WATCH: Maltese architect Richard England has been nominated for this prestigious award
Richard England has been on the local architectural scene since the '60s.
The Kamra tal-Periti, the association and regulatory board of local architects, has nominated Professor Richard England, a well-known Maltese architect, for the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA)’s Robert Matthew Award.
The award commemorates the first President of the CAA, Sir Robert Matthew, and recognises innovative contributions on the development of architecture in the Commonwealth context. It is given to an architect or architectural office making the most outstanding contribution, having particular relevance to the country or region in which they operate.
Who is Professor England?
Professor Richard England burst into the local architecture scene in 1962, designing the iconic church of St Joseph in Manikata. The international modernist building was inspired by north and central European models. With this structure, he proposed a vision of architecture that better responded to the local context, designing various hotels and private residences in the modern Regionalist style.
Richard England has been Malta’s foremost architectural ambassador to all the corners of the world, making our islands proud that it has contributed in this field.
“I have always believed that architecture is very important visually, but it is far more important in the sense of what it does to us as its users. It has been said that we shape our buildings and thereafter they shape us,” he says in the short biopic released by the Kamra tal-Periti. “I’ve always been particularly interested in trying to create an architecture which lifts the soul and enhances the spirit.”
Watch the feature biopic here: