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40-398: New Parliament Building can mean: Parliament House (Malta) New Parliament Building, Grenada New Zimbabwe Parliament Building Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title New Parliament Building . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

80-484: A lunette known as St. Madeleine's Lunette. During British rule, the lunette was demolished and part of the advanced ditch filled in. The site was later occupied by the bus terminus, with the Triton Fountain at the centre. The square around the fountain has been converted into a pedestrian area. The gate marks the beginning of Republic Street ( Maltese : Triq ir-Repubblika ), Valletta's main street which goes all

120-575: A fraction of the cost of constructing a new building. Some argued that the square should not have been built up as it was one of the few open spaces in Valletta. Others attacked the modern design of the structure itself, including the Labour MP Carmelo Abela , who called the Parliament House "an ugly building built on stilts ". The building's design, particularly the system of cladding,

160-469: A steel frame clad in Gozitan limestone. The stone slabs are carved in such a way that they seem to have been eroded by nature. Parliament House is a zero emission building since heat energy is recovered from or given off to the mass of rock below. This is used to heat and cool the building, avoiding any cooling towers or boilers. City Gate (Valletta)#Fourth City Gate The first gate which stood on

200-731: Is located in Republic Street near City Gate , the entrance to Valletta. The building is located adjacent to Saint James Cavalier and the ruins of the Royal Opera House , and opposite the City Gate Shopping Arcade and Palazzo Ferreria . The site presently occupied by the Parliament House originally contained houses, and later the Valletta Station of the Malta Railway . The area was bombarded during World War II , and

240-568: Is often attributed to the Maltese architect Tommaso Dingli , although there is no documentary evidence supporting this claim. During the French occupation of Malta in 1798–1800, the gate was known as Porte Nationale . In accordance with Proclamation No. VI of 1814, which was issued by Governor Sir Thomas Maitland , the British coat of arms was installed at the gate in 1815. This coat of arms might have been

280-631: Is still officially the Freedom Square, and is now in a rectangular form. The square now covers from the corner of Palazzo Ferreria to the first column across of the subjected parliament, and to the Spanish steps next to the City Gate. The building of the Parliament House was a part of the City Gate Project, which was meant to redevelop the entrance of Valletta. The project consisted of the demolition of

320-565: Is the meeting place of the Parliament of Malta located in Valletta, Malta . The building was constructed between 2011 and 2015 to designs by Renzo Piano as part of the City Gate Project, which also included building a new City Gate and converting the ruins of the Royal Opera House into an open-air theatre. Construction of the Parliament House generated considerable controversy, mainly due to

360-663: The Fortifications Interpretation Centre . The third city gate was built in 1853, during the height of British rule of Malta . The gate was known as Porta Reale , and was also known as Putirjal in Maltese and Kingsgate or Kingsway in English . The gate was designed by Col. Thompson of the Royal Engineers , and it consisted of two central arches with two smaller ones. There were two statues on either side of

400-478: The Royal Opera House and the entrance of Valletta were made in the 1950s. This project was revived by Prime Minister George Borg Olivier in 1962, focusing on the city gate. The project to replace the gate with a larger one was announced at the 1963 Trade Fair Exposition, and the gate was pulled down in June 1964. Following the demolition of the gate, the bust of Pius V was placed into storage, before being retrieved by

440-561: The fourth City Gate and the Freedom Square Arcade and the construction of the fifth City Gate and the Parliament House. In addition, the ruins of the Royal Opera House were converted into an open-air theatre known as Pjazza Teatru Rjal. The City Gate project was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano , and the plans were revealed on 27 June 2009. The Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation paid Piano €6.6 million for his work on

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480-682: The Valletta Local Council in 1993. In 2005, the bust was moved to Great Siege Square, close to Saint John's Co-Cathedral and the Law Courts . The fourth city gate was built between June 1964 and August 1965 to designs of the architect Alziro Bergonzo , in the Italian rationalist style. The gate consisted of a large opening in the centre with two smaller ones on the sides, and it had a simple design with limited ornamentation. Pope Pius V Street ( Maltese : Triq il-Papa Piju V ) passed on top of

520-409: The ancient Egyptian Temple of Edfu , with critics saying that the breach in the bastions is out of place in the largely Mannerist and Baroque city. The Renzo Piano design incorporated many themes from the project evolving over many years, and in the case of the stone facade, this had to be quarried from the ideal location on the island to provide enough stone to frame the gate but delicate enough for

560-469: The building was included on The Daily Telegraph ' s list of "the world's best (and worst) new buildings", although the newspaper did not state in which category the building fell. The Parliament House consists of two blocks connected together with bridges, one of which houses the chamber of parliament. The two blocks are separate so as not to obscure views of Saint James Cavalier from Republic Street. Each block has three floors. The structure consists of

600-487: The city is named. Porta San Giorgio was possibly designed by Francesco Laparelli , the Italian military engineer who designed most of the fortifications of Valletta, or by his Maltese assistant Girolamo Cassar . Construction started in April 1566 and it was complete by 1569. The gate was rather plain in design, and was simply an unadorned small opening in the curtain walls. A timber bridge originally linked Porta San Giorgio with

640-399: The countryside across the ditch. Sometime before 1582, a stone bridge replaced the wooden one. The bridge itself was replaced a number of times, but its rock-hewn foundations remain intact and continue to support the present bridge. In around 1586, during the reign of Grand Master Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle , the gate was renamed Porta Reale . In the late 16th century, a smaller outer gate

680-440: The gate said that it offered a better view of the bastions, and its design reflected the fortifications' austerity. Further criticism was directed towards the gate in subsequent decades, and there was public interest to replace the gate. The Italian architect Renzo Piano first made plans to redevelop the entrance of Valletta in 1988, but the project was shelved by 1992. In 2008, the government resumed contact with Piano to replace

720-469: The gate. The gate was part of a project that was never fully completed, that of redeveloping the entrance to Valletta and the Royal Opera House. It was controversial at the time of its construction, with the general public having mixed opinions on the gate. In March 1965, when construction of the gate was underway, the Chamber of Architects criticized its design as an "architectural flop". Arguments in favour of

760-409: The gate. Piano's new plans were revealed on 27 June 2009, and City Gate was demolished between 2 and 5 May 2011, with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi attending the demolition. The demolition of City Gate and the nearby Freedom Square arcades cost a total of €1.39 million. The fifth and present city gate was constructed between 2011 and 2014 to designs of Renzo Piano. This gate is very different from

800-459: The gate: one of Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam , the first Grand Master in Malta, and one of Jean Parisot de Valette , the founder of the city. On 24 July 1892, a bronze bust of Pope Pius V , who had made significant financial contributions to the building of Valletta, was installed above the archway on the rear of the gate. By the early 20th century, the gate was regarded as too small to cope with

840-450: The large influx of people entering the city. The first proposals to address this issue were made in the 1920s, and some included replacing the gate with an open carriageway. Kingsgate survived the bombings of World War II , although it was slightly damaged in April 1942, when the bridge leading to the gate was hit by aerial bombardment. The statues of L'Isle-Adam and de Valette were destroyed during this attack. The first plans to redevelop

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880-446: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Parliament_Building&oldid=1131640491 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Parliament House (Malta) The Parliament House ( Maltese : Dar il-Parlament )

920-620: The modern design of the building and the cost of construction, which amounted to around € 90 million. From 1921 to 1976, the meeting place of the Parliament of Malta had been the Tapestry Chamber of the Grandmaster's Palace , also in Valletta. In 1976, the former armoury of the same palace was converted into a new parliament, and meetings were held there until the opening of the purpose-built Parliament House on 4 May 2015. The Parliament House

960-406: The new building accompanied by the police force band. Coleiro Preca called the inauguration of the Parliament House "a milestone in Malta's parliamentary history", since this is the first purpose-built parliament building in Malta. The first sitting was held later the same day. Most of the building is closed to visitors for security reasons, but a permanent exhibition on the ground floor is open to

1000-400: The previous ones, as it consists of a breach in the bastions, flanked by large blocks of stone which are separated from the curtain walls by high blades of steel. Like the fourth gate, it was also built as part of a project to redesign the city entrance. The project also turned the ruins of the Royal Opera House into an open-air theatre known as Pjazza Teatru Rjal , and a new Parliament House

1040-459: The project. The demolition of the arcades of Freedom Square began in October 2010. Excavation works for the foundations of the Parliament House began soon after demolition was complete. In early 2011, the original plan was modified with the relocation of a staircase, the extension of one of the blocks, and changes in the design of the louvers on the facade. Construction started later that year, and

1080-405: The public. On 1 August 2015, Piano visited the Parliament House for the first time since its inauguration. The building of the Parliament House, along with the rest of the City Gate project, was controversial. Critics considered it an unnecessary project, proposing to restore Fort Saint Elmo or one of the large dilapidated palaces in the city and converting it into a parliament building, for

1120-605: The richly textured walls of the Parliament building. The Maltese Hardstone Limestone was carved, to play with the light. There is some 12,000 cubic meters of the Limestone, the aiding of sourcing and production QC was by Kevin Ramsey (Ramsey Stone Consultants). In October 2014, an art installation entitled Prospettiva was inaugurated in Girolamo Cassar Avenue, close to the bus terminus. The installation incorporates elements from

1160-460: The site was Porta San Giorgio , which was built in 1569 to designs of either Francesco Laparelli or Girolamo Cassar . The gate was renamed Porta Reale ( Maltese : Putirjal ) around 1586, before being rebuilt in 1633, probably to designs of Tommaso Dingli . It was briefly renamed Porte Nationale during the French occupation of Malta in 1798, but the name reverted to Porta Reale when Malta fell under British rule in 1800. In 1853, this

1200-411: The station and surrounding buildings were demolished in the 1960s as part of a project to redevelop the entrance to Valletta. The area was converted into an open space known as Freedom Square ( Maltese : Misraħ il-Ħelsien ), which was surrounded by a shopping arcade . The square was originally rather plain, and was commonly used as a car park. Though most of the square has been built-up, part of it

1240-552: The steel frame of the structure was complete by early 2012. At this point, it began to be covered in limestone which had been quarried in Gozo , and cut into specific shapes in Italy, before being sent back to Malta. Between 120 and 150 workers were on the construction site every day, and it cost more than €90 million to build. The completion date of the project was originally given as November 2012 or early 2013. The estimated completion date

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1280-479: The three gates leading to the city – the others being the Marsamxett Gate and Del Monte Gate, on the western and eastern extremities of the city. Marsamxett Gate was demolished in the early 20th century, while Del Monte Gate was replaced by Victoria Gate in 1885. The original gate to Valletta was known as Porta San Giorgio , and was built during the reign of Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette , after whom

1320-457: The way until Fort Saint Elmo at the opposite end of the city. The buildings in the immediate vicinity of the City Gate include the Parliament House , the ruins of the Royal Opera House and the City Gate Shopping Arcade. Saint James Cavalier and Saint John's Cavalier are located on either side of the gate, near the Parliament House and shopping arcade respectively. City Gate was one of

1360-402: The work of the sculptor Vincenzo Dimech . The gate was modified over time, and by the late 18th and early 19th centuries there were a number of features which had not been part of Dingli's original design. The gate was demolished in 1853 since it was too small and had to be widened. The remains of a 17th-century drawbridge believed to have been installed at Porta Reale are now exhibited at

1400-416: Was built and a triumphal arch was added above the original gate. The second city gate was built in 1633, during the magistracy of Grand Master Antoine de Paule . This gate was more ornate than its predecessor Porta San Giorgio , and it consisted of a central archway with a smaller arch at each side, and a wooden drawbridge across the deep, dry ditch that lies immediately outside the city walls. This gate

1440-410: Was built occupying part of Freedom Square. The new city gate, like the rest of Piano's project, was controversial. The majority of the Maltese welcomed the demolition of the fourth gate, although it was one of the few examples of Italian rationalist architecture on the island. Some critics of the new gate preferred a more traditional design similar to the third gate. The new gate has been compared to

1480-460: Was compared to a dovecote ( Maltese : Barumbara tal-ħamiem ) or to a cheese grater by the general public. The cladding were intended to actually represent honeycombs as the name of Malta derives from Melite which means honey . The ultramodern design that contrasts much with the rest of Valletta has gone as far as the UNESCO questioning the city's title as a World Heritage Site . In 2015,

1520-417: Was extended to September 2013, and later to September 2014. Contractors failed to meet deadlines, and the building was still not complete by the end of 2014. It was eventually completed in 2015. The Parliament House was officially inaugurated by President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca on 4 May 2015. Members of Parliament and other guests gathered at the old chamber at the Grandmaster's Palace , and walked to

1560-490: Was once again replaced by a larger gate, which was also known as Kingsgate or Kingsway . These first three gates were all fortified , forming part of Valletta's city walls . The gate was also informally called the Porta di terra (meaning "land gate") since it was the only landward approach to the city. The last fortified gate was demolished in 1964, being replaced by a Rationalist gate designed by Alziro Bergonzo . This gate

1600-530: Was then demolished in 2011, and it was replaced by Piano's gate which was completed in 2014. City Gate is located within the Porta Reale Curtain, a curtain wall at the centre of the Valletta Land Front , located between St. James' and St. John's Bastions. A bridge spanning across Valletta's deep ditch leads to the gate. The gate was originally protected by a couvre porte , an advanced ditch and

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