Configurational change in the domestic architecture of the Maltese islands : an analysis of the socio-cultural information inscribed in house plans

Abstract

It has often been said that one cannot know oneself unless one knows one’s origins. If the home is the place where one spends significant time with others, then this suggests that the design of the home is a revelation of much information pertaining to cultural ideas which form the back-bone of society. Thus, socio-cultural forces have an important role to play in the configuration of spaces within domestic architecture. Furthermore, changes in these forces, which are greatly related to the wider historical forces at play, are bound to leave their mark on the determination of spatial layouts within the house over time, and thus reveal significant information regarding changes in society. The hidden meanings inscribed in plans drawn by architects are a source of information for understanding the ideas which prevail in a society at a point in history. This mutual link between people and the spaces within their houses, and its evolution over time is the fundamental notion guiding this research.