Design
Southridge’s elevated positioning grants it unique
differentiating factors.
NATURAL PRESERVATION
One of the main advantages of
Southridge is that it is strategically placed
to also be a sort of natural preserva-
tion site since it was set up where one
there was the Mellieha quarry before it
went into disuse some years ago. Part
of the problem of the quarry was the
nature of its work and the amount of
dust that it produced for the village,
causing umpteen nuisance problems.
“When the quarry closed down some
years ago villagers breathed a sigh of
relief but they are now breathing an-
other sigh of relief with the launch of
our new project, as it add quality and
prestige to the hilltop village” said Mr
Attard, being the Melliehi that he is.
The project will have 10 separate en-
trances to create privacy for residents
who will all share the open views.
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Q1, 2017
The uniqueness of Southridge stems
from the size of the apartments, its
south facing position that therefore
guarantees sun all day, its elevated
positioning, and the unspoilt sea
and country views coming with it
which also guarantee a high level of
air quality.
The apartments themselves, as well
as the comforts which will be offered
(including intelligent lighting, dou-
ble glazing, and more) will also see
them being planned with a separate
washroom and an adjacent drying
terrace overlooking an internal but
spacious shaft. This will safeguard
the front and back views of the blocks
without losing out on certain ne-
cessities. Front terraces can be de-
scribed as enormous since they are
all in the region of 6.3m x 3m.
Construction material has been tak-
en care of through the site itself since
it was a quarry. And a certain amount
of recycling has been done to safe-
guard the environment. “Even in the
creation of the garage space – which
in places can be even 3 floors deep
- we used the profile of the quarry.
Our aim was to disturb the least pos-
sible. Even the project’s well was sit-
ed in the quarry’s deepest part. The
same can be said for screed (zrar).
This also ensured that road works
involved would cause least inconven-
ience as possible to neighbours and
where possible used materials already
existing in the quarry” explained Mr
Attard. The structure of Southridge is
in limestone so as to retain the lo-
cal connection but it is not being
cut from the quarry. Additionally
the building will also involve some
cladding as well. Nonetheless the
sustainability elements have been
considered as well especially through
insulation and lighting concepts.
THE DEVELOPER /
ARCHITECT-DESIGNER SYNERGY
The way GAP looks at creating the
necessary synergies for its projects
is like a tailor would look at a piece
of cloth. Initially the site is what
it is in its raw state and the archi-
tect is given carte blanche to suggest
how one could develop it, obvious-
ly “keeping in mind our thoughts
and vision” he emphasised. Once
the first draft has been produced
then this is discussed internally at
length and feedback is passed back
to the architect. These lead to a se-
ries of meetings of how all the in-
gredients can be brought together
for the eventual “cake” to be baked.
DESIGN&BUILD