Architects call for national architecture policy amid planning frustrations

The Chamber of Architects (Kamra tal-Periti, KTP) has renewed its call for a National Architecture Policy, saying the country urgently needs a long-term vision for how it shapes its towns, landscapes, and public spaces.

The appeal comes as architects around the world mark World Architecture Day 2025, established by the International Union of Architects (UIA). This year’s theme is Design for Strength, urging the profession to create built environments that can withstand, adapt, and regenerate in the face of social, economic, and environmental challenges.

KTP said the theme carries particular weight in Malta’s current context. The government’s proposed planning law reforms have reignited public frustration over what many see as a broken system that favours short-term development interests over environmental quality, cultural heritage, and community wellbeing.

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“Amid the polarisation between developers and environmental activists, architecture – the very discipline that shapes the spaces we live in – has been completely sidelined,” the chamber said in a statement marking the occasion.

KTP argued that the country’s planning framework has long prioritised legal processes over design quality, creating a system that “seeks to codify design into rules and formulas, believing that good architecture can be legislated into existence”. The result, it says, is visible across Malta’s towns and landscapes: a patchwork of developments that often lack coherence, identity, or sensitivity to their surroundings.

While clear regulations are important for ensuring fair procedures, the chamber contends that excessive legalism has come at the expense of creativity and context. “Laws may provide clarity for lawyers defending or contesting permits,” it said, “but they do little to support architects striving to create spaces that uplift communities, respect context, and enhance the environment.”

The KTP expressed dismay at the ridicule often directed at calls for higher architectural and spatial standards in public debate, describing such proposals as fundamental to building resilience and meaning into the nation’s built environment.

“To ‘Design for Strength’ in Malta, we must first design for integrity — of our profession, our institutions, and our public spaces,” the statement read. “True resilience requires a vision that transcends short-term interests and procedural certainty.”

The chamber is urging government to collaborate on drafting a National Architecture Policy that would establish a shared vision for architecture, urban design, and placemaking in Malta. Such a policy, it said, should be grounded in quality, sustainability, and cultural identity.

Malta remains one of only two European countries without a national architecture policy. KTP said this gap has contributed to decades of disjointed development and missed opportunities.