Archive for category: News

The Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) has announced that it has been successfully selected to run a project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme, called Connecting Architects in Europe (CONNECT ARCH). This four-year project will aim to reinforce the sector’s capacity and help the profession to face current and forthcoming challenges: cross-border and trans-national mobility, increased competition from outside the EU, adaptation to digital technologies, acquisition of new skills and competences, to name but a few.

In the autumn of 2016, ACE submitted a bid in response to a call for proposals from the Creative Europe Programme, the EU Commission’s financing instrument that supports Europe’s cultural and creative sectors. The European Networks sub-programme is designed to help the cultural and creative sectors to operate transnationally and to strengthen their competiveness, notably by providing professionals with specific skills and experience, to enable them to expand their careers in Europe and beyond.

The successful ACE project proposal, called Connecting Architects in Europe (CONNECT ARCH), will aim to reinforce the architectural sector’s capacity and help the profession to face current and forthcoming challenges. It is made up of 10 activities grouped under four inter-related over-arching objectives, namely:

1. Strengthening the ACE network and increasing collaboration among its members – notably by increasing knowledge-sharing and peer-to-peer learning among ACE members and enhancing their ability to engage in EU policy and law-making processes;
2. Improving the transnational mobility of European architects – to contribute to the realisation of the full potential of EU Internal Market legislation, notably by identifying and promoting opportunities and partnerships in the EU and beyond;
3. Enabling European Architects to build up their professional and business skills – notably by organising CPD modules to help architects and firms to maintain and acquire new skills to remain globally competitive and flourish in new markets;
4. Creating an Observatory for the architectural profession – to inform EU and national policy-makers of market conditions and trends, on various aspects of the profession, by providing comparative, quantitative and qualitative data on sector developments.

CONNECT-ARCH will enable ACE to run many varied activities to strengthen the capacities and visibility of the profession at EU level and beyond, for the benefit of its Member Organisations, and ultimately all European architects. With this project, ACE is tackling the challenges of today and invest in the future.

Visit the ACE website to remain informed of forthcoming activities.

In a statement published earlier today, the Kamra tal-Periti made reference to the front-page article carried on the Times of Malta on 21^st June, 2017 reporting the views of the President of the Chamber of Engineers on fire safety in Malta in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The Kamra tal-Periti endorsed and supported the call for proper Building Regulations. The KTP has, over the last years, incessantly made public calls and lobbied successive governments, for the Building Regulation Office to be strengthened and given the resources it needs, so that Malta can finally have modern and appropriate building regulations, covering the full range of health and safety risks faced by building users. Politicians have, unfortunately, found it difficult to understand that Building Regulations, and Building Control, are different to, and separate from, Planning Permit conditions. This failure to understand the industry has resulted in a situation where the need for Building Regulations is treated with indifference – until something happens, and then there is a knee-jerk reaction for the industry to do something.

It added that this lack of awareness has resulted in a piecemeal approach, where various regulations fall under disparate pieces of legislation, weakly attempting at regulating the building industry through the planning process. Sanitary regulations (covering light and ventilation) – conceptually dating from the 19^th century – fall, under one law, within the remit of the Planning Authority, and under another law, under that of the Health Department; Fire Safety guidelines fall under the indirect remit of the Civil Protection Department; Lifts Regulations fall under MCCAA; electricity regulations fall under a privatised Enemalta; drainage regulations fall under the Health Department, but also under the Water Services Corporation; accessibility issues are regulated by the KNPD; excavation, demolition and general construction regulations fall under the BRO; while health and safety on construction sites falls under the OHSA.

“These organisations have all relied on the planning process to enforce their own regulations to some degree. And the KTP reiterates that this is wrong.

The use, or abuse, of the planning process in this way has brought about three adverse consequences:

1. The planning regulatory body is heavily focused on development control, to the detriment of its primarily role of vision, strategic planning, drawing up of master and local plans, and promotion of sustainable development;
2. There is weak statutory focus, oversight and enforcement of building regulations;
3. In the absence of state support for proper and modern Building Regulations, the professionals must fall back to the identification of foreign standards to apply to local construction, often arbitrarily, and without being sure that they are appropriate for Malta.

With specific reference to fire safety, the Kamra tal-Periti is aware that the Civil Protection Department has reached an advanced stage in the drafting of new regulations, particularly in response to the increased high-rise development. The Kamra tal-Periti would like to, yet again, appeal that such regulations are placed within a holistic and consistent system of Building Regulations, administered by the Building Regulation Office.

The Kamra tal-Periti reiterates its offer to place all its resources, both local and international, at the disposal of Government, to assist in the formulation of such Building Regulations, that would fall under the exclusive remit of the Building Regulation Office, and removed from the planning permit approval processes. It has already requested a meeting with the Minister, newly-appointed to assume political responsibility for this sector and looks forward to meeting him to discuss these important issues.”