Impressions, aesthetics, design

Architect Robert Musumeci, chairman of the Building Industry Consultative Council, reveals what inspired the BICC to publish Impressions, Aesthetics, Design, a handbook for those who have Maltese architecture at heart

The local architectural scene does not exist in a vacuum. It is shaped by many factors ranging from social to economic. There is a strong element of foreign influence too, coming mostly from the use of imported materials as well as ideas.

New technologies bring new concepts in design. The introduction of concrete brought a revolution in the way we build and permitted buildings to reach new heights. The use of pre-stressed concrete brought in new dimensions rather recently.

In many cases, plastic and aluminium substituted wood. An array of long-lasting, resistant textured and coloured finishes are also available. But new technologies and materials do not necessarily imply good aesthetics or good architecture.

Aesthetics is a subjective issue, and though one man's meat is another man's poison, there are basic rules about the mass and volume of a building, about the different layers, colours and elements that make up a building.

A building does not exist in isolation, but in a streetscape or a particular context and there is an interaction between a building and its context that is very often ignored.

I am a firm believer that aesthetic design cannot be codified. Drawing leads to design and good design comes from good observation and absorption. This is why the Building Industry Consultative Council (BICC) supported and promoted the publication of Impressions, Aesthetics, Design.

The BICC wants to inspire architects, students of architecture and developers by showing them examples of good architecture, and good use of colour and detail.

The handbook, compiled by Vincent Buhagiar, John Ebejer and Alberto Miceli Farrugia, and published by Midsea Books Ltd, has very little text and does not contain guidelines on how wide and high a door or window should be.

But it effectively puts a spotlight on particular buildings and streetscapes that combine the right materials and colour that make a statement. These buildings highlight the kind of aesthetics all of us would like to see more of.

Though some argue that we are living in an age where the looks, shape and size of a building are often dictated mostly by bottom line profits, there is nothing really new in this.

A look at Malta's architectural landscape shows that people built mostly to suit their needs. When they adapted buildings to their surroundings, they did it because it suited them more than because it suited the context they were living in. When they wanted to make a statement, they built majestic palaces or imposing buildings.

Basic human needs remain the same. They only get more complex the more we evolve. The proliferation of cars demanded wider roads and the way roads and housing estates were planned in the recent past, with parallel roads crisscrossing each other, rather than creating curves that recalled traditional Maltese architecture, had a lot to do with the decline of aesthetic appeal.

Regulations focused more on modules and rubber stamps rather than aesthetics. Housing estates built in the Eighties satisfied the criteria imposed by regulations in force at the time.

But are they nice to look at? The situation is not that different these days, with a regulatory regime that stipulates widths and heights of doors and windows, size of balconies, height limitations and a plethora of other restrictive features that are not conducive to good design.

In a way this is rather ironic. While architecture students at university are taught to express themselves, when they graduate and set up shop, they are constrained by regulations which do not allow them to express their creativity.

An architect is an artist and should be allowed to express himself and concentrate on design. But this does not mean that anything goes. Those who determine building permit applications should be trained in design and should be able to see that everything resonates within a project, and that a project fits within its context. The rest should be the architect's responsibility. The ultimate criterion should be whether the building will be pleasant to look at or not.

I have often argued that a building should have rhythm and that it should be of the right scale. Its proportions have to be right too. The colour and contrasts it has and those it creates should be in harmony.

The materials used should complement and enhance its features. Whether a door is a metre or 1.5 metres wide has nothing to do with good design. One should depart from arithmetic and focus more on the aesthetic aspect.

When you look at a building, it should tell you something. If it does not evoke emotions, good or bad, it is not architecture. However, emotions aren't necessarily created by detail. Actually, unless detail is placed in its right context, keeping scale and proportions in mind, it can cause disastrous visual effects.

When I am asked to give a concrete example of what I am saying, I just invite people to look at many of the arches that are being built. Simply because one is restrained by height limitations, arches are often two or three courses lower than they should be with the result that they are skewed and flat rather than flowing.

Cost is also not proportional to good design. Construction costs have increased, but people are still building. So it's not the price that's constraining good design.

A lot of demolition and re-erection of buildings is taking place. Some see this as a scourge but one can turn every issue into an opportunity. It can be a redeeming feature if one ensures better design where demolition and re-erection are taking place.

Impressions, Aethetics, Design is also a publication that architects, students of architecture and developers would do well to dip into from time to time.

It should act as a mine of inspiration for those with eyes to see and should help us realise that we do not have to reinvent the wheel to get it right. All we need is the will to do it.

rmperiti@onvol.net