Works at the Old Abbattoir site in Valletta (known in Maltese as il-biccerija l-antika) have kicked into gear to transform it into the Valletta Design Cluster, a hub for community and economic development. 

Once fully completed in mid-2019, the Cluster, one of the projects being developed as part of Valletta 2018, will provide a platform for creative practices through a range of various types of spaces, including studios for creative start-ups, a makerspace, a co-working space, various meeting rooms and conference facilities. 

Major structural renovation work is currently in progress, and is being overlooked by the Restoration Directorate to ensure that this building’s Grade 1 historic fabric is safeguarded and preserved. Valletta Design Cluster project leader Caldon Mercieca says that various interventions are being carried out on the internal spaces, “removing accretions that have blocked or diminished the heritage value of some of the building’s features and addressing the needs of the various groups of future users that will be interacting with each other inside the renovated building.” Following this phase, which is expected to be completed before the end of the year, the restored site will be finished and furnished. 

When it throws its doors open to the creative and artistic community, the building will also have an internal covered courtyard which can host events and exhibitions, as well as a green landscaped area on the roof, which will serve as a new public garden in Valletta, Mr Mercieca says. 

The alterations in progress are based on the results of several community engagement initiatives carried out by the Valletta 2018 Foundation over the past years, such as the recent Design4Innovation, an Interreg Europe project focusing on user-centred design, in which students, start-ups, cultural practitioners, residents, and various NGOs and organisations actively participated.