The Kamra tal-Periti (KTP) has renewed its call for Malta to adopt a National Architecture Policy, one of only two EU countries still lacking such a framework.

Marking World Architecture Day 2025, themed “Design for Strength”, the Chamber said the occasion was a reminder that resilience in the built environment must go hand in hand with integrity in planning and governance.

In a statement, the KTP said the theme resonates deeply as Malta’s planning system once again faces public scrutiny. The government’s proposed planning reforms have sparked fresh debate over overdevelopment, environmental degradation, and what the Chamber described as the growing disconnect between planning policy and public wellbeing.

“Architecture – the very discipline that shapes the spaces we live in – has been completely sidelined,” the KTP said, warning that Malta remains burdened with a system designed to legalise architecture rather than enable it.

The Chamber argued that while legal certainty is essential, the country’s rule-based planning framework has failed to foster creativity, contextual design, or architectural quality. “Laws may provide clarity for lawyers, but they do little to support architects striving to create spaces that uplift communities,” the statement read.

The KTP expressed dismay at what it called “mockery” in public debate toward proposals that would elevate spatial, architectural, and contextual considerations in planning decisions, saying these are not “subjective whims” but the foundation of a resilient and meaningful built environment.

“To design for strength in Malta, we must first design for integrity – of our profession, our institutions, and our public spaces,” the Chamber added. “True resilience requires a vision that transcends short-term interests and procedural certainty.”

The proposed National Architecture Policy, the Chamber said, would set out a coherent national vision for architecture, urban design, and placemaking grounded in quality, sustainability, and cultural identity.