Valentino Architects, a design practice based in Valletta, Malta’s Capital, has remodeled and cohesively linked a cluster of Grade I and II heritage-listed buildings together with a mill room from the 16th century to design a family home called ‘Mill House’ in the Maltese village of Attard. The layout uses an outdoor courtyard as a unifying element between the volumes, “allowing the disparate spaces to each communicate with the sun-soaked hearth of the home.”
The design envisions a unification between the former mill buildings with the addition of a “glazed walkway which curates this connection, functioning as a binding passage between the three volumes,” which overlooks the courtyard. The walkway is a reflective layer contrasting the old and the new, bold in its appearance yet concealed from the street.
Stone arches rhythmically embellish the ceiling of the entry hall, which leads out into the courtyard with a swimming pool and a seating area. The living room and kitchen space are grouped in one room, connected to a separate dining room. Both areas have views of the courtyard.
The main room on the ground floor plays on grades of visibility where “tall cabinets punctuate the edge of its space, resembling minimalist boulders that at times double as doorways to tangential rooms,” the studio explains. The white walls are divided into a lower section of white panels with a clean surface. In contrast, the rough stonework above them is left exposed, adding a dynamic blend of wall textures to the relatively minimalist interior aesthetic.
Opposite the entryway lies a concrete staircase that leads up to the first floor, home to three separate bedrooms. Each bedroom is located on one of the three living blocks from the 16th century, linked by the glazed walkway that opens up to the central courtyard. Speaking of the glazed walkway, the studio explains how it shifts between reflection and translucency, “In the morning, it reflects the courtyard’s yellow stone and the sights of the surrounding village, appearing as an elongated band that elbows at a single juncture.” In contrast, during nighttime, “its glazed corridor is internally lit, illuminating the pool area below and revealing movements of its inhabitants as they travel from one bedroom to another.” The first-floor interior embraces a darker tone of exposed concrete, while the bedrooms have plaster and wood finishes, and the bathrooms are adorned in white marble.
Valentino Architects’ portfolio comprises projects across multiple scales and categories, from ‘new-build architecture to retrofit, refurbishment, interiors, furniture, and product design.’ Among their body of work in Attard is an adaptation of a post-war painter’s home and studio into a modern abode for his granddaughter. The residential conversion project of the ‘Mill House’ was completed in 2022.
Reference List
[1] Astbury J. (2022). Valentino Architects converts Maltese mill into family home. [online]. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2022/12/29/valentino-architects-the-mill-house-malta/ [Accessed: 07 January 2023].
[2] Valentino Architects. (2022). The Mill House. [online]. Available at: https://valentinoarchitects.com/project/the-mill-house/ [Accessed: 07 January 2023].
[3] Valentino Architects. (2023). Practice. [online]. Available at: https://valentinoarchitects.com/practice/ [Accessed: 07 January 2023].
