A new direction for Mepa?

The move by the Prime Minister to stop the destruction of Redifussion House and Television House has been one of the most important direct conservation efforts for Maltese modern architecture since the Malta Environment and Planning Authority was set up.

In a country which is fast destroying 20th century architecture, the Prime Minister had the courage to preserve two icons of Malta's broadcasting history and, above all, save two important items of modern architecture. Redifussion House, in particular, has very good quality detailing and is outstanding. Both buildings were listed and this is what makes his move the more important: gone hopefully are the days when we first list buildings and then find excuses to 'list' them as has often happened in recent years. This is a very strong statement indeed.

Malta has already destroyed so much important heritage. We have literally wiped out the works of important Maltese architects whose work is not even recorded beyond the obligatory three photos submitted with a Mepa application. So many buildings with Art Deco or Liberty features both on the exterior and in the interior have been wiped out. No one cares to record who the architects were. Even some outstanding buildings by such important living architects as Richard England have been destroyed or altered beyond recognition. We stop at nothing in the face of profit making.

We have also destroyed so much of the British architecture, most of which had outstanding detailing and features. We destroyed entire military villages and stop at nothing. Sometimes we have 'Disneyfied' this heritage as at the Tigne' building stuck to a modern building completely out of context. We will soon destroy the last parade ground at Pembroke. We are destroying the airfields.

Everywhere, modern architecture is being conserved, and here it is the other way round. True, some important houses in Sliema and elsewhere have been preserved. The Prime Minister's direct involvement in saving these two houses is a long-awaited statement that I hope leads to a much more sensitive direction for Mepa.