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这座最新建成的20层观光电梯位于马耳他的历史悠久的筑城首都瓦莱塔的城市边缘，由业主Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation plc授权AP（Architecture Project ）设计完成。这些16世纪的古老城墙曾用来抵御海湾的敌舰，现在成为接待游客和市民的新通道。2017年，马耳他将担任欧盟轮值主席国；2018年，瓦莱塔将举办“欧洲文化之都”，古老的首都因此焕发出新的神采。

This recently completed twenty storey high panoramic lift, commissioned by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation plc and designed by Architecture Project (AP), is located on the edge of Malta’s historic fortified capital city of Valletta. Where once the sixteenth century fortified wallsof the town served to keep enemy ships at bay, they are now under conservation order and provide an unbeatable new access for visitors and residents flocking here. Valletta is being given a new lease of life as the island prepares to host the presidency of the European Union in 2017 andthe city having recently been named European Capital of Culture for 2018.







观光电梯的结构是为了保障游客和市民能在格兰德海港和瓦莱塔、海滨沿线到防御城墙及城市中心之间顺利通行，与上巴拉卡公园和新城门建立新的联系。毫无疑问，新项目的建设必定会在视觉上对这座敏感的历史文化城市产生影响。同时电梯不得依靠历史古墙架设，对技术水平的要求很高，这给项目的实施带来了极大的挑战。巴拉卡电梯项目需要巧妙地协调区域浓厚的历史文化氛围与考量文化和经济因素的基础上建立优化的城市新通道之间的关系。

The structure is designed to enhance movement of large numbers of visitors and residents between the Grand Harbour and Valletta, from the water’s edge along the Valletta waterfront, over the powerful landward enceinte of fortifications and into the heart of the city, creating new linksto the Upper Barrakka Gardens and the new City Gate.  It is bound to leave a significant visual impact on this sensitive heritage site and leaves noroom for compromises on the engineering level, where attachment to the historic walls was not possible and where the programme was extremelyonerous. The Barrakka Lift project therefore required a certain rigour to resolve the dichotomy between the strong historic nature of the site and the demands for better access placed upon it by cultural and economic considerations.











不断变化的政治经济因素已成为这座世界遗产城市面临的巨大挑战，而海港和城市之间的关联也随着政治经济因素的变化发生了改变。18世纪，海港基础设施的发展将护城墙外变成了繁荣的商业中心，与城市内的居住中心两相分离；到了英治时期，港口成为地中海地区重要的海军战略基地和商业中心；今天，全新的经济面貌再一次主导着这片区域的变化：巴洛克风格的水边仓库被翻修成繁荣的邮轮码头，酒店和咖啡厅如雨后春笋般不断涌现，1905年修建的连接海港和城市的电梯再次启用，当时瓦莱塔港口的贸易业达到鼎盛时期。旧电梯高60m，包括两个电梯间，每个电梯间可容纳12人。1973年，电梯停止使用，20世纪80年代拆卸弃用。







Shifting political and economic realities have always been a challenge for this world heritage city and the connection between harbour and city hastransformed itself over the years in response to these unremitting changes.  The eighteenth century saw the development of harbour infrastructure that gave rise to a thriving commercial hub outside the walls, separated from the residential heart of the city, while the British period transformed the port into a vital strategic naval and merchant base in the Mediterranean.  Today, a very different economic reality is once again dictating the transformation of this dynamic area of the town: the recent restoration of Baroque waterside warehouses into a thriving cruise ship terminal aswell as the development of restaurants and cafes, prompted the re-activation of a lift that had been built to connect the harbour with the town in 1905 during Valletta’s heyday as a trading port. The original lift structure was 60m tall and contained two lift cabins each with a capacity of 12 passengers. The operation was closed down in 1973 and the structure abandoned and eventually dismantled by the 1980s.







新电梯为从城墙脚下传统到达港涌入的游客提供了新通道。为满足城市通行性和流动性的需求，需要增加项目规模，这样不可避免地会为城市刻上更加深刻的印记，这座存在于历史港口天际廓线中的垂直电梯必会产生强烈的视觉影响。为了解决这一问题，设计师将两个电梯间分隔开来，形成的中空结构成为插入其间的楼梯。这种设计不仅提高了安全性能，而且在视觉上减轻了电梯结构的厚重感，同时强调了结构的垂直比例。

The renewed connection serves the needs of thousands of visitors approaching the city from the traditional arrival point at the foot of the bastions. The heavy demands of accessibility to and mobility around the town required a much larger footprint and a stronger vertical statement within the skyline of the historic harbour were therefore inevitable. In order to resolve this, a cavity was created by pulling the two lifts apart, where a staircasecould be threaded in between. Not only does this space accommodate mandatory safety requirements, but it also reduces the visual weight of the liftstructure itself and accentuates the vertical proportions of the structure.







电梯平面的几何特点与城墙的角度轮廓相呼应。波浪状的铝质表皮可以调节灯光效果，增加了电梯的垂直感。网状表皮为光滑的电梯间蒙上了一层面纱，让人回想起原始的电梯轿厢，此外，还能帮助阻挡强光并保护流连于瓦莱塔与地中海之间的游客的安全。

The geometric qualities of the plan echo the angular forms of the bastion walls, and the corrugated edges of the aluminium skin help modulate lightas it hits the structure, emphasizing its verticality. The mesh masks the glazed lift carriages, recalling the forms of the original cage lifts, whilst providing shade and protection to passengers as they travel between the city of Valletta and the Mediterranean Sea.





















Architecture:   Architecture Project (AP) www.architecture-project.com

Project Details:Date:    2009-2013Client:   Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation plcValue: