Bormla’s “Dock 1” Competes for Top Spot on Italian Urban Design Magazine

Italian design magazine The Plan has named the urban regeneration project for Malta’s Dock no. 1 in its 2016 shortlist for THE PLAN AWARD in the urban planning category. 

With the Grand Harbour having been such an important hub since the Roman times, it’s odd to think of this area, with its many layers of history and culture, as one of social deficit. So it’s no surprise that the regeneration of such a space is being celebrated by The Plan not simply as one of landscaping and restoration but as a multifaceted social intervention. 

The project design, carried out by local architects Architecture Project Valletta (AP), sees the opening up of this area into a hub of activity containing a series of nodes, and thereby reinstating it as a social focal point once again. 

It is listed alongside 13 other projects from 7 countries including Singapore, Sweden and Turkey. The objective of these awards is to “disseminate knowledge of and improve the quality of the work done by designers, academics, critics and students in the architecture, design and city planning fields” with the intention of sparking topical debates. 

So if you’re keen to find out more, you can read up on the project here.

Or you could just head down to Pjazza Gavin Gulia and take a short walk along the waterside to see for yourself.

*Feature photo courtesy of Architecture Project’s Facebook page