Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/874823
41 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2017 Entrenched in history, Senglea's iconic Macina Bastion is in the fi- nal stages of restoration and reno- vation. Next month, it will come back to life as an exclusive Cugó Gran – Macina Grand Harbour luxury accommodation. Follow- ing weeks of preparation, creative lighting installations have now transformed the historical Mac- ina building's façade into a page of luminous history by using new led lighting technology in a design concept highlighting the timeless prestige of this historic architec- tural structure. For centuries, since it was built in 1554 during the reign of Grand Master Claude de la Sengle, the Sheer Bastion has been one of Malta's Grand Harbour's iconic landmarks. Macina derived its name from the large sheer crane structure ('macchina' in Italian), used to hoist masts and other heavy cargo. This structure was eventually dismantled in 1864. Now, once again, the Macina is set to become a landmark of a dif- ferent class: a luxury accommoda- tion in a standout building that will be a showpiece within the Cottonera Regeneration Pro- ject. Opening its doors in the coming weeks, the Cugó Gran – Macina, Grand Harbour will be under the dedicated man- agement of IBB Hotel Collec- tion. Today's LED technology serves to achieve the desired results as these aspects were not possible before with con- ventional lighting. Lighting up a building is easy, but the big challenge is to light up a building while respecting the architectural features, the colour of stone, the surround- ing environment, and using the darkness of the night to help. Just enough light was used to ac- centuate certain features while blending other areas with enough light to just show the formation of the building. Therefore, using darkness and shadows, they help in bringing out the building to life as it is not seen during the day. Lighting historical buildings involves the challenge of achiev- ing a fine balance between show- ing the historical fabric without floodlighting it, while revealing the features without dramatiz- ing them. The result is a blend of highlighted areas with uplight- ers, complemented with soft flood lighting around. Warm white light colour also serves to bring out the beautiful stone colour. The other aspect of this lighting project was to bring out the mod- ern part of the Macina called the Annex. This had to be done in a subtle way to preserve its histori- cal status. The new architectural design of the windows, having a steel frame around, helped in laying down the ideal concept which was to illuminate the perimeter of the steel window boxes. IBB Hotel Collection is a subsidiary of Von der Heyden Group, a developer and inves- tor based in Malta. Currently operating 11 hotels in Ger- many, Poland and Spain, the group has ambitious growth plans for the upcoming years. The next openings are ex- pected in Malta at the Grand Harbour with a bespoke bou- tique hotel under the brand name of Cugó Gran Macina Grand Harbour (Member of Design Hotels) and in Gdansk (Poland), where the group is currently constructing an own asset under the brand of IBB Ho- tel Dlugi Targ in the historic city centre. IBB operates hotels under lease, management and franchise contracts in prime and second- ary locations with three different own brands: IBB Hotel, IBB Blue Hotel, and Cugó Gran. The Cake Box opens outlet at Park Towers Supermarket 'The Cake Box' is now present at the Park Towers Supermarket at George Borg Olivier Street in Sliema operating the bak- er y section of this popular new gourmet supermarket. At Park Towers Supermarket in St. Ju- lians, apart from a ver y wide range of bread choices, The Cake Box is also offering its full range of it's pastries as well as it's 'Fresh Eats' healthy grab and go snacks. Patrons at the Park Towers St. Julians Supermarket can also enjoy the f lagrance and f lavour of our freshly ground coffee. This is the fif th Cake Box outlet throughout the Is- land. Over the past two and a half years, The Cake Box has devel- oped into a very successful food outlet offering a wide selection of pastries including scrump- tious cakes, muffins, cupcakes and savoury food items which include 'Fresh Eats' a 'grab- and-go' fresh food selection of healthy food choices. All food items sold at The Cake Box are developed and produced exclu- sively by CaterEssence. The Cake Box brand is owned by CaterEssence Ltd, the food di- vision of the Vassallo Group. The first Cake Box take away outlet opened its doors in 2014 at the Landmark Complex in Qormi, followed by other outlets in Ro- tunda Square Mosta, Paceville (opposite The George Hotel) and in St Anne Square, Sliema. The Park Towers Supermarlet in St Julians offers free car park- ing in the underground car park of the supermarket and is open every day from 8am to 8pm and Sundays from 9am to 4pm. Zejt iz-Zejtun, the event celebrat- ing the olive picking season and olive pressing for oil, will be held in Zejtun during the evening of Saturday 23 and on Sunday morn- ing 24 September. The place name Zejtun in its original Semitic con- notation signifies the fruit of the olive trees and the cultivated olive tree, synonymous with the Medi- terranean and popular since bibli- cal times. As the name indicates, olive tree cultivation and its by-products were a prime activity in the south coast of Malta in the Punic and Roman era with Zejtun at its' cen- tre. Over the years, especially with the Arab occupation of Malta at the end of the first millennium cotton gradually replaced the olive tree. In recent years, olive tree cul- tivation, olive pressing for oil and its' association with the healthy Mediterranean diet, have made a comeback. Zejt iz-Zejtun cele- brates and commemorates all this. The event organised by the Ze- jtun local council will kick off on Saturday at 7.30pm with the BAN- DU announcing the event which will be followed by a defile of vil- lage folk and farmers on carts car- rying the olive harvest for press- ing. Drummers and flag bearers in medieval costumes as well as folk singers and dancers will be present. Agricultural tools, typical ag- ricultural products and folk art will be exhibited in the ambience of an old country village and fair. Pride of place will be given to the olive tree. Maltese ftajjar and bread dressed in freshly pressed olive oil will be distributed for free tasting. Olive tress and associated products will be on sale. An audio visual presentation will feature ol- ive tree varieties and their proper cultivation. On Saturday all important his- torical and civic sites will be open to the public. A park and ride service will be available on Saturday from 7.00pm till midnight from Bulebel Indus- trial Estate near Inspire. Ample parking space will be provided in Zejtun itself. Zejt iz-Zejtun – the olive oil event Cugó Gran – Macina Grand Harbour enhances historic architecture with new LED lighting The strikingly lit façade of the Cugó Gran Macina - Grand Harbour in Senglea