“Tonight we recognise not only excellent architecture, but the stamina and resilience it took to deliver it,” said Andre Pizzuto, President of the Kamra Tal-Periti (KTP) during his remarks at the awards ceremony for Premju Galizia 2026, the national architecture awards held at the Grandmasters Palace in Valletta.
The awards, this year co-hosted by KTP and the Planning Authority, marked a significant milestone in the Kamra’s pursuit for improved standards, accountability and a system that treats the profession with the dignity it deserves.
Tackling the theme ‘Building With’, the awards drew on the history and legacy of Emanuele Luigi Galizia, who not only built with others in mind, but what he built over a century ago still stands today.
The night, which kicked off with a gathering inside the Palace courtyard beneath the historical clock tower, was attended by the Hon Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Employment, Jonathan Attard, Planning Authority Executive Chairman Johann Buttigieg, Perit Andre Pizzuto, Local Head Juror Perit Chris Briffa, International Jury members Pepe Gascon (Spain) and Esra Serdar Aydinoglu (Turkiye), as well as other distinguished guests and finalists.
The diverse attendance served as a reminder that good outcomes for the industry and the public at large are built on trust, and trust can only come through dialogue which creates room for meaningful collaboration among varying stakeholders.
From the recognition of upcoming and established architects to celebrating projects big and small, here are all the winners of Premju Galizia 2026.
Core Categories
MICAS – Adaptive Reuse Award
The Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS) took home the Adaptive Reuse Award for its transformation of a previously inaccessible sector of the Floriana Lines into a public institution for contemporary culture. The project, led by the Restoration and Preservation Department with Ipostudio Architetti from Florence, brings together conservation, archaeology, architecture, engineering and landscape design that treated the site’s historic fabric as driving force for the organisation, scale and character of the new art galleries.
Rabat Gozo Primary School – Public Projects Award
Designed by Periti Studio, Rabat Gozo Primary School, the winner of the Public Projects Award demonstrates a considered combination of modernist conservation, child-centred pedagogy, and environmental responsiveness. Rooted in the extension and adaptation of an educational facility designed by modernist architect Joseph Huntingford, the design balances the preservation of 20th-century built heritage with contemporary requirements for learning environments.
Salvina, Mellieha – Multi-unit Residential Design Award (Commended)
MODEL architects transformed a vacant corner plot into a lasting architectural heirloom for a single family with Salvina Court in Mellieha. The multi-unit residential block balances independent, multi-generational living with sleek urban design, transcending the typical multi-residential developer typology, earning it a commendation for Multi-unit Residential Design.
Dar Sikada, Gharghur – Single Dwelling Design Award
Two existing structures – a British barrack and a rural farmhouse at opposite ends of a terraced field – set the foundation for Dar Sikada, a residential project by Ebejer Bonnici that took home the Single Dwelling Design Award. Designed for a family of five, the studio opted to excavate beneath the existing structure rather than attach an extension or place a third building. The new subterranean level accommodates the bedrooms, while the surrounding landscape holds it all together.
SAMA, Hamrun – Workplace Design Award
A therapy room within a children’s home, designed by Ebejer Bonnici, won the Workplace Design Award; a distinct space that marks the transition from everyday life to the private encounter between therapist and child. At the centre of the room, a raised platform provides common ground for the therapist and child, while translucent linen curtains introduce a secondary spatial order that alters the feel of the space when drawn or extended.
The Jesuits Church, Valletta – Built Heritage Conservation Award
The Restoration and Preservation Directorate received the Built Heritage Conservation Award for its interventions on the Jesuits Church in Valletta, carried out between 2023 and 2026. The extensive internal works included repair of the roof, together with the extrados of the dome and its internal replastering, removing of modern paint layers and repainting in colours that reflect traces of underlying historic paint, the restoration of the coat of arms of Bishop Gargallo as well as the replacement of all services, introduction of modern lighting and sound, among others.
Stilla San Mikiel Guesthouse, Senglea – Hospitality Design Award
Valentino Architect’s conversion of a Senglea property into a guesthouse earned the studio the Hospitality Design Award. The conversion draws on the town’s domestic and industrial fabric, pairing a restored post-war building with a contemporary rooftop addition informed by the adjacent dockyard. Set close to Senglea’s shoreline, Stilla San Mikiel comprises six studios and suites arranged over three floors, responding to the building’s orientation and its relationship with the nearby harbour.
Special Categories
URNA – Unbuilt Projects Award
URNA, a project commissioned by the Malta Arts Council for the London Design Biennale 2025, is conceived as a compact repository in which cremated remains are placed gradually over time. Led by Perit Anthony Bonnici, it received the Unbuilt Projects Award, recognised for its multidisciplinary approach that turns the quarry into a place of ritual and memory.
President’s Student Medal
BastuBaћar by Matthias Galea Souchet – Architectural Design Medal
Set on the former site of the Chalet, BastuBaħar, conceived by Matthias Galea Souchet seeks to revive the site’s former spirit of leisure and connection to the sea through a contemporary lens. Winner of the President’s Student Medal, BastuBaħar is a public sauna experience carved into the coast of Sliema, introducing an unfamiliar ritual to the Maltese Islands: a guided sauna and bathing experience open to all.
Role Model Awards
Galizia Leadership Awards – Steve Zammit Lupi
The Council of the Kamra tal-Periti and the Executive Council of the Planning Authority awarded Żebbuġ Mayor Steve Zammit Lupi with the Galizia Leadership Award, in recognition of his strong and passionate advocacy for sustainable mobility and for the building of community.
Perit Joseph Bugeja – Lifetime Achievement Award
The 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award went to Perit Joseph Bugeja, in recognition of a career of more than half a century that has shaped Malta’s relationship with the sea. Perit Bugeja has played an engineering role in most of Malta’s marine projects and his pioneering work in marine and geotechnical engineering has set standards for a crucial field in Malta.
2026 President’s Award
The night’s top honour went to the Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS), led by the Restoration and Preservation Department – making it their third win of the night, and a deserved recognition of how a major heritage project can accommodate a demanding contemporary programme without erasing its material complexity.
Main image of the winners captured by Jean Marc Zerafa
