https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89442 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 12:09:56 GMT 2026-04-11T12:09:56Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89760 Title: An investigation on permanence within contemporary architecture Abstract: Rooted in the Vitruvian definition ‘firmitas’, the prevalent notion of permanence has retained its efforts towards timelessness through materiality crafted to endure (Touw, 2006). Challenging the incompatibility of the established definition in the 21st century, the dissertation seeks to explore other possibilities which allow permanence to retain relevance within contemporary Western cultures. By investigating multiple typologies from different cultural backgrounds and various points in history, contrasting ideas of permanence are exposed, suggesting alternative notions towards resilience. Condensing multiple interpretations of permanence, three values are derived to describe the main components of architecture which convey durability. Material value, commemorative value and intangible value, are three value developed to formulate a theoretical framework which is used to assess different case studies. Through the examination of the three local case studies, the research suggests movement between the three values, exposing a conversation between society and its surroundings. Informed by the literature and the multiple discussions on the different case studies, the research generates an expanded view of the notion of permanence, attaining greater recognition towards the social and environmental complexities which contribute to its relevance. Providing a space for further discourse, the research concludes by proposing conditions of contemporary permanence which regulate the durability of architecture beyond its materiality. Description: M. Arch.(Melit.) Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89760 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89755 Title: Architecture of wellbeing : a post pandemic reality Abstract: The unexpected turn of events brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic forced people into living a new reality. Their houses became a method of control, and the words quarantine, lockdown and confinement slowly transformed into new social normalities for a period of time. Such circumstances have pushed us to rethink our understanding of what makes a house a home. In this research, the home is seen as an active moment in time and space where the dweller has the ability to create a dynamic network of complex relationships between themselves and their surrounding environment. As a result, the pandemic circumstance challenged previously established relations and consequently impacted their sense of wellbeing. In order to gain a better understanding of how architecture of the home impacts the wellbeing of the dweller, this dissertation adopted a multidisciplinary approach that intertwines architecture with anthropology. As anthropology is a social science and architecture is a social activity, when combined they contribute to a much deeper understanding of the relationship between architecture and its users. In order to understand the approach Maltese architects are taking towards the designs of home in relation to the wellbeing of the dweller, the three finalists of a national architectural competition to retrofit a dilapidated building into a home for the homeless were analysed and served as case studies. In this study, the influence of the pandemic on the final design was explored. They were analysed to exemplify and provide a baseline of the current design approaches local architects are adopting surrounding the themes of home and wellbeing. This was then used as a reference point when analysing the effect, the pandemic had on the lived experience of home. The lived experience of individual architects during the COVID-19 pandemic was observed through ethnographic methods. As a result, a comprehensive understanding of how the built environment affected the participants' relationships within their home emerged. As the participants’ experience within their homes shifted, they were forced to adjust to their new daily routines. The pandemic epoch revealed the various implications of morphing together unfamiliar environments, most notably merging work with domestic life, thus placing further emphasis on the virtual dimension within the concept of home. As the dwellers' movement within their homes became stagnant, a behavioural change was observed. Such changes had adverse effects on their wellbeing instigating them to recalibrate their perception of space. The analysis of the case studies together with the architects' lived experiences revealed similar trends. These trends demonstrate that all the architects who participated in this study gave priority to similar architectural elements such as private spaces. The research identified that the dwellers' wellbeing is dependent on the amount of control they have over their external environment and their ability to change the dynamic relationship between people and place. It concludes by suggesting potential architectural elements and qualities that should be taken into consideration when designing or making alterations to a home as a response to the pandemic. Description: M. Arch.(Melit.) Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89755 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89754 Title: The architecture of inhabitation : transgressing the boundaries of formal architecture Abstract: This dissertation challenges the notion that architecture can ever be complete, shifting the conversation from ‘architecture as product’ to ‘architecture as process’ and effectively accepting that architecture is subject to change. The inhabitant can act as this force of change over the course of the building’s lifetime, making it ‘living’ architecture. Unfortunately, formal or conventional architecture tends to forget this, negating the dweller’s inhabitation and agency as a valid contribution to architecture. Instead, it perceives the dweller as a contingency, reducing the creative inhabitant to a generic user in an attempt to create a false sense of stability and completion. However, inhabitation and dweller agency produce their own architecture: the architecture of inhabitation. If to inhabit is to create and to contribute by means of this agency, then to inhabit is inevitably to transgress the boundaries of formal architecture. Emergent themes explore the individual and collective ways in which people engage with their domestic setting through boathouse dwellings as the prime locus of inhabitation and dweller agency. Through an ethnographic and inductive methodology, the architecture of inhabitation is uncovered as an ongoing process in which dwellers’ agency can be explored across a spectrum and is revealed to depend upon liberty and affordance. The engagement and involvement invested into space breed communal agency and collaborative spatial construction. Within the realm of the personal, the architecture of inhabitation emerges as a natural process of moulding the environment to oneself and oneself to the environment, allowing architecture to act as an extension and expression of the self. Thus, “the [dwellers]’ experiences construct the architecture as much as the architect” (Bo Bardi, n.d., as cited in Mosley & Sara, 2013, p. 54). By acknowledging the dweller as a creative agent, this study questions formal architecture and the agency of the architect. This is interpreted not as a threat, but as an opportunity to self-reflect as a profession while opening up architecture to include and enable the inhabitant and the everyday processes of inhabitation, generating new forms of hybridity and co-creation. While designing with people rather than for people is a step in the right direction, it is imperative that we seek ways to facilitate designing by people. The proposed shift in mindset reimagines our own agency as architects as a conduit for dwellers’ agency and has the potential to transform our role by expanding our scope beyond building, simultaneously reprioritising humanistic motivations. Description: M. Arch.(Melit.) Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89754 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89753 Title: Biophilic design : impact of the work environment on one’s well-being and productivity Abstract: Biophilic design is understood from the perspective of environmental psychology in order to expand the knowledge about the relationship between humans and their surroundings. The fundamental need for harbouring a human-nature connection in architecture is highlighted by delving into the realm of the work environment and exploring the psychological impacts that the physical factors within the workplace have on the employees. The purpose of this study is to investigate the adequacy of workplaces in Malta in response to biophilic design and evaluate whether there is a relationship between its physical components and the employees’ well-being. It was undertaken with respect to the public service and public authorities via a questionnaire. The employees’ self-rated health-related topics were compared to the physical aspects of their work environment. The employees’ reactions to the presence, or lack thereof, of nature and natural factors in their work environment – namely, daylighting, natural ventilation, plants and views – were analysed. The presence of windows was found to have the most substantial influence on the employees’ mental well-being, health and mood. Employees working in naturally lit and naturally ventilated workspaces benefited from higher rates of productivity and experienced less fatigue feelings. This study concludes by a number of architectural recommendations which could easily be implemented in order for all employees to connect with nature and benefit from it. Description: M. Arch.(Melit.) Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89753 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z