Design / Environment /Malta December 2021 - February 2022 MALTA
An eco-driven plan for Malta: DESIGNER-ARCHITECT UNVEILS PROPOSALS TO DESIGN MALTA OUT OF CLIMATE CRISIS
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onathan Mizzi, Director and Founder of multidisciplinary design practice Mizzi Studio, unveiled a comprehensive and visionary strategy for an eco-driven, future-facing Malta. Mizzi presented solutions for ‘Designing Humanity out of a Climate Crisis’ during a presentation held at the TEDx event, which took place on Friday 5th of November at the University of Malta. The theme of the TEDx event was Hindsight, with the premise of Mizzi’s talk built on a conversion of hindsight into what he terms ‘creative foresight’ – calling for an attitude that embraces hope and ultimately drives action that addresses the current climate and biodiversity emergency. His thoughts and proposals come in the wake of the Code Red for Humanity alarm, sounded at the 2021 UN climate change conference (COP26), which kicked off at the end of October in Glasgow. Mizzi passionately unveiled
his ideas for how Malta can start to develop its built and natural environment differently – both infrastructurally and emotionally – in a bid to address the planet’s forecast climate eventuality. He referenced the fact that we are now, globally, in the most consequential decade of humanity, proclaiming “what we do between 2020 and 2030 will determine the future of our species”. Mizzi went on to say that “as humans, we need to evolve from a mindset of knowing, to one of true understanding, embracing hope and driving action”. Drawing from his personal experience, moving from London to a townhouse in Sliema, Mizzi lamented the erosion of Malta’s natural beauty. His talk positioned over-development as having taken precedence over the natural heritage and character of the Mediterranean island, with the high density of cars on the island pushing noise and air pollution to unhealthy levels. Mizzi’s central provocation for the talk was to question: how do we design ourselves out of the climate crisis? His response is to lead with hope. Mizzi spoke
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confidently about Malta’s ability to become a leader and a source of inspiration in tackling climate change – changing into an island that young people want to live in, rather than one they want to leave. THE BIG FIVE Mizzi identified the following five key elements which are needed to tackle the crisis: cutting emissions; drawing down emissions; addressing overpopulation; adopting a circular economy whilst adapting and upgrading our infrastructure to be more resilient. Mizzi went on to explain how, as a studio, his team believes in architecture’s power to make positive social and environmental impact, and strives to add tangible value, improve wellbeing, making the public realm a healthier, more beautiful place, through their projects. In his presentation, he referenced the ‘Malta Bus Reborn’ proposal put forward by the studio back in 2019. The re-imagined, traditional bus design aimed to improve the environmental efficiency of Malta’s current diesel fleet, whilst simultaneously bringing back the lost
