Formal garden at National Park, ta'Qali

This architectural/landscaping project upgrades and extends the previously undervalued formal garden at Ta’ Qali. The complex, whose construction started in the 90’s, consists mainly of a grand portico that embraces a simple, yet attractive fountain, an open-air Greek-styled theatre, and extensive walkways. The new design articulates further the original garden’s longitudinal axis that points to the old capital city of Mdina, and its extensive use of symmetry. Importantly, the newly refurbished garden underscores the visual link with Mdina’s cathedral—the cupola of this magnificent baroque church is now clearly visible along the main axis of the garden.
While, behind the Greek theatre, Spiteri’s design included two avenues symmetrically placed and running parallel along each other, only one was ever constructed. The revamped garden now includes two wings that complement each other.
Besides the removal of several post-war accretions, other significant interventions are the reversal of soil erosion and desertification that took place over the past decades. New amenities include family facilities and refreshment kiosks. The Greek theatre is completely refurbished and finished in such a manner that accentuate its geometric lines; the area underneath the seating has been transformed in to a multi-media gallery and other facilities. The spaces around this building double up as activity spaces for children and families.
The proposed vegetation offers continuity, rhythm, order and formality, through the form of the individual trees/shrubs, their arrangement in the landscape and their repetition in the different areas of the garden. The vegetation is a careful blend of native, indigenous plants and ornamental vegetation for their attractive foliage, texture and bloom. Rainwater is collected and stored in refurbished reservoirs and re-used for irrigation purposes.