Dominating the skyline of the Central Business District in Mriehel, The Quad Business Towers are simply impossible to miss, even in their currently unfinished state. Within the coming year, this state-of-the-art development will open its doors to its first tenants, delivering on its promise of offering an unparalleled convergence of design and sustainability.

Described as a “next-generation office development”, the four-tower concept reaches a commanding maximum height of 19 storeys with over 44,000 square metres of mixed commercial floor space, and has been carefully designed to foster the best possible tenant experience while implementing notable green building concepts.

The Quad’s marketing team explains that construction of the towers is progressing on schedule and should be completed by early 2021, with the first tenants expected to move in by summer. “We’ve already started works on the fenestration, the piazza, as well as the common areas, which will be ready by early summer next year.”

Despite the pandemic and the many obstacles it presented for works to continue uninterrupted, the team explains that its development schedule remained largely intact, with minimal impact to the pace of construction on site. “Of course, there were challenges and complications. We moved quickly to introduce new safety measures to protect workers and engaged proactively with all suppliers to ensure we could continue to receive construction materials on time. The extended team really worked hard and now that is beginning to show, and everything is coming together.”

The mixed-use development provides a combination of Grade A-standard flexible and adaptive floorplates, ranging between 400 square metres and 1,200 square metres. The office space, available for sale or rent, with rental rates starting from €225 per square metre per annum (excluding VAT), gives tenants the ability to scale up their business vertically or horizontally across the four towers, each with their own high-spec reception and lobby areas. The versatile and functional layouts enable tenants to provide their staff with open work areas, private focus rooms, meeting and lounge areas.

The four towers surround a central piazza with open landscaped spaces, totalling 6,000 square metres, providing a much-needed green lung to the area. Additionally, the development will be equipped with several on-site facilities, including a childcare centre, a supermarket, a fitness and wellness centre, restaurants, coffee shops, a stationery and printing service, among others. Besides adding to the overall upscale ambience of The Quad, these facilities also provide a better work-life balance to tenants and their staff.

Adding to all this is the provision of plentiful on-site parking. “The development will include circa 1,400 car parking spaces, providing for tenants’ needs as well as retaining ample spaces for visitors and public use. Motorcycle spaces, bicycle spaces and preferential spaces allocated for car-sharing vehicles are all initiatives we are undertaking to promote our Green Transport Plan,” the team explains. “This aligns the values of The Quad with the vision of the Central Business District Foundation’s goals to safeguard green spaces and pedestrian zones – leading to greener, more sustainable development all-round.”

Sustainability, in fact, has been central to the development of The Quad Business Towers since the start. Being the first development in Malta to apply for LEED’s (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Certification, it is well on its way to exceeding the requirements to achieve such a valuable accreditation.

“LEED® certifications are audited and monitored by the internationally recognised U.S. Green Building Council. The certification is awarded by investigating sustainable building materials and methods over a number of different categories such as sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere,” The Quad’s marketing team explains.

“The process of certification is lengthy and detailed. It requires a high level of supervision of site sustainability measures during construction, implementation of sustainable building measures and careful selection of materials which can deliver the highest standard of an indoor working environment. Therefore, the undertaking of such a certification cannot be taken lightly. A LEED Platinum certificate is a demonstration of prioritising quality and sustainability at every step of the build.”

The result of such certification is a space that reduces water and energy consumption, has excellent indoor air quality, ample natural light and a comfortable working atmosphere, with the ultimate aim being to minimise the building’s impact on the environment.

The architectural and engineering designs, entrusted to DeMicoli & Associates, have also been carried out with LEED consultants to ensure that the required sustainable materials are selected, and methods implemented. Such features include high-efficiency air conditioning units with capture and recycling of the condensate, capture and use of rainwater, specifically designed façade glazing with strict thermal properties, recycling of water with an on-site grey water treatment unit, use of photovoltaic panels and the use of presence detectors.

“All of these measures would not be possible without the strong collaborative effort between The Quad Business Towers’ project management team, engineers, architects, and contractors on site. Without the dedication and buy-in of the main contractors, the required quality of a LEED Platinum building could not be achieved,” the team explains.

Another of The Quad’s numerous attractive qualities is undoubtedly its location. “From our discussions with prospective tenants/buyers, we’ve found that tenants of office space in the traditional areas of Valletta, Sliema and St Julian’s are somewhat disillusioned due to the congestion, lack of parking and difficulty to expand their operation,” the team explains. “One main gripe is that getting to these congested areas and finding a parking space makes commuting a nightmare. The Quad is centrally located immediately off the main arterial road and is within a 15-minute drive of Valletta, the airport and the main hotel areas.” 

One business that will be relocating from “a fairly decent office” in the Sliema/St Julian’s area to The Quad described the decision to move “to a centrally located state-of-the-art office paying roughly the same rent and saving myself and my staff some 20 to 30 minutes a day in parking and commuting time”, as a “no brainer”. “The ample parking, views, airy offices, and on-site facilities, particularly childcare, are additional bonuses.”

The architects at DeMicoli & Associates designed the quadruple set of towers at varying heights – 13, 15, 16 and 19 storeys respectively. “The selection of four separate towers rather than a single larger tower provides ample commercial space while allowing natural light to permeate between the buildings. The four towers are juxtaposed to provide a framed view, with gentle curved façades to soften the height of the development,” they assert. “At the lower levels, a series of walkways and bridges connect the four towers and bring them together as one.”

Adding to its attractiveness for foreign investors is its Special Designated Area (SDA) status, which essentially allows non-Maltese purchasers the same rights as Maltese citizens when transacting property purchased within the development. “The future for the Central Business District in Mriehel looks bright, as it is transforming into a business and commercial hub. The architectural landscape of the area is rapidly evolving to reflect this shift, with the Quad Business Towers leading the way.”

This feature was first carried in the October/November edition of Digital Island.