Architecture & Design

Architecture & Design | 17 made the case that good architecture embraces both contradiction and complexity. Twenty-five years after the completion of the Stock Exchange at the Garrison Chapel, this process continues in AP's work for the new museum for the monumental tapestries describing the triumph of the Eucharist, being added to St John's Co-Cathedral. When you look at your body of work, what do you hope will be your architectural legacy? I hope that the work will demonstrate that it is possible, in a small island nation with all its pressures and limitations, to practise architecture with rigour and ambition. That quality is not the preserve of large markets or wealthy clients. That beauty and functionality are not in opposition. That the past and the present can coexist without either betraying the other. I also hope that the practice itself will be part of what endures. We have spent 35 years building something that is larger than any individual contribution: a culture of research, of mentorship, of collaborative hard work. This is also why AP is setting up the AP Future Heritage Foundation (APFHF). The practice has been grounded by multi-disciplinary exploration, being known beyond its built portfolio for research, publishing, discursive events, exhibitions and more. APFHF is being created to give this tradition of inquiry a dedicated space for production. One which specifically encourages thinking around future heritage, and which deliberately opens itself up to real collaboration. APFHF's mission is to redefine heritage as a forward- looking resource, shifting beyond nostalgic narratives to address pressing challenges, including climate change, rapid urbanisation, and cultural identity. The Foundation will position heritage as a blueprint and driver of socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable futures. In 2024 you received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Premju Emanuele Luigi Galizia. What did this recognition mean to you personally and professionally? The Premju Emanuele Luigi Galizia carries a particular weight precisely because of who it commemorates — an architect who stood for professional integrity at great personal cost. To receive a lifetime achievement award in his name is to be reminded that the standards of the profession are not merely technical or aesthetic, but also ethical. Personally, it was a moment of reflection as much as celebration. A lifetime achievement award invites you, again, to look back, which is always instructive. But it also carries an obligation, to continue, to remain relevant. The work is not finished, and it never really is, so long as there is an ambitious team made up of valid members who wish to contribute. This includes AP's people, its clients, and the wider community it serves. " Valletta is one of the finest examples of the Renaissance, a city designed with lasting beauty and functionality. To have worked there, to have contributed to the conservation and evolution of that fabric, is a privilege and an educational process. S t J o h n 's C o - C a t h e d r a l M u s e u m E x t e n s i o n , Ta p e s t r y C h a m b e r F a c a d e P h o t o c r e d i t : J u l i a n Va s s a l l o

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