PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

Over a number of months, numerous building / site design “schemes” (sketches) were developed and reviewed with the building committee for the facility. These were then refined and presented to the board membership by the building committee.  As this process unfolded the following priorities were established.

Site:

Parking should be provided at the rear of the property – allowing for separation between emergency vehicular traffic and “pedestrian” vehicular traffic.

Sight lines for the emergency vehicles entering / exiting the site – must be clear and free.

Access to Route 9 by the emergency vehicles – functions best in a perpendicular approach.

Outdoor green space – pavilions – picnic / barbecue facilities should occur off to the North –East edge of the property to separate site traffic and pedestrian flows.

Provide ample parking for “large events” gatherings. Present design allows for 45 parking spaces.

Building / Façade / Internal:

Segregation of the public and private areas – allows for maximum operating efficiencies of the facilities and for the facility to operate at different times – through control points.

Internal segregation of the Ambulance bays from the “operations areas”. 

Allowance for the emergency vehicles to enter / exit freely without internal interruptions.

Ambulance bay structure shall be oriented at a 90-degree angle to Route 9 – this respects the planning requirement as noted above.

Provisions for ample storage – directly serving the functions of the emergency vehicles and operators.

Increase training room space – allows both private and public access / use to occur.

(Allowance for its sub-division – as required for simultaneous occurring events – or for “just small gatherings”.)

Segregation of the female / male sleeping bunk areas and their adjacencies to the Ambulance bays.

Clean - simple plan layout – exit corridors and clear definitions of entrances – adds to the building maintenance and operating efficiencies.

Traditional building materials / finishes – respect the “Architectural” requirements / guidelines of the Malta Planning Code.

The use of hip roof systems and an entry tower offers a civic identity to the building’s presence for the community, and helps reduce the overall size of the building.