A house in Malta designed by Valentino Architects studio

The granddaughter of a Maltese artist asked architects to redo her grandfather’s house for herself

Kitchen with access to the terrace

Photo: Ramon Portelli

In order to turn the Cubist artist Frank Portelli’s studio house into a modern living space, his granddaughter invited the bureau Valentino Architects, based right there in Malta. The house, named La Serenissima, is located in the village of Attard in the heart of the Mediterranean island. Frank Portelli designed it in 1995 in such a way that natural light, so necessary for his work, penetrated from everywhere. Therefore, numerous windows and skylights are scattered throughout the facade of the building.

Photo: Ramon Portelli

Photo: Ramon Portelli

Photo: Ramon Portelli

However, the granddaughter turned out to have other priorities, so the first thing the architects got rid of part of the corner glazing in order to design a terrace for sunbathing, separated from the rest of the house by sliding glass doors.

Office

Photo: Ramon Portelli

View from the bedroom to the bathroom

Photo: Ramon Portelli

Right from here, a small staircase with wide steps leads down to the kitchen with coal-black cabinets and a large island for storing dishes. Opposite is the dining area. Here, Valentino Architects has preserved one of Portelli’s original plywood mudboards. A small courtyard and a blue-painted study are planned on the east-west axis of the house. Most of the mid-century furniture and lamps here also belonged to the artist, and then was carefully restored by Valentino Architects.

The floor is tiled, reminiscent of Cubist works by Frank Portelli

Photo: Ramon Portelli

Photo: Ramon Portelli

The bureau decorated the floor with geometric tiles resembling the cubic shapes often found in Frank’s paintings. In the northern part, on both sides of the huge window, there is a bedroom and one bathroom decorated with laconic white tiles. Both spaces are closed by sliding doors with carved handles, repeating the shape of the recognizable diamond-shaped La Serenissima window.