Premju Emanuele Luigi Galizia

Dear Colleagues

It has long been the ambition of the Kamra tal-Periti to hold an annual Design Awards event during which periti celebrate the best of their work, as happens after all, in many countries. After months of hard work, the event has now been launched, and I am inviting you to participate in it by submitting the works that best represent your abilities, which were completed in 2016 and 2017. As is characteristic of our profession, these abilities are not limited to architectural design, but include civil and structural engineering excellence, urban regeneration and interior spaces. Our intention is to celebrate the whole width of our profession.

We also plan to celebrate young emerging practices, and, as had already previously been announced, the best work of graduate periti, from the University of Malta. This is important in order to better welcome the more recent, and future, members of our profession.

Is this yet another award, in competition with others? No. We are certainly not in competition with the Din l-Art Helwa Heritage Awards, which we have always supported, and which we will continue to support. Nevertheless, we believe that it is important for the profession to have its own badge of quality, since it is the profession which can best celebrate the values it believes in, not as a publicity event, but as a genuine recognition of each other’s work, by ourselves. We are grateful for the sponsors who have agreed to support us in this vision.

It is for this reason that we have sought to associate the Award with the name of a prominent architect and civil engineer, Emanuele Luigi Galizia – one of our own. Galizia is well known as a very good architect – his most famous works including the Sta.Marija Addolorata Cemetery, the Turkish Cemetery, and the Moorish houses in Sliema –  but, perhaps less known, he was also one of the more prominent civil engineers of his time.

His work bridges, in our opinion, a traditional world of architecture, steeped in the Renaissance and Baroque traditions, and the modernity of contemporary requirements. His material was limestone, as were many of the classical buildings before his time. However, he showed that, with the same material, one could be both flexible and avant-garde, without compromising the traditions of good construction. In this sense, he signifies the birth, and the best, of the modern profession. He was not afraid of being contemporary, whilst not throwing tradition away.

These are the “timeless” qualities that we want the Kamra’s award to be associated with. We want this Award to become one that self-respecting professionals will strive to win; we wish the name Premju Emanuele Luigi Galizia to become synonymous with top quality architecture and civil engineering in Malta.

And this is why we are encouraging you to take part.

Yours,
Alex Torpiano

Aims of the Premju Emanuele Luigi Galizia

Through the Premju E L Galizia for completed projects, the Kamra tal-Periti seeks to:

1. recognise periti, its members (and others) for their achievements in relation to the professional practice of architecture, interior design, structural and civil engineering
2. develop public awareness and understanding of the importance of architecture and structural/civil engineering and the significant value inherent of good design
3. encourage periti to strive for excellence in architecture, interiors and structural /civil design and theory, thereby promoting quality in our urban and rural environments