Team

Lead Perit/i: Valentino Architects

Architectural Design: Valentino Architects

Planning Consulting: Valentino Architects

Structural Engineering: PERITI STUDIO

Conservation: Valentino Architects

Interior Design: Valentino Architects

Project Management: DPM – Design + Project Management

Set within the urban conservation area of Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Dar Iċ-Ċitru reimagines a vernacular Maltese townhouse through subtle internal reconfiguration and a contemporary addition.

The project balances heritage conservation with architectural intention and places a mature citrus garden at the centre of the home’s experience.

The property spans between two streets: ‘Triq Mamo’ at the front and a discreet garden entrance on ‘Triq il-Kbira, Sqaq Nru. 3’ at the rear. Similar to the neighbouring dwellings, it is part of a wider green enclave formed by large gardens and divided by tall rubble walls that form the green heart of the town. This context, along with the family’s need for greater living space, became the starting point for the project.

Prior to intervention, the house was largely fragmented. The entrance block – that housed a study, the sole ground floor w/c, and the staircase to the first-floor bedrooms – was completely disconnected from the living block: one had to cross through an external courtyard to travel between the two. The design sought to resolve this by connecting the two blocks, introducing a new passage that improves light, ventilation, and flow.

The generous rear garden, set circa one metre below the internal floor level, was disengaged from the interior. This mature citrus garden – typical of the Ħaż-Żebbuġ Urban Conservation Area – became the project’s focus. A new living space was introduced within it, designed as a lightweight glazed volume elevated above the soil on stilts. This raised structure preserves the garden’s integrity, allowing planting and soft landscaping to grow undisturbed.

The glazed extension is conceived as a counterpoint to the solidity of the historic building. Its transparency allows the original stone walls to remain visually dominant, ensuring that the historic fabric is always in focus. By pulling back in both materiality and form, the new structure frames the old, accentuating its texture, proportion, and permanence.

The extension draws inspiration from Philip Johnson’s Glass House; yet reinterpreted for a Mediterranean setting to respond to climate and context. Generous glazing is shaded by the surrounding stone walls of the house and the deep overhang of the extension, while sliding doors create a space that is open and encourages natural ventilation into the old home. Internally, the new room feels embedded in the garden. Framed views, filtered light, and a restrained material palette of timber, linen, and concrete create a calm, immersive atmosphere. Dappled shadows animate stone and floor, shifting quietly throughout the day.

Foundation pads were set on rock and concealed under soil, leaving the garden intact. A large well discovered on site was restored to collect rainwater, now supplying irrigation for the large garden and ensuring the garden’s longevity.

Dar iċ-Ċitru does not impose itself upon its setting. Instead, it strengthens the bond between home and garden, forming continuity between old and new, inside and out. The project transforms a once-disjointed dwelling into a cohesive, contemplative environment where heritage and landscape are placed at the centre of family life.

Images © Ramon Portelli

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Team

Lead Perit/i: A Collective

Architectural Design: A Collective

Structural Engineering: Forward Structures

Conservation: A Collective

Interior Design: A Collective

This 18th-century townhouse, modestly presented as a single-storey dwelling along a narrow alley in the historic core of Ħaż-Żebbuġ, conceals a sequence of layered spaces behind its restored façade and teal apertures.

Beyond the imposing entrance door, a barrel-vaulted hallway aligns with an arched opening overlooking the courtyard, while a rose window brings light into the first-floor corridor.

At the time of commission, the property was severely dilapidated, its garden overgrown and used solely to house livestock. An existing planning permit allowed extensive demolition behind the façade; however, the design approach sought instead to preserve as much original fabric as possible. A postwar concrete extension was removed, while the loss of a finely detailed garden shed and the original spiral staircase, condemned by structural failure, proved unavoidable.

The retained structure formed an L-shaped plan: a single-storey volume along the street-facing façade and a double-storey block to the east. The intervention introduced a complementary two-storey L-shaped wing to the northwest, re-establishing the courtyard and framing the rear garden with its mature orange grove. A pool was positioned in the sunniest corner of the garden, carefully sited to preserve every existing tree. To avoid encroaching onto the grove itself, the required back-of-house spaces for the pool were tucked beneath the pool and pool deck, ensuring the garden remained intact.

The extension is concealed from the street, lightly suspended above the ground-floor living spaces on three slender columns. Its expression is deliberately contemporary—fair-faced concrete ceilings and exposed steel beams recall the tectonic logic of the original stone slabs (xorok), timber, and steel without resorting to imitation.

Internally, a library wall disguises the new staircase, now the sole vertical connection. Its alignment is further exploited to conceal kitchen storage and a discreet bathroom accessible directly from the pool deck. Beneath the garden, the underlying well was restored, and its water is now used for irrigation and second-class supply across the property, tying sustainable infrastructure into the project’s architectural fabric.

Within the garden, the dialogue between old and new becomes most pronounced. The rubble walls enclose a private enclave where the solidity of the historic masonry contrasts with the transparency of the new glazed intervention. Scars from demolished sections are left visible, deliberately preserving the legibility of the building’s evolution. Wherever possible, the historic stone walls were left unrendered, allowing the rich texture of the masonry to stand in deliberate contrast with the new interventions in concrete and steel.

A Collective carried the project from the architecture through to the interior design phase, ensuring a consistent approach from concept to completion. The intervention was guided by a commitment to respect the townhouse’s historic fabric while introducing modern infrastructure and contemporary living requirements. Each new element was conceived as a distinct yet harmonious layer in the site’s ongoing history—clearly legible as contemporary, yet in dialogue with the layers that preceded it. In this way, the project preserves and celebrates the building’s heritage while securing its relevance as a family home today.

Images © Alex Attard

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Team

Lead Perit/i: PERITI STUDIO

Architectural Design: PERITI STUDIO

Planning Consulting: PERITI STUDIO

Geotechnical Engineering: PERITI STUDIO

Structural Engineering: PERITI STUDIO

Conservation: PERITI STUDIO

Interior Design: Claire Galea

Building Systems Engineering: PERITI STUDIO

Project Management: PERITI STUDIO

This 18th-century vernacular farmhouse in Naxxar’s historic core had been abandoned for over 50 years.

Once a working farm and family dwelling, it had fallen into serious disrepair. Organised around a central courtyard and divided into three wings, the property retained significant heritage features—stone slab ceilings, timber beams, xulliel walls, arches, and a large mill room—but its fragmentation and poor condition made it unsuitable for modern family life.

The challenge was clear: conserve the historic fabric while transforming the house into a practical, flowing, and welcoming home.

The vision was to unify the separate wings into one cohesive residence while preserving the spirit of the original architecture. Conservation best practices guided every step: restoring walls and beams, retaining important spaces, and introducing new interventions that are legible and reversible. Modern structural, mechanical, and environmental systems were carefully integrated without compromising authenticity. Skylights were added to bring natural light deep into the interiors, complementing the property’s southward orientation, which maximises winter solar gains. The result is a home that honours its past while offering clear circulation, outdoor connections, and contemporary comfort.

The defining intervention is a sculptural concrete staircase. More than a connector between floors, it links the two upper wings and serves as a bold architectural statement and frees previously used space in the courtyard. Its contemporary form deliberately contrasts with the traditional shell, highlighting the dialogue between past and present. Attention to detail was crucial where historic and new elements meet. Local stone, restored timber, and original masonry sit comfortably alongside plastered concrete, glass and clean finishes.

At the finishes stage, natural materials were chosen to reinforce warmth, tactility, and a grounded, homey feel. Sustainability was embedded discreetly through double-glazed apertures, insulated ceilings, and thermally efficient walls.

The re-imagined courtyard functions as a daily threshold, integrating outdoor space into everyday family routines. The staircase, encountered repeatedly throughout the day, becomes both a sculptural anchor and a lived experience. The family now enjoys a home that feels traditional yet practical, historic yet comfortable. Beyond the client, the project contributes to the wider conversation on conservation in Malta, demonstrating how vernacular properties can be revitalised for modern life while preserving their cultural significance. Energy-efficient upgrades improve comfort and reduce environmental impact, offering a model for sustainable adaptive reuse.

What makes this project extraordinary is the balance it achieves: rigorous conservation paired with inventive design. It safeguards a farmhouse long left dormant while transforming it into a home that flows, breathes, and connects to daily life. Its sensitivity, crafted detailing, and bold architectural gestures make it unique.

This farmhouse demonstrates how Malta’s architectural heritage can be conserved while being reshaped for contemporary domestic living. By merging careful restoration with spatial invention and thoughtful design, it sets a benchmark for adaptive reuse and reaffirms the role of architecture in shaping lived experience. It is a project fully deserving of recognition as an exemplary model of conservation and design excellence.

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