The Planning Authority has designated the administration building of the former milk factory in Xewkija, Gozo, as a scheduled Grade 2 building.

The 1950s modernist building, designed by the renowned Maltese Architect Joseph Huntingford (1926-1994), is located in Triq l-Imgarr and Triq il-Pitkali.

In the 1950s and early sixties, Mr Huntingtford was engaged by the government for the design and construction of some of its most important buildings in Gozo, such as the milk factory and Qala Primary School, which is said to be one of the finest modern architecture examples on the island.

His architectural design followed an international trend of the times, characterised by a streamline design, devoid of any ornamentation, using cantilevered canopies and window hoods only possible by the use of concrete whilst keeping within classical architectural rules such as proportion, rhythm, balance, symmetry, purity of lines, juxtaposing solids and voids ratios, play of light and shade.

The PA said Huntingford’s hallmark was his ability to introduce local characteristics in the design of his Modernist buildings. In the administration building he used a concave facade, inspired by the curved megalithic temples facades of the Maltese Islands, the pseudo rubble wall effect motif on the facade, as well as the use of ‘vernacular’ or most commonly found simple materials, such as the concrete brick common at the time, in creating the brise soleil corridors which shelter users from the elements and filter natural light.