The team of architects behind the design of the new Fimbank Group Head Office, from left, Keith Schembri, Edwin Mintoff, Eve Degiorgio and Piotr Armatys.

The commercial property market in Malta has undergone rapid changes over the last few decades to accommodate new areas of growth and one of these has been the demand for large-scale commercial office buildings.

This has seen the launch of a number of iconic buildings among which, this year alone, are Skyparks at Malta International Airport and now Fimbank’s new group head office in St Julian’s.

An architect who has been involved in the design of both these projects is Edwin Mintoff of Edwin Mintoff Architects.

Factors taken into consideration in the design stage included location, aesthetics, functionality, air quality, energy efficiency and also the building’s long-term sustainability and environmental performance

Dr Mintoff has been in practice for almost 30 years and, in that time, has seen his company expand to a large, architectural, civil and structural engineering firm.

His practice has also spread overseas to Europe as well as North Africa and has included development of offices, hotels, restaurants and banks, community centres, residential developments and other projects in Italy, Latvia, Tunisia, Libya, Turkey, Spain and Sudan.

In 2009, Edwin Mintoff Architects was charged with the task of designing Fimbank’s headquarters in Pendergardens, in collaboration with Bencini & Associates, who were in charge of the structural design, Mepa permits and civil works site supervision. Dr Mintoff explains that projects of this size and nature have their own particular requirements, which differ radically from residential buildings. Therefore, the design had to address the bank’s objectives to create an iconic, yet functional, building sensitive to both local culture as well as environmental considerations, while also reflecting the bank’s corporate identity and global presence.

Numerous other factors taken into consideration in the design stage included location, aesthetics, functionality, air quality, energy efficiency and also the building’s long-term sustainability and environmental performance. To achieve this, modern design techniques were utilised to meet the practical necessities and specifications of the space.

A number of distinct architectural and interior design concepts were presented to the bank prior to the choice of the final design – a building that incorporates clean, visual design lines that best communicate Fimbank’s strategic, global corporate vision in an architectural form.

The building itself consists of four underground levels, comprising a basement, two car park levels and a commercial level, as well as a ground floor commercial level and office space over eight levels, which will allow the Fimbank Group to further increase its capacity over the coming years. Office layout was designed to afford the highest level of accessibility and flexibility.

The building’s façade was designed to maximise the use of natural light while minimising heat gain. Rather than simply creating a faceless, glazed façade, EM Architect’s designers created an interesting play between solid and void by varying the size and location of glazed openings within the façade.

The variation in positioning and arrangement of the openings was inspired by the composition of typical Maltese dwelling façades as well as the variation in the Malta urban landscape.

This is emphasised in the building’s north façade designed in a manner that creates contrast between the variation of the openings and the solidity of the terracotta cladding.

From the onset, the provision of the architecture and interior design required not only the very highest standard of design detailing and choice of materials, but also the creation of comfortable and practical workspaces.

All interior details were carefully considered so as to create strong, clean lines that would serve to enhance the corporate identity of the client in the entirety of the building.