Second issue of Architecture and Design out with MaltaToday on Sunday

The second edition carries an interview with Malta’s most celebrated architect - Richard England. A man and an architect who has contributed more than one can possibly imagine to understanding the value of design and architecture in Malta

On the cover: The Quad by DeMicoli & Associates. Front cover by DPRO studio
On the cover: The Quad by DeMicoli & Associates. Front cover by DPRO studio

Architecture & Design was launched earlier this year, as a quarterly publication, showcasing the very best work in architecture and design and acting as a platform for debate and discussion of the issues that matter to the building industry.

The magazine devotes every issue to specific topics in construction and building details in architecture, interviews and opinion pieces by well-known architects and designers as well as up-and-comers in this industry.

The second edition carries an interview with Malta’s most celebrated architect - Richard England. A man and an architect who has contributed more than one can possibly imagine to understanding the value of design and architecture in Malta.

Richard England repeatedly harps on the importance of architecture that serves a purpose, a goal and of the obligation architects have in creating the right tone for the object of a structure.

He says: “I would like to think of my buildings as primarily soul enhancing edifices, pastoral arcadias as opposed to fiscal dystopias, which adhere specifically to place and time. Site, context and the client’s brief remain paramount influencing factors in the design process. According to the Roman architect Vitruvius’ definition, architecture must provide ‘commodity, firmness and delight’. It is however the element of ‘delight’ which lifts construction to the realm of architecture.”

Brave words in an urban setting that leaves many disturbed by the contentious design that ignores the surroundings and the long-term impact of that design.

Richard England offers the best paradigm for an intellectual and an architect and his parting shot in his interview he laments: “We need to tread gently on our planet, with architects thinking more of eco than ego. In view of the world’s current daunting situation my dream non-pollutive project would be one where the floor is the earth, the walls are the wind and the ceiling is the sky.”

Get your hands on a copy of the publication, this Sunday, FREE with MaltaToday