Photographs shared exclusively with Dezeen show the twisting facade of Malta’s tallest building, recently completed by British studio Zaha Hadid Architects.
At 31 storeys and 122 metres in height, Mercury Tower has been the Mediterranean island’s tallest building since topping out in 2020.
Reportedly among the last designs signed off by studio founder Zaha Hadid before her sudden death in 2016, the tower’s defining feature is a dramatic twist between its 10th and 12th floors.
According to the studio, the 12-degree reangling allows the building to connect more effectively with the streetscape while affording better views to the upper storeys.
It has been captured in new photos shared with Dezeen by Malta-based architect and photographer Susannah Farrugia.
Mercury Tower is located in Paceville, the main nightlife district of St Julian’s, a town home to around 14,000 people on Malta’s eastern coast that has experienced rapid development in recent years.
Commissioned by Maltese real estate developer J Portelli Projects, the initial construction phase was completed in November 2023 and the building fully opened earlier this year.
In addition to the tower, the project saw Zaha Hadid Architects renovate Mercury House – a structure built to accommodate the country’s telecoms infrastructure in 1903. Having lain derelict for 20 years, it now forms part of the tower’s base.
The overall complex contains apartments, a hotel with an outdoor pool, retail spaces and a piazza.
A penthouse apartment at the top of Mercury Tower went on sale earlier this year for €22 million.
In March, local media reported that neighbouring residents were complaining about stormwater from Mercury Tower pouring into a nearby street, with infrastructure works required to rectify the issue.
Mercury Tower received planning permission in January 2018. Zaha Hadid Architects had previously proposed building a 40-storey skyscraper on the site.
Other towers designed by Zaha Hadid Architects close to completion include the Central Bank of Iraq and The Henderson office building in Hong Kong.
The photography is by Susannah Farrugia.
