Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description

CODE DGP0945

 
TITLE Malta Modernista: A Field Guide to Modernist Architecture

 
UM LEVEL 00 - Mod Pre-Tert, Foundation, Proficiency & DegreePlus

 
EQF/MQF LEVEL Not Applicable

 
ECTS CREDITS Not Applicable

 
DEPARTMENT Degree Plus Programme

 
DESCRIPTION This study unit examines the threatened legacy of modernist architecture, especially in Malta and Gozo, exploring how post-war buildings, often unprotected by heritage legislation, are documented, interpreted, and advocated for within contemporary preservation discourse. It introduces the historical development, key characteristics, and current challenges surrounding modernist architecture, situating these buildings within Malta’s evolving built environment and debates on heritage, policy, and sustainability.

Objectives:

Through archival research, fieldwork, and public-engagement strategies, students investigate methods of identifying, conserving, and adaptively reusing modernist structures while understanding their cultural, social, and urban significance. The course equips students with the skills to identify and critically assess modernist architecture, enabling them to contribute to an expanding archive of Malta's modernist building stock. Alongside archival research, students undertake field surveys, documentation, and site visits to selected modernist buildings, developing practical experience in recording and analysing the built environment. Guest lecturers, including researchers and practitioners working in the field of modernist architecture and heritage, will present their work and engage students in discussions on the conservation, adaptive reuse, and future of Malta's modernist architectural legacy

Unit Material:

Appropriate unit material will be provided by the tutor during the sessions. Students are encouraged to bring comfortable walking shoes, a smartphone or camera for photographic documentation, and a sense of curiosity as we explore Malta's modernist streetscapes and built heritage.

Assessment:
In keeping with the spirit of Degree Plus, there is no formal assessment associated with the unit. A certificate of attendance and of satisfactory completion of the unit will be provided at the end of the semester.

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES This unit may not be offered if there are an insufficient number of applicants. Unit is against a €25 fee.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Attendance No 100%

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2026/7. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/courses/studyunit/index.php