DOCK 1

Location: Cospicua (Malta)
Architects: Architecture Project
Year: 2014

Awards:

• Din I-art Helwa prize for Architectural Heritage (2015)

Building description

Along with Birgu and Senglea, Cospicua is one of the Three Cities, located within the Grand Harbour to the east of Valletta. The Cottonera Regeneration project aims at the social and environmental improvement of the Three Cities area and its waterfront. The Dock 1 in Cospicua was considered as a critical nodal-link in achieving the sustainable regeneration of the whole area as the creek unites the Three Cities through a continuous 2.5 km long green promenade, linking Senglea’s and Birgu’s waterfronts with gardens and public spaces, and retaining the industrial heritage of the dockyard. Services and utilities were buried throughout the entire area. On the other hand, several traffic measures were introduced to give priority to pedestrians.

The project also served as a test for the research project NEPTUME (No-Discharge Energy-Efficient Prototype for the Treatment of Urban Municipal Effluent), a wastewater treatment consisting of filtering and decontaminating water through water-based vegetation that absorb and break down pollutants. The filtered water is used to irrigate the surrounding vegetation and landscape.

Photos
Guillaume Dreyfuss, Luis Rodriguez Lopez