THE MILL HOUSE

A cluster of vernacular listed buildings transformed into a contemporary home

Architecture: Valentino Architects • Structural design: Perit Ivan Muscat

Photography: Ramon Portelli • Model: Martina Farrugia

Somehalf a millennium ago, a roughly-hewn stone was laid on a patch of land in the centre of Malta. The intention then was to construct a functional building in what was largely an agricultural area. The material was limestone, cut by hand and prised out of the ground, and then patiently hacked using rudimentary tools into the right size and shape for its purpose. It was the first step in building what would eventually become a contemporary family home in Attard, one of the group of neighbouring communities informally known as “the three villages”.

There’s a metaphor in there somewhere for the way that a 21st century home has evolved out of a cluster of 16th century buildings on the protected heritage list. It takes vision, artistry, skill, and patience to carve a structure that is functionally useful and aesthetically pleasing out of basic, though promising, raw material.

The 16th and 21st century building works are visually identifiable but blend together beautifully. The arched door that leads in from the street echoes the arched ceiling in the entrance hall. CASCONEHome supplied the white front door by Delfino Infissi srl. Carmelo Delia Joinery supplied the wooden apertures, as well as the wooden bench in the hallway and other wood works.

Theoriginal vernacular buildings had an entirely different purpose to the one they serve today. They were utilitarian, designed principally to be useful rather than attractive, and their structure was limited by the building techniques and materials available at the time.

At a glance, rural architecture seems rough and unsophisticated, but it is eminently practical. There are no frills, everything was done for a specific reason, and both material and structure were made to work with nature rather than defy it. Hence the thick, double layered walls that provided insulation, broad arches that could support high ceilings to accommodate large machinery, and small and unglazed apertures that allowed natural ventilation without water ingress from heavy rain.

Thebuildings’ original structure fitted their functionality and locale like the proverbial glove. To develop them for a different use in a changed locale in another century, Valentino Architects transformed the three volumes into a single two-storey building that surrounds a central courtyard. Three bedrooms were constructed on top of the existing buildings and a contemporary walkway that overlooks the courtyard now links the once separate volumes.

The new structure is a sharp contrast to the heritage buildings – light, bright, smooth and translucent in contrast to the heavy and rough-cut stone of the original structures. The architectural concept centres on the space between the buildings. Now a sun-soaked courtyard meant for leisure rather than work, it is equipped with a plunge pool and seating area decorated with banana and palm trees in large terracotta pots. “The courtyard is the connecting agent between the disparate spaces,” say Valentino Architects. “The glazed walkway on the upper level curates the connection, functioning as a binding passage between the three volumes.”

Onthe ground level, the front door leads from the street into an entrance hall framed by stone arches. This opens out into the courtyard which is overlooked by the dining area at the north end and the living room and kitchen area to the east. Throughout the ground floor, painted panels cover the lower section of the walls, providing a clean surface for fittings without cutting into the original walls, while above the panels the rough stonework has been left exposed. White paint bridges the walls’ material contrast, foregrounding their texture and bouncing natural light throughout the interior.

The appearance of the glazed walkway shifts over the course of the day - solidly reflective during daytime and transparent at night, when it lights up the couryard below. CASCONEHome supplied the structure by SCK Group - GC Infissi.

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Tall cabinets are set between the wall arches, punctuating the edges of the ground floor and playing on grades of visibility. The smooth-fronted wooden cabinets “resemble minimalist boulders that at times double as doorways to tangential rooms,” say Valentino Architects. Opposite the front door, a concrete staircase leads to the newly built upper level where the bedrooms are finished in exposed concrete, plaster, and wood, with white marble in the bathrooms.

The glazed walkway connecting the private bedrooms runs along two perimeter walls above the courtyard plunge pool. It was designed for its appearance to shift with the changing light over the course of the day, transforming from solidly reflective during the daytime to transparent, as darkness falls, when it lights up the courtyard below. "In the morning, it reflects the courtyard's yellow stone and the sights of the surrounding village,” say Valentino Architects, yet it is invisible from the street, affording privacy to the residents as the internally lit walkway becomes translucent and they retire to their bedrooms for the night.

A neutral and natural pallette creates a sense of calm, particularly in the private space on the upper level. In the bathroom, a custom-built marble unit appears to float above the marble floor, both supplied by Il-Palazz Marble Works. Floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, including a walk-in wardrobe, and wood flooring by Carmelo Delia Joinery provide warmth and visual texture

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