ARCHITECTURE

BECOMING COMINO

A globally acclaimed architect, and the future of a rural Mediterranean island. Dayna Camilleri Clarke met with Hili Ventures to understand the new proposed Comino Hotel project’s scale and what steps must be undertaken to bring this ambitious proposal to life.

‘As part of its strategic vision for growth, Hili Ventures is constantly seeking to enter sectors and markets where it can establish a strong, competitive presence.’ Melo Hili, chief executive officer of Hili Ventures, informs Money magazine.

Melo Hili

‘One of its newest subsidiaries is HV Hospitality, a dedicated investor in landmark hospitality projects: projects that will withstand the test of time, that meet the highest industry standards, be genuinely respectful of their environs and local communities, operate with a deep understanding of the wishes of today’s traveller, and ultimately, be extraordinary.

To this end, the group was searching for a significant, meaningful opportunity that would allow it to venture into the hotels and resorts space and leave its mark with its very first project. HV Hospitality recognised the Comino Hotel’s potential to meet all these objectives.’

When it comes to how the group intends to transform the area Victor Tedesco, chairman of HV Hospitality, explains ‘The hotel and villas sites will be completely transformed. We have engaged world-renowned Italian architect Antonio Belvedere, who people in Malta will know for his stunning work at Valletta’s City Gate, as lead architect for the project. He immediately understood what we aimed to achieve and set to work on plans that not only met our expectations but exceeded them.

Victor Tedesco

Antonio has developed a profound knowledge of the heritage of the Maltese islands, and for the sake of this project, of Comino. He has studied Comino’s geology, topography, climate—practically all that makes Comino so extraordinary—and designed builds that do away with everything unnecessary. He shares our determination to restore the integrity and natural beauty of these sites. He is committed to ensuring that we deliver a hotel and villas cluster that reduce disturbance to the island.

Antonio has adopted a subtraction process and presented a project that will not intrude on the island but rather blend into it. We are very proud of what Antonio’s conscientious vision will help us achieve: a responsible project with Comino's interests as its primary priority.’

When it comes to the complex logistics of taking resources to Comino, the pair explain.

‘Logistics have been a primary consideration throughout the planning process, and the team believes it has devised some optimum solutions. All material will be transported by boat or barge, and deliveries and removals will be planned to ensure maximum loadings for every trip.

The new Comino Hotel & Villas will occupy the same square meterage as the current properties; however, disturbed land will be reduced by nearly 5,000 square metres

The construction process revolves around a prefabrication strategy so that the material is processed in factories that are offsite and only the final product will be shipped to the island. It will also significantly reduce the pressure on waste management.

The new Comino Hotel & Villas will occupy the same square meterage as the current properties. However, disturbed land will be reduced by nearly 5,000 square metres. There will be no land reclamation whatsoever.

The new Comino Hotel will be smaller than the previous 95-room hotel. The new build will feature a central foyer and restaurant, with an underlying basement for an electromechanical plant, a hotel spa and a total of 70 hotel rooms with swimming pools at ground floor level and terraces on the upper floors. Plans for the new villas will consist of a cluster of 21 residences.

The Comino Hotel and villas investment’s total value is projected to reach €110 million to €120 million. Work on demolition and construction will commence after planning permission is obtained. From this point, we estimate the project will take approximately two years to complete.’

Sustainability at every step

For a project to be truly responsible, it must be sustainable by all accounts. Sustainability has been factored into every single process of the journey until the project’s completion. The project aims to attract environmentally conscious travellers, one with a passion for a luxurious island lifestyle. As a selfsustainable, carbon-neutral, LEED platinumcertified building, the hotel is set to increase tourism’s economic benefits to the local community. It should encourage socially and environmentally responsible travel-buying decisions on a broader level.

As a self-sustainable, carbon-neutral, LEED platinum-certified building, the hotel is set to increase tourism’s economic benefits to the local community

The group explain they are working with all relevant authorities, stakeholders, volunteers and organisations to ensure they collectively have a fair say in how tourism will be supported long term for the benefit of Comino.

‘We have engaged with ARUP, one of the leading engineering practices in the world, with a brief to capture modern sustainable design strategies. Our scheme aims to be ‘Zero-Net-Carbon’. It is a crucial commitment requiring recognised scientific knowledge and sense of responsibility. The strategy combines two significant actions: develop a passive building and use the local forces to produce energy. The energy consumption is reduced thanks to the ‘natural cross ventilation’, thermal mass, and low consumption devices. The objective is to minimise the need for turning on the cooling systems drastically. A photovoltaic array will produce a large amount of power while the total requirement for hot water for sanitary uses will be satisfied by solar thermal units.

We have set out to respect all aspects of the Natura 2000 management plan and all other plans that are relevant to Comino. In response to every issue raised by the Management Plan, a holistic design strategy starts from a careful dismantling of the existing structures. It continues with the least impacting prefabricated timber construction and ends with the regeneration of essential portions of disturbed land, restored to its original condition. This will be backed by a LEED Platinum certification.

As part of our design process, we are carefully looking at the exterior lighting design and light pollution. The dark sky will be preserved thanks to a minimal external lighting strategy. In the meantime, the ensemble of overhanging terraces/canopies will prevent the interior light from spilling out and from polluting the night sky.

We plan to adopt extensively Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) technology, reducing concrete trades, maximising erection speeds, and minimising impact to the surrounding areas during construction. It is a dry construction process that requires low quantities of water and reduces the amount of dust projected in the air. Since timber is a low embodied carbon material, it will play a vital role in the LEED Platinum certification and the Zero-NetCarbon strategy.

An Environmental Impact Assessment will be carried out, which will highlight any specific areas to protect. In any event, we will ensure that we procure all eco and marine consultants throughout the entire process to provide protection. An appropriate dismantling/demolition process followed by a prefabricated timber construction technique will minimise the impact of construction on, and not only, the marine life.’

Dayna is a senior speech therapist by day and feature writer by night. When she’s not busy fixing words, she is travelling the world to add to her fridge magnet collection.