Addressing dereliction : the role of British architecture in Maltese culture

Abstract

One can argue that Malta can be seen as a showcase of the evolution of military architecture. When speaking about heritage buildings, such as the British military architecture discussed in this research study, a number of factors need to be considered. The values, authenticity and a community’s attachment to these structures are discussed along with different charters. The syllabi and curricula of government schools will be reviewed through the use of archival documents to determine whether there are correlations that influence decision making in the area of cultural heritage preservation. This was done by analysing the school syllabi from 1994 to 2021. This helped to understand whether or not the Maltese society was educated in such a way to create the bias towards being more aware to the Hospitallier period than the British period. In addition, this research study aims to also analyse the management of British military architecture through proposals that were submitted to the Planning Authority throughout the years. The interventions carried out after the achievement of Independence on the British Military buildings are investigated. For the purpose of this dissertation the management of British military architecture and the educational material are discussed in parallel. Furthermore, this research study will discuss an apparent correlation between materials published from the 1970’s to the 1990’s and an increase in awareness in the preservation of heritage buildings from Hospitallier era at a later date. Notwithstanding this, the same could not be said for structures from the British period were publications are still limited and as a consequence there is limited awareness amongst the general public.