Architecture & Design

Architecture & Design | 31 This humble yet imposing building was initially built in 1724 by Grandmaster Manoel de Vilhena to serve the growing population of Birkirkara. A first floor was added around 1860, resulting in two distinct building methods. The ground floor, which has high ceilings, has its roofs composed of arches which support stone slabs, whereas the first floor has lower ceilings composed of timber beams supporting stone slabs. The Ganu windmill was used until 1929 to mill a blend of flour of locally sourced wheat and barley, known as tal-Maħlut, considered back then of inferior quality. The area around the Mill is in fact recorded on maps as agricultural land known as tal-Maħlut. With centuries of land use changes the area is now a mixture of urban dwellings, commercial outlets, and busy commutes in this bustling town centre. As part of SKOPRI, studies by Conservator Nathalie Debono on wall paintings found on the first floor indicate the different leases and potential uses over the last 150 years. After ceasing operations the mill became a residence for multiple families, each living in one of the rooms. For a while up until the 1970s it was used by a blacksmith until this was restored by the Government Works Department in the mid-1980's. From archival research carried out by the Foundation these works included the part reconstruction of the centrally located spiral staircase and the provision of water and electricity. In 1990 the mill was transformed by the late modernist and contemporary artist Gabriel Caruana, MQR (1929 - 2018) into a contemporary art, cultural and crafts centre. Further structural renovations were carried out in the mid-1990s by England and England with the reopening of a blocked window on the façade of the Mill. In 2012, the windmill was confirmed as a Grade 1 Scheduled Building. The use of The Mill as an art, culture and crafts centre is the departure point for the Gabriel Caruana Foundation. Since its founding in 2016, the Foundation has worked towards ensuring that the legendary creative energy of Gabriel Caruana continues to inspire artists, students, children and different communities. Moreover his diverse contributions to modern and contemporary art are researched and communicated through different means and media. This unique venue, which has various spaces with the potential to allow for multiple uses, is important for the Foundation to achieve this goal. The layout, although relatively small and organised on two floors with the rooms all interlinking and surrounding the copious central staircase, is used interchangeably as exhibition space, workshop spaces, offices and storage space. True to its origins the Foundation has collaborated with over a hundred artists and creative practitioners in the last six years proposing numerous artistic and creative projects, exhibitions and related events. Being able to offer creative artistic workshops to different communities in such an inspiring and significant setting is an important and crucial aspect of the Foundation's work and engagement process. Therefore the different uses and the ability to shift from one use to the other has been the subject of studies through the SKOPRI project. Working with Toni Attard of Culture Venture has allowed a refining of the Foundation's operations and the creative sustainable strategy employed by the Foundation. The building fabric, which as explained above is between 150 and 300 years old, will be restored, both internally and externally. What is of particular interest and different to other restoration jobs, is that the envisaged restoration works, apart from being sensitive to the actual masonry fabric, have to be respectful and conscious of Caruana's energy, that can still be felt in his physical absence. The artworks and fragments which Caruana inserted and merged with the masonry fabric, are also of immense value and are to be preserved. SKOPRI also allowed the Foundation to continue its archiving efforts, where over 200 artworks are being documented, led by the Foundation's Curator Elyse Tonna and a team of volunteers. This was considered essential to take a snapshot of how Gabriel Caruana and The Mill contributed to the accessibility of modern and contemporary art, by providing a space for hundreds Conservator Nathalie Debono Workshop at the Mill Photo credit: Elyse Tonna

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