Environmental imagination : sustainability as a source of inspiration to architectural design

Abstract

The world is witnessing a current urgency around environmental issues and the contribution that architecture can make towards a more sustainable world is considerable. The architecture community has begun to embrace the basics of environmentally responsible design. No reputable firm on the international scene, small or large, can afford not to market their ‘green’ capabilities. But still the architecture scene in Malta has been very slow to react. It is sobering to reflect on the Maltese context, to confront how little has changed, and how much, and with what intense urgency, needs to change. This paper is intended to give a refreshing outlook to the way that sustainable architecture in Malta is currently being portrayed.