA's Boeing 737NG fleet. SR Tech- nics was able to secure the new engine services contract with a competitive commercial offer. During three trial shop visits performed earlier this year, the SR Technics team provided UIA with a sample of SR Tech- nics' industry-leading services. "We are certainly proud to have been selected as the exclu- sive supplier for the CFM56-7B engine services UIA requires," Michael Sattler, Chief Commer- cial Officer at SR Technics, said. "With an all-inclusive fixed price offer, we have demonstrat- ed our flexibility in pricing and our willingness to go the extra mile to expand our cooperation with a key partner." Evgeniya Satska, UIA Com- munications Director, said UIA technical and operational staff work hard together with SR Technics to provide passengers the most reliable and safest op- eration. "Passengers can rely on UIA for regular and safe flights. ey are in good hands," she said. SR Technics wins exclusive engine services contract with Ukraine International Airlines