Gallarija Miftuha

Various locations, Malta

The award-winning Gallarija Miftuħa is a timber structure that seemingly disappears from the inside, and reappears when the view can be shielded.

Childhood memories of looking down from a childhood bedroom gallarija (closed balcony) onto life in Medieval Birgu, with its winding streets and abandoned spaces, instigated the creation of the ‘open balcony’. In 2001, studio founder Chris moved into his first apartment in Valletta, where the gallarija was in shambles. After removing it, he noticed a glimpse of the sea, so he changed the solid side panels into glass. It was a happy detail. Many an afternoon was spent lying in the hammock, enjoying views of the Marsamxett harbour below.

A few years later, a client acquired an apartment overlooking the Grand Harbour, and complained how the view was only visible if one stood at the balcony windows. A 1:10 model with bespoke hinges and timber frames was created to enable the building of a prototype.

The result, and its subsequent productions, retained all the aesthetic qualities of the traditional gallarija, while endowing it with this new function and purpose.

Price on Request