Team

Lead Perit/i: Chris Briffa Architects

Architectural Design: Chris Briffa Architects

Planning Consulting: Chris Briffa Architects

Structural Engineering: Perit Ivan Muscat

Conservation: Architecture XV, MCG Architects, Giordano Periti

Interior Design: Chris Briffa Architects

Spatial Planning: ERSLI Consultants Limited

Building Systems Engineering: Galea Curmi Engineering

Hydrology Consulting: Sustech Consulting

Mechanical Engineering: Galea Curmi Engineering

Waste Management Consulting: TM Consult

Health & Safety Consulting: JP Health and Safety Consultants

Project Management: Anthony Attard

Sited beside the Sacra Infermeria – reputed to be the most advanced hospital in the Mediterranean for over two centuries – this project called for a retention of the exterior of 1960s Evans Laboratories while converting it into a luxury hospitality resort. The brief also highlighted concern to protect any archaeological remains which may be lying beneath its large car park, in particular the acclaimed Chapel of Bones: an underground crypt and ossuary of the now defunct Nibbia Chapel.

During meticulous historical research, we studied old drawings & photographs of the more interesting buildings preceding Evans; namely the Anatomical Theatre beside Nibbia Chapel and an arcaded school built in 1904. These elegant structures, lost forever during WWII air raids, were a source of inspiration for our design concept, which centres around invoking memories of the architectural ghosts surrounding the site.  

Our proposal aims at resuscitating parts of these foregone structures in the form of transparent, gabion sculptures built to a scale of 1:1. A landmark sculptural installation which respects and recognizes the site’s past, it will also function as garden walls defining original boundaries while containing all the rubble unearthed during the archaeological exploration. A solution which serves not only as an act of preservation and waste management, but also, as a performance celebrating the discoveries which are yet to be exhumed.

Evans building itself, will be externally restored with minimal interventions on some of its windows; elongating some of them will achieve more elegant proportions while improving internal views. The rear façade will be dressed with two, external corner elements, employed to house all building services and external fire escapes, while addressing various climatic challenges. This will ensure minimal intervention within the existing building, while drastically reducing runs of air-conditioning, fresh air and other services. Their aim is to integrate passive design solutions, such as natural ventilation and cooling; with active systems for energy generation and preservation while being detached from the historical envelope and mimic the ghost-like garden walls.  

The interiors will be mainly finished with local and natural materials – such as hardstone & hemp. Our aim is to use both recycled and upcycled elements, such as cardboard partitions and reconstituted masonry. Vernacular elements like the garigor – so ingrained in Malta’s architectural make-up – will also feature in reconstituted stone, within its duplex rooms.

Eventually, when the dust will settle and all findings are brought back to light, a Mediterranean garden will grow instead of the current car park; not only as an attraction for visitors, but also a fitting front garden for the Sacra Infermeria This is what this proposal seeks to achieve: an ephemeral experience, which perhaps for a limited time, becomes tangible testimony to Valletta’s forgotten stories.

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Team

Lead Perit/i: Perit Maurizio Ascione

Architectural Design: Faye Cachia Mintoff

BIM Management: Tuan bui Quang

3D Visualisation: Julian Pellegrino

Architectural Assistance: Mafalda Rebelo

Contemporary architecture in Malta finds itself at a crossroads. Too often, new buildings are reduced to exercises in profit-driven efficiency, ignoring their responsibility to the land, culture, and community they inhabit. The result has been an environment saturated with developments that neither respect their context nor enrich the human experience. This has fuelled a widespread belief that all new buildings are inherently negative. Yet this is not inevitable. Architecture, when rooted in sensitivity, proportion, and material honesty, can reconcile the act of building with the need to protect and enhance its setting.

Djar tat-Tafal was conceived as a direct response to this crisis. Located on a 2,500sqm ridge plot in Santa Maria Estate, Mellieħa, the project consists of two detached villas commissioned by a developer with no end user in mind. In such circumstances, the default response is often to fall back on formulaic “luxury.” Instead, we sought to treat the land as the true client — designing not for an abstract buyer, but for the site itself. This approach demanded flexibility in programme while insisting on a strong connection to context.

The geology of the plot, straddling Blue Clay and Mtarfa member, shaped both name and form. Djar tat-Tafal — “Houses of Clay” — embraces the idea of architecture emerging from the ground. Conceptually, the design recalls Malta’s earliest architectural language: the megalithic temples, which were reinterpreted as a contemporary design solution. A structured grid was placed on the site, shifted, and carved into a field of columns of varying heights and proportions. This rhythm of solids and voids creates spaces of permanence and permeability, framing views while admitting light. Ancillary functions are absorbed into the thickness of these columns, freeing the main interiors to remain open, adaptable, and timeless.

Materiality was drawn from the tones of the ridge itself, allowing the buildings to blend into their setting rather than compete with it. Terracing follows the slope, reducing visual impact while reinforcing the idea of sculpting from the land upward. Light and shadow play dynamically across surfaces, animating spaces with the rhythm of the day and strengthening the sense of rootedness in place.

Ultimately, this project is not presented as a universal formula. Rather, it is a demonstration that new buildings in Malta need not perpetuate the failures of recent decades. Architecture can once again speak of proportion, and sensitivity to context, even in situations where the brief does not demand it.

Djar tat-Tafal stands as an argument for a renewed architectural ethic: one that acknowledges the inevitability of building, but insists that each intervention has the capacity to respect, enrich, and inspire. If pursued consistently — one building at a time — such an approach can begin to reverse the negative perception of development and reassert the role of architecture as a meaningful cultural act..

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Team

Lead Perit/i: Architecture Three Sixty

Architectural Design: Architecture Three Sixty, Architecture Three Sixty

Planning Consulting: Architecture Three Sixty

Structural Engineering: Architecture Three Sixty

Interior Design: Architecture Three Sixty

Project Management: Architecture Three Sixty

Quantity Surveying: Architecture Three Sixty

The proposed extension of Sacred Heart College was developed as a comprehensive masterplan that reimagines the institution’s future through a series of cohesive architectural interventions. The project addresses the College’s growing educational needs while enhancing its cultural, social, and commercial value. The design vision builds upon the existing site fabric, integrating contemporary forms with vernacular references to create spaces that are functional, sustainable, and deeply connected to their context.

A key component of the proposal is the new Child Care and Kindergarten, conceived as a gateway to the College that strengthens the continuum of education from early childhood onwards. Positioned with an independent entrance yet closely linked to the wider campus, the building symbolizes progression, with child care at ground level and kindergarten above. The scheme maximizes site potential through equal emphasis on indoor and outdoor spaces, the use of protective intermediate areas, and the introduction of loggias inspired by Maltese vernacular traditions. Classrooms are designed to maintain direct contact with nature, supported by a semi-permeable screen wall that balances privacy, security, light, and ventilation while integrating greenery into the façade.

The Junior School expansion adds a new floor that accommodates 24 core classrooms along with specialist spaces including a library, laboratories, an art and music room, a multi-sensory room, and dedicated staff facilities. The extension respects the rhythm and proportions of the existing building, with limestone cladding ensuring harmony between old and new while marking the intervention with a contemporary distinction.

In the Senior School, a new staff room replaces the existing facility, offering light-filled spaces with views across the site, supported by recreational amenities such as a rooftop patio, lounge, kitchenette, and dedicated work areas. Similarly, the Convent building is retained and refurbished, transforming its interiors into an indoor recreational hub for students, particularly valuable during the winter months, while its façade is refreshed to align with the new architectural identity of the campus.

The Multi-Use Building represents the most versatile intervention, designed to host a wide range of academic, recreational, and community-oriented activities. Below ground, the project provides 116 parking spaces to address accessibility and convenience. The ground floor integrates a commercial gym, indoor pool, clinics, physiotherapy rooms, workshops, offices, and a multipurpose venue. The roof level is conceived as an open-air sports destination, featuring a running track, spectator stands, padel courts, and football pitches. Its architectural language emphasizes permeability and material richness, with arches referencing the College’s historic apertures, steel mesh for greenery integration, and extensive glazing to dissolve boundaries between interior and exterior. Vertical louvers and garden-like glass panels further enhance the building’s connection to light and nature.

Together, these interventions create a unified vision that preserves the College’s heritage while projecting it into the future. By blending education, recreation, and community functions, the proposal not only enhances student life but also positions Sacred Heart College as a socially and environmentally responsive institution that maximizes the value of its resources for generations to come.

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