MUZ\u0307A - A WORK OF ART

Duncan Barry interviews senior curator at Muza, SANDRO DEBONO, who gives a run-through of the development, design and lay-out of our national community art museum – a building which held many surprises as the project went along.

Who was tasked with the design of the Malta National Community Art Museum known as MUŻA?

The museum designers were chosen following an international competition launched in December 2013. From the record number of submissions received, the one submitted jointly by DTR architects, Cyan Engineering, Martellomedia and Marie Louise Musumeci, was the one that was chosen. This team worked closely with Heritage Malta staff on

the development of a theoretical framework for the restoration of the building, the design and layout of the collection and display. The decisions that were implemented and the theoretical frameworks developed were all informed by extensive research which began way back and which continued throughout the duration of the project. This also led to significant results which informed the project in many ways, given that what was potentially available in archives, could be tallied and compared with discoveries made on site.

What kind of identity did the designer want to create or expose?

The restoration of the building is inspired by Pierre Nora's lieu de memoire concept (place of memory), which speaks about the equal meaning and significance of each historic layer. To this effect no one layer is more important than the other and there were truly no accretions to remove. Instead, competing layers would be balanced out thanks to surgical interventions whereby only what is absolutely necessary for a better reading of the historic structure would be removed.

There is also innovation in the ways and means how the display was developed. Concepts like Bo Bardi glass easels were rethought to present portraits and particular paintings and installations, also informed

by the cabinet of curiosities concept, used to present complex stylistic arguments. The general approach was one dictated by the need for innovation and a radically different approach in comparison to traditional museums.

Can the building cater for any style in terms of exhibits, be it modern or contemporary?

The building itself is a container and great care was taken to restore it independently of the fact that it had to house a historic collection. It can certainly take any style given that it is a neutral space with no hint of colour, save for the paintings in the collection which are the real reason why the project was taken up in the first place. Auberge d'Italie can certainly take any style and the display itself is proof of this.

What was the main challenge of the project?

The main challenge was undoubtedly the building itself and its history. We thought that we had a clear picture when the project took off but the building held many surprises as we moved forward which meant that the original project had to be rethought in part, sometimes quite extensively. This is the case with the discovery of the main staircase of the building originally demolished around 1850. Indeed, this would have easily been one of the most important staircases on the island which we reconstructed by making use of contemporary materials.

The building is also a Grade A scheduled structure which meant that all works on site required the necessary endorsement by the planning authority. On one occasion, an extensive intervention on the facade overlooking Pjazza de Valette had to be endorsed by UNESCO before the local authorities could move forward with the necessary clearances. This was indeed a huge challenge.

What is the key feature of the building?

There is more than one feature which warrants a mention. The use of TECU, a copper-plated aluminium purposely produced for MUŻA and in use for the first time ever, is a choice dictated by the need to develop interpretative design. Any cuts in the building or shifting levels corresponding to different ages and centuries are highlighted and underpinned with this material. The staircase itself rests on a carpet-like TECU layer which underpins the distinction between original footpath and adjustments in response to a necessary compromise to keep the historic layering as intact as possible.

Indeed, there are key features such as the main staircase or the main hall (known as Camerone) which are main areas worthy of study but what is perhaps key is the methodology developed, the use of TECU, a bespoke material used within the need for interpretative design, and the way the collection integrates and complements the use of space.

MUŻA is also a net-zero carbon footprint museum which is an absolute first for Malta and among the first European museums to adopt an environmental policy and objective at project development phase. MUŻA generates its own energy requirements through PV panels purposely installed on site but it also succeeded in significant reduction of consumption through energy savings thanks to LED lighting technology, the intelligent use of the thermal mass of the building and the effective use of double glazing. This was not an easy objective to achieve given that we're talking about a historic building with a complex layering that was also quite difficult to understand.