Villa Mediterranja/Flora in Attard

Villa Mediterranja/Flora are two asymmetrical semi detached dwellings designed by one of Malta’s leading 20th century Modernist artists, Emvin Cremona (1919 – 1987) in close collaboration with architect Joseph Spiteri, a talented Modernist architect in his own right.

The semi detached villas were built in the 1960s and were designed to be the residence of the artist himself.

Considered unconventional at the time, Cremona adopted a dynamic approach to the building’s design with all facades changing through different perspective viewpoints giving the indication of an ever presence of subtle change.

It appears that throughout the years the building itself has continued to settle peacefully within its own footprint as the surrounding greenery engulfs the building even altering its appearance during the different seasonal life cycles of the maturing shrubbery. This building has managed to blend with its surroundings rather than dominate it where nature in fact forms a crucial part of its design.

This approach is also evident in the design of the upper front terrace where a gaping circular hole was designed in to the reinforced concrete slab to accommodate the unrestrained growth of a cypress tree in the front garden that now towers above the building itself.

Furthermore, the use of natural local limestone to create shapes and curves in the structure softens any form of dominance it might have had, aided by its silvering and stained façade allowing the building to age gracefully.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority scheduled Villa Mediterranja/Flora as a Grade 2 building on May 8.