Hanging Home

Naxxar, Malta

A few years ago, Richard England’s celebrated ‘Villa la Maltija’ and its surrounding gardens in San Pawl tat-Targa (Malta) were demolished to make way for semi-detached villas. A sculptural white cube with seemingly very few apertures was created to hang over a narrow side-garden. The challenge was to capitalize on the modest 250 square metres of land, where zoning regulations only allowed forty per cent site coverage.

The main ‘lung’ of the house – the space above the main staircase – acts as a cooling tower in summer, channelling heat up from the main areas, whilst scooping the cool, prevailing summer breezes from the uppermost windows.

The hanging home is pure and weightless from the outside, slowly revealing its balmy spaces as one explores the interior.

Photos by David Pisani