East elevation render. Image Courtesy of VA

Built in 1903, Mercury House sits on a 100,000-square-foot (9,500-square-meter) site which also hosts two Cold-War-era underground vaults. Designed in collaboration with local architect Annamaria Attard Montalto, the restoration project will see the old facades returned to their original height, and historic interiors reinstated as gathering spaces and an entrance to the apartments and hotel.

The major renovation work is founded behind these restored facades, defining the historic building as the main anchor for a new public piazza. Rising from the historic site, a 31-story tower of residential apartments and a hotel is conceived as two vertically-stacked volumes, rotating as they rise in response to changing functions.

Night render. Image Courtesy of VA

The lower nine floors contain residential apartments, sitting above the historic structure to reduce building footprint while aligning with the existing urban fabric of Paceville. The upper nineteen floors contain a boutique hotel, orientated towards the Mediterranean to offer guests sweeping views towards Malta’s azure sea. Between the two stacked volumes, three transitioning floors accommodate the tower’s realignment while housing a series of dramatic spaces, including the hotel’s reception lobby, and an outdoor pool.

Swimming pool render. Image Courtesy of ZHA

The realignment of the upper floors serves to reduce solar gain while adding a sense of dynamism to the silhouette. The tower’s insulated facade also seeks to enhance the scheme’s thermal performance, with limited glazing on areas of significant direct sunlight, and the incorporation of solar shading.  

Piazza render. Image Courtesy of VA

Pavilion render. Image Courtesy of VA

The tower forms part of almost 270,000 square feet (25,000 square meters) of renovation and redevelopment to be undertaken. Adjacent to the building footprint, a piazza is incorporated into the site with civic amenities such as cafes, shops, seating, and water features. Overlooking the piazza, a new cafe pavilion features soft curves and transparent facades, accentuating the solidity of the Mercury House.

News via: Zaha Hadid Architects

• Architects
  

  Zaha Hadid Architects

• Location
  

  St George’s Road, St Julian’s, Malta

• Architect
  

  Zaha Hadid Architects

• Design
  

  Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher

• Project Director
  

  Manuela Gatto

• Design Associate
  

  Jakub Klaska

• Project Architects
  

  Alberto Barba, Carolina Lopez-Blanco, Kutbuddin Nadiadi, Yevgeniya Pozigun

• Project Consultants
  

  Branko Svarcer, John Simpson

• Project Team
  

  Houzhe Xu, Jung Yeon Kwak, Mark Winnington, Alejandro Garcia Gadea, Catherine Mccann, Evgeniya Yatsyuk, Olga Yatsyu, Tachelle Spiteri, Yazhu Liang, Yun Zhang, Julian Lin, Sai Prateik Bhasgi, Li Jin, Reza Karimi, Jose Alberto Mariano Machon, Matthew Johnston, Mattia Gambardella

• Interiors Lead
  

  Kar-Hwa Ho

• Facades Lead
  

  Tomasz Starczewski

• Retail Pavilion Project Architect
  

  Gerhild Orthacker

• Retail Pavilion Project Team
  

  Mikhail Desyllas, Evgeniya Yatsyuk, John Simpson

• Concept Design Team
  

  Jakub Klaska, Benjamin Sachs, Evgeniya Yatsyuk, Nan Jiang, Hose Pareja-Gomez, Aleksandra Mnich, Garin O’Aivazian, Chao Wei, Damiano Rizzini, Mu Ren, Karoly Markos, Nicholette Chan, Seungho Yeo, Carolina Lopez-Blanco, Ashwin Shah, Claudia Doner, Tetsuya Yamazaki

• Project Administrator
  

  Nastasija Hahonina

• Graphic Designer
  

  Silviya Barzakova

• Cluster Director
  

  Charles Walker

• Local Architect
  

  Annamaria Attard Montalto, Malta

• Facade and Glazing Engineers
  

  Werner Sobek, UK

• Lighting Engineers
  

  Bartenbach, Austria

• Vibration and Acoustics
  

  ARAU ACUSTICA, Spain

• Structure
  

  BAC Engineering Consultancy Group, Spain / Evolve Consulting Structural and Civil Engineers, UK

• MEP Engineers
  

  ECL Consulting Engineers, Malta

• Fire Protection and Life Safety
  

  Atelier Ten, UK

• Planning Consultants
  

  ERSLI Consultants, Malta

• Restoration Consultant
  

  Perit Marie Louise Caruana Galea, Malta

• Waste Consultant
  

  Desiree Descent

• Landscape Consultants
  

  Medisun, Malta

• Wind Loads / Pedestrian Comfort
  

  RWDI UK, UK

• Virtual Reality Studios
  

  VRs

• Geological Stability / Dust and Vibration Monitoring
  

  Terracore, Malta

• Project Management Consultants
  

  Pmanage Ltd, Malta

• Operational Monitor
  

  Perit John Papagiorcopulo; Perit, Malta

• Tourism Consultant
  

  Mario Loporto, Malta

• Visualisations
  

  VA, Czech Republic

• PR and Marketing Consultants
  

  PSD, UK

• Client
  

  J.Portelli Projects, Malta

• Area
  

  24500.0 m2

• Project Year
  

  2018

• Architects

  Zaha Hadid Architects

• Location

  St George’s Road, St Julian’s, Malta

• Architect

  Zaha Hadid Architects

• Design

  Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher

• Project Director

  Manuela Gatto

• Design Associate

  Jakub Klaska

• Project Architects

  Alberto Barba, Carolina Lopez-Blanco, Kutbuddin Nadiadi, Yevgeniya Pozigun

• Project Consultants

  Branko Svarcer, John Simpson

• Project Team

  Houzhe Xu, Jung Yeon Kwak, Mark Winnington, Alejandro Garcia Gadea, Catherine Mccann, Evgeniya Yatsyuk, Olga Yatsyu, Tachelle Spiteri, Yazhu Liang, Yun Zhang, Julian Lin, Sai Prateik Bhasgi, Li Jin, Reza Karimi, Jose Alberto Mariano Machon, Matthew Johnston, Mattia Gambardella

• Interiors Lead

  Kar-Hwa Ho

• Facades Lead

  Tomasz Starczewski

• Retail Pavilion Project Architect

  Gerhild Orthacker

• Retail Pavilion Project Team

  Mikhail Desyllas, Evgeniya Yatsyuk, John Simpson

• Concept Design Team

  Jakub Klaska, Benjamin Sachs, Evgeniya Yatsyuk, Nan Jiang, Hose Pareja-Gomez, Aleksandra Mnich, Garin O’Aivazian, Chao Wei, Damiano Rizzini, Mu Ren, Karoly Markos, Nicholette Chan, Seungho Yeo, Carolina Lopez-Blanco, Ashwin Shah, Claudia Doner, Tetsuya Yamazaki

• Project Administrator

  Nastasija Hahonina

• Graphic Designer

  Silviya Barzakova

• Cluster Director

  Charles Walker

• Local Architect

  Annamaria Attard Montalto, Malta

• Facade and Glazing Engineers

  Werner Sobek, UK

• Lighting Engineers

  Bartenbach, Austria

• Vibration and Acoustics

  ARAU ACUSTICA, Spain

• Structure

  BAC Engineering Consultancy Group, Spain / Evolve Consulting Structural and Civil Engineers, UK

• MEP Engineers

  ECL Consulting Engineers, Malta

• Fire Protection and Life Safety

  Atelier Ten, UK

• Planning Consultants

  ERSLI Consultants, Malta

• Restoration Consultant

  Perit Marie Louise Caruana Galea, Malta

• Waste Consultant

  Desiree Descent

• Landscape Consultants

  Medisun, Malta

• Wind Loads / Pedestrian Comfort

  RWDI UK, UK

• Virtual Reality Studios

  VRs

• Geological Stability / Dust and Vibration Monitoring

  Terracore, Malta

• Project Management Consultants

  Pmanage Ltd, Malta

• Operational Monitor

  Perit John Papagiorcopulo; Perit, Malta

• Tourism Consultant

  Mario Loporto, Malta

• Visualisations

  VA, Czech Republic

• PR and Marketing Consultants

  PSD, UK

• Client

  J.Portelli Projects, Malta

• Area

  24500.0 m2

• Project Year

  2018