The Chamber of Architects (Kamra tal-Periti) has condemned demolition work in Qala, Gozo.

“Notwithstanding its strong recommendations for the Qala primary school building to be preserved, demolition works have commenced in connection with a project for a new facility for the Institute of Tourism Studies, undertaken by the Gozo Ministry and utilising European Union Funds,” the chamber said.

The chamber referred to a February 2001 Resolution by the Council of the European Union on architectural quality in urban and rural environments and which called on the European Commission, “…to seek, in consultation with the member states, and in accordance with the rules governing (the use of) structural funds, ways and means of ensuring, in the application of those funds a wider consideration of architectural quality and the conservation of cultural heritage.

The chamber strongly condemned the demolition of the school, saying that Mepa’s own Audit Officer prepared a report, as recently as last month, which called for the immediate issuance of an Emergency Conservation Order.

The chamber was also supported by comments from art experts, more so when the project could have been accommodated within the building without destroying its unique architectural character, or else housed in another building altogether.