This seemingly single storey, 18th century townhouse is situated along a narrow alley in the urban core of Zebbug, Malta. The renovated façade and contemporary teal apertures reveal little of what lies beyond. Just behind the imposing front door one finds a barrel-vaulted entrance hallway culminating in an arched opening which overlooks the courtyard.
When A Collective were approached to take on the conversion of this double fronted townhouse, the house was in a dilapidated state. The departure point was to salvage as much of the original fabric as possible and remove a nineties extension which was built and never finished. Unfortunately, a beautiful garden shed and the original spiral staircase were condemned and needed to be removed.
The original fabric of what was to be retained formed an L-shaped volume, a single storey along the south facing street façade and a double storey volume on the east. The intervention sought to introduce a two storey L-shaped volume thereby re-enclosing a courtyard and flanking the back garden with its beautiful orange grove. A pool was strategically positioned in the sunniest part of the garden whilst ensuring that none of the trees would be uprooted. The overflow pool is an integral part of the main living spaces, providing a soothing calm feeling whilst the water overflows onto a bed of pebbles.
The extension is invisible from the street and hovers over the living spaces at ground floor supported by only three columns. The extension is honest and evident using fair-faced concrete ceilings, exposed steel beams and large expanses of glazing on the north and east facades.
A playful library conceals the staircase which is the new and sole access to the first floor. The staircase volume alignment is then used to conceal the kitchen cupboards and a bathroom accessed externally from the pool deck.
The old and new are once again reembraced within the garden space with the rubble walls enclosing the garden enclave. The solid volumes of the original building contrast sharply with the predominantly glazed intervention. The scars and layers from the demolished parts of the building are preserved and left exposed, with no attempt to conceal or cover what once was.
