Architecture & Design

Architecture & Design | 33 What do you want this approach to achieve in the way people experience and use the site? The idea of the secret garden came quite naturally from the character of the site. It is enclosed by high walls on three sides, and from the surrounding urban environment you do not immediately perceive what exists within. Passing through the garden gates can therefore become a moment of transition: from a dense, highly trafficked urban environment into a quieter and greener space. We did not want the garden to become an overly curated landscape in which every element is predetermined. The concept of the Third Landscape offers an alternative approach, allowing nature to have a greater degree of freedom and allowing the garden to evolve over time. That also creates opportunities for people to shape the space through how they use it. Informal pathways, shaded areas, places for play and opportunities for community gardening can make the garden feel less like a finished landscape and more like a shared environment, which hopefully the local community can identify with. In Gżira, where the urban environment is dense and heavily influenced by vehicular infrastructure, simply creating more greenery and providing a place for people to pause, play and spend time outdoors can have a significant impact. The creation of the garden forms part of the Water Services Corporation's broader approach to the site, where areas outside the core operational footprint are being given a new public and environmental purpose. The garden is also designed to perform environmentally. It contributes to cooling and carbon sequestration, while rainwater management and reuse are integrated into the landscape. Thus, it is not simply a decorative green space; it is part of the project's environmental and infrastructural strategy. The restoration of the concrete water tower is another important element of the project. What does this relatively overlooked piece of infrastructure tell us about Malta's heritage? The water tower is a fascinating reminder that infrastructure itself is heritage. The tower was a later addition to the original building on the site; which in itself is an added layer to the historical narrative of the infrastructural nature of the site. The decision by the Water Services Corporation to retain and restore the water tower is significant. Rather than treating it as a redundant structure, WSC recognised it as part of the site's infrastructural heritage and sought to restore both the structure and its relationship with water management on the site. Concrete structures of this kind can easily be overlooked because they are not conventionally regarded as architectural monuments. Yet they tell us about the technological, engineering and social history of a place. In this case, the tower is one of the few of its kind still standing, which gives it an additional significance. In collaboration with Prof. Ruben Paul Borg and his team at the University of Malta, its restoration and the reinstatement of its use reinforce one of the central ideas of the project: that the infrastructure associated with the management of sewage and water should not be hidden or detached from our understanding of our urban environment. Water management is one of the core functions of the Water Services Corporation, and here it becomes part of the architectural story of the site. It also creates a direct connection between past and present. We are not simply conserving an artefact; we are restoring a piece of infrastructure and giving it a role within the contemporary operation of the site. Our proposal is not only for the restoration of the structure itself but also to reinstate its purpose of storing water and integrating it almost as a sculptural element within the garden. Once the project is complete, what do you hope people will see differently about the pumping station, about Gżira, and perhaps about the value of Malta's infrastructural heritage more broadly? I hope people will begin to see infrastructure as part of the places we inhabit, rather than as something that exists separately from the urban environment we live in. The Gżira Pumping Station demonstrates that an infrastructural building can have architectural, historical, environmental and social value simultaneously. Its importance does not come only from the Neo-Gothic architecture or its Grade 1 status; it also comes from the fact that it has continued to perform an essential function for generations. For Gżira, the project is also about creating a new piece of public space in a dense urban environment. The garden and community spaces can offer residents somewhere to meet, play, rest, participate and engage with nature, while the pumping station continues to do the important infrastructural work for which it was built. For the Water Services Corporation, the project demonstrates how essential infrastructure can continue serving its operational purpose while contributing positively to the surrounding community. The Gżira Pumping Station could therefore become a model for how WSC approaches other historic operational assets, protecting their heritage while adapting them to present and future needs. Ultimately, we would like the project to demonstrate that regeneration does not necessarily mean replacing what is already there. Sometimes the most meaningful form of regeneration is to understand the value of an existing place, restore what is significant, improve what needs to function better, and introduce new uses that allow more people to become connected to it. In that sense, the Gżira Pumping Station can become an example of how Malta's infrastructural heritage can be both preserved and lived; remaining operational, while becoming more open and relevant to the community around it. " I hope people will begin to see infrastructure as part of the places we inhabit, rather than as something that exists separately from the urban environment we live in. The Gżira Pumping Station can become an example of how Malta's infrastructural heritage can be both preserved and lived; remaining operational, while becoming more open and relevant to the community around it.

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