Malta’s tagline has suffered a tumultuous couple of years: from ‘Oh my Malta!’ – created by viral content creator Nas Daily’s as a response to his astonishment at Malta’s natural beauty in 2018, to ‘build, build, build’ in 2019 following the local construction industry’s craze to replace beautiful townhouses (and other protected areas *cough*) with standardised high-rise apartment buildings.

However, 2020 may yet take a positive turn when it comes to the preservation of Malta’s architectural heritage. In fact, Nadur has just given the Maltese islands a lesson on how to modernise a building and adapt it according to the requirements of the time without creating an eyesore.

The building in question is the Gozitan village’s parish centre. The change has been well-received by locals, with many commenting that the renovation has not only made the building more beautiful but has also given the entire street a much-needed facelift.

A post published to Facebook by project architect Edward Scerri includes the before-and-after photos of the building and was shared multiple times by people: “look at this beautiful transformation!!!” wrote one woman. Another wrote in a separate post that: “this is a centre befitting local youths!”

Here's to hoping similar conservation projects follow suit!