Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1279544
14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 AUGUST 2020 COMMERCIAL FOLLOWING the popularity of last year's summer edition, the Planning Authority will once again, be setting up the land- mark photographic roadshow exhibition. Entitled 'Unsung' Architectural Icons, this photo- graphic roadshow exhibition will enchant passersby through its subject matter. The exhibition brings together some of the most beautiful buildings constructed in Malta between the late 19th and the mid-20th centuries in a series of 30 photos that celebrate local, modernist architecture. Among the gems that can be admired in the photos taken by members of the Malta Institute of Professional Photography, you are sure to spot the Art De- co-style showroom of Muscat Motors in Gżira, the Rialto Cin- ema designed in an Art Mod- erne style by Maltese architect Edwin England Sant Fournier, and Mount St. Joseph Retreat House, which was designed by architect Carmelo Falzon. Also on display will be a num- ber of churches, such as All Souls church, in Tarxien, St Joseph parish church, in Mani- kata, designed by Richard Eng- land, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish church, in Fgu- ra, which was designed by two architects and a structural en- gineer in the 1960s and is built in reinforced concrete. There are also residences like the majestic Art Nouveau Balluta Buildings, overlooking Balluta Bay, in St Julian's, and Villa Ellul, in Ta' Xbiex, one of the earliest examples of mod- ernist architecture, designed by architect Salvatore Ellul. The majority of these 30 buildings were designed and built in the modernist style that was introduced to the Is- lands in the late 1920s and which remained popular until the 1960s. This architectural and design philosophy dictated an analytical approach to the function of buildings, the strict and rational use of (often new) materials, structural innova- tion, and the elimination of or- namentation. "The objective of this initia- tive is to raise awareness and appreciation among the pub- lic for some of our country's architectural treasures, which, at times, go unnoticed because they are not the typical palazzo or auberge with grand facades," says the PA's Executive Chair- man, Martin Saliba. This exhibition is part of the PA's commitment to preserve Malta and Gozo's architectural heritage, which, over the past years, has also seen the Au- thority financially assist prop- erty owners of scheduled build- ings through the Irrestawra Darek Scheme. This year alone, the PA has scheduled over 44 properties, mainly in the local- ities of Rabat and Pieta. The 'Unsung' Architectur- al Icons Photographic Exhi- bition will start off in Mdina between the 25th August and the 2nd September, then move to Merchant Street in Valletta between the 8th and 16th Sep- tember 2020. Detailed information about every specific building is found on each exhibition panel. A booklet on the project will also be available at the exhibition venue. This roadshow exhibition was part of a project titled PA+ which was part-financed by European Social Fund, falling under Operational Programme II - European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020. 'Unsung' Architectural Icons Some of Malta's architectural gems dating from the 19th and 20th centuries are to be displayed in an outdoor photographic exhibition in Mdina and Valletta