Architecture & Design

Architecture & Design | 27 embody these qualities, they are transformative, educational, and dynamic. A successful museum offers a journey of discovery, changing the visitor along the way. Similarly, the Ospizio site itself, by the conclusion of the project, had been transformed into something entirely new. The exhibition navigates a complex palimpsest of military, civic, and cultural histories. How did you structure this historical information for a public audience? MICAS sits at a unique intersection of past and future within a seventeenth-century military landscape. This convergence creates a dialogue between preservation and innovation, memory and reinvention, where history forms the foundation for contemporary artistic narratives. We approached this through three conceptual and literal pathways: Historicity, Movement, and Gardens. These pathways are both literal and conceptual. Each pathway highlights different aspects of how architecture and art interact, revealing the evolution of cultural institutions. The exhibition uses these frameworks to convey transformation and the genesis of a new cultural reality, inviting visitors to experience both the site's history and its contemporary reinvention. Why focus on design, restoration, and construction as narratives rather than presenting MICAS as a finished object? The exhibition engages with a broader reflection on Malta's cultural landscape today. Post-COVID, museums are compelled to reconsider their role as spaces of encounter, exchange, and critical reflection. The exhibition is both a tribute to MICAS's architectural and historical context and a proposition for the evolving nature of contemporary art spaces. It invites visitors to trace layered histories, inhabit the tensions and harmonies of the site, and envision new possibilities for cultural dialogue in Malta and beyond. The building needs to be able to respond to these changes and, if successful, will always be in the process of doing so. The exhibition attempts to highlight this quality. How did you decide which architectural elements to foreground, such as the contemporary steel roof? The steel roof, along with its vertical façade, resolves the challenge of enclosing a historical open-air landscape. It rises without columns, creating a protective "sky" over the site. Its orthogonal, universal form contrasts with the fortified terrain below, highlighting both the intervention and the historical landscape it preserves. The roof is transformative, shaping the museum space while remaining almost invisible from across the harbour—an intervention deserving central attention in the exhibition. How did collaboration with MICAS, the Restoration Directorate, and IPO Studio shape the curatorial approach? The curatorial team of MICAS and the architectural team, were the main actors in a performance that saw new columns springing from historic ground and the covering of the site with a contemporary shelter. Each—MICAS curators, conservation architects, and IPO Studio—had distinct roles, yet they interwove like threads in a tapestry. By examining these roles separately, the exhibition reveals insights into the origins, aims, and achievements of the project, emphasising the collaborative nature of the museum's transformation. In what ways does the exhibition reinterpret the site's military past for its contemporary role? The superimposition of a contemporary museum onto fortified terrain is symbolic of museums' evolving role. Today, museums aim to offer critical insight into humanity's past and future trajectories. MICAS exemplifies how adaptation, negotiation, and reinvention of historical landscapes can serve as a foundation for the materialisation of imagined futures. Why expand the focus beyond the museum building to the Floriana Lines and surrounding structures? Contemporary museums transcend the simple display of artefacts. MICAS anchors an otherwise derelict area of Valletta's World Heritage City, providing a space for social interaction, cultural exchange, and reflection. By situating the museum within its wider historical landscape, the exhibition emphasizes the site's potential as a cultural and community hub. What do you hope visitors, including those without an architectural background, will notice most? The landscape speaks of the toil and ambition of past generations, yet it is not a settled, unchanging home. There remains much to be done, a sense of possibility and ongoing action. I hope visitors leave the exhibition feeling inspired by this continuity of effort, aware of the interplay between history, art, and the potential for transformation. P h o t o c r e d i t : S e a n M a l l i a

• Cover