The impending demolition of two houses in St Julian’s to make way for apartments is yet another example of “architectural heritage apartheid” that has taken over the island in recent years, according to an architectural historian.
One of the houses is to be replaced by five garages at basement level, an apartment at ground floor, two other apartments at first floor, two at second floor and a penthouse. Seven duplex apartments will be replacing the second house. The two houses, situated on Birkirkara Road, were built in the 1850s.
“My concern is a nationwide one and not just restricted to a single house. Since the 1950s we have lost countless and priceless pieces of good architecture and extensive swathes of urban fabric,” Edward Said told The Sunday Times of Malta.
The few such buildings that remain in areas such as Sliema, Gżira and Marsa needed to be properly studied and, where possible, preserved, he stressed. When practical, the option of “adaptive reusing and modernity” should also be considered.
This is an approach that allows the building to be retained in its original state despite not being used for the purpose it was previously designed for. Such is the case with boutique hotels, Mr Said said.
The demolition of these types of houses recently made headlines after it emerged that a townhouse in Victoria would be destroyed to make way for a car park. Prominent architects deemed the house, and others like it, as being of great architectural heritage importance representing an era that needed safeguarding.
The news led to public outrage – an online petition against the demolition garnered over 4,000 signatures – and led to calls by architects and environmental NGOs to stop such practices from becoming the order of the day.
Similarly, residents in Cospicua expressed concern at how historic buildings were making way for housing apartments, as houses in the Santa Liena area will be replaced by some 56 housing units and 120 garages.
“The problem, of course, has been long-coming and constitutes just one aspect of the colossal architectural, or construction, scene in Malta.
“Years of short-sighted planning and management by crisis is now clearly reaching breaking point in several localities,” the architect said. On the practice of retaining the buildings’ façade, which was in some cases a condition imposed by the Planning Authority when issuing permits for such projects, Mr Said said that this was just a “compromise or an excuse”.
He insisted the value of such buildings needed to be better appreciated and called for more widespread awareness on the significance of such buildings to Malta’s architectural heritage.
claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com