Our office led a slew of top overseas consultants, including Hilson Moran, Metaphor, Local Projects lead by Jake Barton, Burlando Architettura, to submit an entry for the MUŻA design concept. These consultants were involved in some of the more innovative museums worldwide. The team’s proposal was centred on a sensitive approach, respecting the building fabric of the Auberge d’Italie with a sustainable design, prioritising passive measures and efficiency before bolt‐on technology. The target was a carbon‐neutral National Gallery of Fine Arts achieved by understanding the existing building physics, by reinforcing passive design measures, applying energy‐efficient systems and controls, and harvesting renewable energy.
The concept was based on a narrative for the different galleries to create memorable experiences for the visitor. The team’s focus was understanding the vision for the gallery, its contents, the branding and communication, and, most importantly, the story to be told; followed by communicating this through all the details, including the map in the visitor’s hands. Finding the right story can make all the difference to a cultural destination.
The floors in the galleries were to be a grey or dark beige colour, while the gallery spaces facing south and west needed to have glazing which filtered out UV radiation. The proposal was to install light shelves behind blocking screens and to reflect the light on gently undulating white ceilings, to transit daylight into the gallery without additional heat gain. In other galleries with other orientations, light coming in through the windows would be reflected off the walls of buildings across the narrow streets (Triq Zakarija and Triq Melita). An important feature of the gallery included the innovative way, using IT technology, of encouraging the visitors of all ages to engage with the collections.
The consultants in the team, experts in multi‐media development and technological interfaces, produced some of the more innovative ideas for engaging with child and adult visitors alike. The submitted vision also included a landscape proposal leading to the secondary entrance off Piazza La Valette, extending right up to the roof, to contrast with the large expanse of hardstone paving on the exterior.
