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military buildings, and out firm was awarded<br />
the Prix d’Honneur for the Rehabilitation and<br />
Re-Use of Buildings,” stated Dr Mintoff.<br />
“The structure today is known as Macina<br />
and formed part of St Michael’s bastion, a<br />
critical part of the city of Senglea’s landward<br />
defence,” explained the prolific architect,<br />
going on “It was utilised for ship mast fitting<br />
from the early 17th century; the bastion<br />
originally housed a machine made of<br />
hardwood, which was later changed to steel<br />
in 1864. By 1927, however, the machine was<br />
dismantled in favour of a floating lift crane,<br />
and the Macina has subsequently been<br />
used for a variety of purposes including the<br />
Admiralty’s Head Office, a Trade School and<br />
a political party headquarters. More recently,<br />
it has been used as an exhibition space for<br />
special events.<br />
“EM Architects’ design was based on the<br />
desire to p<strong>res</strong>erve and enhance this historical<br />
building and <strong>res</strong>tore it to its former glory,” Dr<br />
Mintoff maintained, going on to explain that<br />
this was primarily analysed with regards to<br />
the site location and surrounding amenities,<br />
so as to determine how the project could<br />
contribute to the holistic urban regeneration<br />
of the Three Cities. “It was also of primary<br />
importance that the building was <strong>final</strong>ly<br />
protected and <strong>res</strong>tored so that it could be<br />
enjoyed for years to come. The new layout<br />
was designed to maximise the traveller’s<br />
engagement with the history of the building<br />
and the culture of the surrounding area,” he<br />
says.<br />
After years of disuse and continuous exposure<br />
to rain, wind and sea-spray, when it came to<br />
the commencement of construction works,<br />
the building was badly in need of repair,<br />
the architect recalls. “The existing coralline<br />
and franka limestone was found to be<br />
deteriorated in certain locations, and had<br />
to be replaced, and certain areas which had<br />
been plastered over had to be cleaned,” he<br />
explains. Apart from this, as is common with<br />
many historic buildings in Malta, numerous<br />
modern alterations and additions were<br />
also discovered, which were constructed<br />
using methods and/or materials which are<br />
incompatible with the older fabric. “Many<br />
of the post-war repairs were <strong>low</strong>-budget and<br />
make-shift, like many of the first and second<br />
floor ceilings. Certain areas of the existing<br />
structure, in particular those which were<br />
repaired fol<strong>low</strong>ing the damage caused in<br />
World War II, were found to be structurally<br />
unstable and impossible to repair. A portion<br />
of the building had also been damaged by<br />
an arson attack and also had to be replaced,<br />
as the fire had severely decreased the area’s<br />
structural integrity,” maintained Dr Mintoff.<br />
Dr. Mintoff and his team were in fact the<br />
recipients of both the ‘Din l-Art Helwa’ award<br />
as well as the ‘Planning Authority Award’<br />
for the rehabilitation of the Macina, to his<br />
immense satisfaction.<br />
"The new layout was<br />
designed to maximise<br />
the traveller’s<br />
engagement with the<br />
history of the building<br />
and the culture of the<br />
surrounding area.<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE: MBEOTYA 18<br />
The architect maintains that having worked<br />
on the project for ten years, every decision,<br />
even related to structural interventions, was<br />
planned so as to <strong>res</strong>pect the existing building.<br />
“We hope that the Macina building serves as<br />
an example and perhaps a benchmark for the<br />
<strong>res</strong>toration and re-design of other historic<br />
buildings in Malta,” he concluded.<br />
In receiving the Malta Entrepreneur Award,<br />
I felt very proud not just for myself but<br />
Malta Business Review<br />
more importantly for all the hard work put<br />
in by all my staff as we function as a closeknit<br />
team. Being such a successful and well<br />
attended event, it was an honour to be called<br />
on stage. The quality of all the contenders’<br />
achievements was very high and I felt very<br />
privileged to have been bestowed with the<br />
awards and particularly the ‘Overall Best<br />
Entrepreneur of the Year Award’. <strong>MBR</strong><br />
All rights <strong>res</strong>erved - Copyright 2018<br />
Editor’s Note<br />
The firm of Edwin<br />
Mintoff Associates<br />
was set up some 33<br />
years ago by Dr Edwin<br />
Mintoff, an architect<br />
and civil engineer, who<br />
became one of the first<br />
Maltese architects to<br />
obtain a doctorate Ph.D.<br />
in the field of architecture and urban design.<br />
It has since expanded into one of the largest<br />
civil architecture and engineering firms on the<br />
Island and now offers a wide range of services<br />
including land use and environmental planning,<br />
urban design, architectural and interior design,<br />
civil, road and structural engineering, land and<br />
quantity surveying, as well as cost consultancy in<br />
Malta and overseas. The firm today is known as<br />
EM Architects and Civil Engineers. Dr Mintoff was<br />
recently awarded as Malta’s Best Architecture &<br />
Interior Design Entrepreneur of the Year, Malta’s<br />
Overall Best Entrepreneur of the Year and also won<br />
the Chairman Value Award during Malta’s Best<br />
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2018. Only this<br />
month they were awarded the Planning Authority<br />
Award for Conservation Architecture for their<br />
project ‘Domus Zamittello’.<br />
Projects by EM Architects<br />
Projects by EM Architects<br />
www.maltabusinessreview.net<br />
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