St Julian’s icon Palazzina Vincenti granted emergency conservation order

The Planning Authority has issued an Emergency Conservation Order (ECO) for the iconic Palazzina Vincenti in St Julian’s, terming it as ‘heritage at risk’.

“Built straight after the Second World War, this property is a pioneering example of modernist architecture where the experimental use of reinforced concrete for domestic purposes was introduced,” the PA said in a statement.

The building was threatened with complete demolition for a 14-storey, 136-room hotel presented by developer Carlo Stivala, in plans by architect Robert Musumeci, the Labour government advisor on its planning reforms.

Palazzina Vincenti built by one of Malta’s most prominent architects of the first half of the 20th century, Gustavo Romeo Vincenti. The property served as his residence up until his death in 1974, and is one of the best modernist examples in Malta, whereby Vincenti’s mastery play with the circle and square geometric shapes is taken to an unprecedented dimension with protruding forms and sculpted spaces.

“The ECO is being issued in the light that that a development application has been submitted to the Planning Authority with the intention of demolishing the property. This application has rendered the property at risk with the irreversible loss of Malta’s cultural heritage,” the PA stated.

The property is being regarded as Grade 1 scheduled property by virtue of its historical, architectural, and contextual values. The ECO has a one-year validity period and will enable the PA to carry out a full and thorough assessment of the building, so as to determine the long-term level of protection the property merits.

“The ECO obliges the owner of the property to ensure that the building does not incur any further damage and that its upkeep and maintenance shall be exclusively their responsibility by means of a continuous maintenance programme.”

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had concluded that Palazzina Vincenti merits inclusion in the list of protected buildings.