French Architecture Students' Interest in the Maltese Architectural Heritage

Many must have noticed a number of young people sketching in the streets of Valletta, Mdina and Cottonera during the past week. They are a group of forty students from the Ecole d'Architecture de Paris-Belleville accompanied by four professors. They wanted to explore Valletta, being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, through free architectural drawing. The Maltese Ministry of Education and National culture willingly gave its support to this initiative by providing free access to monuments and heritage sites and a space where every evening they meet to submit their day's work for criticism by their tutors.

The Paris-Belleville school specialises in the rehabilitation of old buildings. This is because in France there has been a change in focus from demolition for building anew to preservation and rehabilitation. This trend is safeguarding many old edifices and re-injecting life into the historic centres of many towns all over Europe. The beginning of such a trend can be sensed even in Malta. But while new construction work requires low-level skills and high versatility, renovation necessitates higher skills, greater sensitivity and more specialist professionals.

Through their drawings these students are exploring the articulation of space, light, shadow and texture in the facades, squares and courtyards of Valletta, Mdina, Cottonera, and in the megalithic complexes of Tarxien, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. They have been impressed also by the Inquisitor's Palace and the Auberge de France in Vittoriosa and by the juxtaposition of the docks amidst the bastions in Cospicua and Senglea. The opportunity was also taken to make them visit the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Malta where they met the Dean and students and shared their views on the formation of courses, the architect's profession, legislation, project management, protection and rehabilitation of historic buildings.