DIN L-ART ĦELWA ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF XV EDITION ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE AWARDS

On the 26th February, the award ceremony for the XV edition of the Din l-Art Ħelwa Awards for Architectural Heritage took place at Our Lady of Victory Church, Valletta. The prizes were presented by the Honorable Clayton Bartolo, Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection, who congratulated the winners on their excellent projects, many of which were directly related to tourism, and all had an influence on the quality of life in Malta. He praised Din l-Art Ħelwa for its continued efforts to promote the safeguarding of heritage and best practice in restoration and conservation.

Din l-Art Ħelwa Executive president Professor Alex Torpiano, said that it was heartening to see such talent and effort put into quality architectural projects which contrasted with the widespread reality of unattractive jarring new developments which were ruining our visual environment.

Maria Grazia Cassar, chaired the jury which was composed of Professor Conrad Thake representing the Kamra tal-Periti, Professor Antonio Mollicone from the University of Malta and Din l-Art Ħelwa Council Member Perit Joanna Spiteri Staines.

To mark the XV Edition of the Architectural Heritage Awards and the 55th Anniversary of the foundation of Din l-Art Ħelwa, the organization this year launched the  ‘Judge Maurice Caruana Curran Award’, the prize that was to be awarded to the best winner overall in all categories.   The Phoenicia Hotel Spa by AP Valletta won this prestigious award.

The winners this year are:

Category A – A Major Regeneration Project

The Prix d’Honneur: The Phoenicia Hotel Spa by AP Valletta

Diploma: The British Building, AUM Campus by EM Architects

Category B – The Rehabilitation and Re-Use of Buildings

The Prix d’Honneur: The conservation of the chapel at Palazzo de La Salle by The Malta Society of Arts and The Department of conservation and built heritage in the Faculty of the built environment at the University of Malta.

Diploma: Admiralty House, Valletta, by The Restoration Directorate

Diploma: The King George  Project, Gharghur, by Perit Elena Borg Costanzi

Category C – A restoration and conservation project

The Prix d’Honneur: Palazzo Manresa, Floriana, by Archdiocese of Malta

Diploma: Ic-Cimiterju Tal-Abbati by Parroccja Hal-Lija and Architecture XV

Special Commendation: The Sacred Auditorium, Blata l-Bajda, by Atelier Maison

The Judge Maurice Caruana Curran Prize signifying the best overall in all categories was won by:

The Phoenicia Hotel Spa by AP Valletta