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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 AUGUST 2020 8 CULTURE LOCAL architecture and inte- rior design studio, Atelier Mai- son, has been longlisted for the international Dezeen Awards 2020 Emerging Interior Design Studio of the year. Dezeen is the world's most popular and influential archi- tecture and design website. The Dezeen Awards is the benchmark for international design excellence and the ul- timate accolade for architects and designers everywhere. At- elier Maison applied for the competition with two of their latest completed projects, both of which happen to be of a spiritual nature – The Sacred Auditorium and The Student's Chapel. Although both pro- jects differ in scale, the spaces created are both aesthetically beautiful and highly function- al. The Sacred Auditorium was the result of a five-year long renovation and refit of the au- ditorium at the headquarters of the M.U.S.E.U.M. society. The concept was simple: to create a beautiful place where you feel like you belong and to create a timeless interior that will be enjoyed by generations to come. The aim was to make the auditorium appear as though it was carved out of stone, thus making visitors feel grounded and almost embraced within a honey coloured travertine. The space that is coined The Student's Chapel was original- ly a very standard room, made up of four walls and two large windows. The interior archi- tecture of the space was rede- fined by introducing a number of layered planes. Each layer appearing to be isolated, and geometric shapes – like arches and squares – appear cut out from these planes, while giving the illusion of depth. Earlier this year, Atelier Mai- son was the winner for the Emerging Architect award at the Malta Architecture and Spatial Planning Awards 2019. Atelier Maison was estab- lished in May 2014, by two ar- chitects Paula Agius-Vadala' and Katja Abela. As a practice, they focus on innovative ideas in the form of custom designs and attention to detail, while looking at architecture holis- tically. This is translated through the balance of form and volumes, timeless materials, colour and geometry, which all unite as part of a new contemporary ar- chitecture. For Atelier Maison, new contemporary architec- ture should be an architecture of hope – one which is respon- sibly designed, and one which gives a worthy past to future generations. Local architecture and interior design studio longlisted for the international Dezeen Awards 2020 Atelier Maison, has been longlisted for the international Dezeen Awards 2020 Emerging Interior Design Studio of the year The Sacred Auditorium was the result of a 5 year long renovation and refit of the auditorium at the headquarters of the M.U.S.E.U.M. society