It is really difficult to keep up with Professor England. After the publication and launch of two books within weeks of each other, I received an invitation to the Conferment ceremony of three Honoris Causa degrees to take place at the Church of the University, on 2nd December. The three recipients were Prof. Richard E. Rubenstein (Doctor of Literature), Prof. Richard England (Doctor of Engineering) and Dr Joseph Borg (Dr of Literature). The historical church of the University needs more than just a sprucing up. I hope some attention will be given to it, and soon.
I enjoyed the ceremony which started with the arrival in procession from the Valletta campus of the University (round the corner in St Paul's street) of the academics and honorary graduands. Then there was some music, not sacred but Mozart's Allegro from his Nutcracker Suite and some Handel.
Prof. Rubenstein received his Honoris Causa after an oration by Dr Omar Grech and an address by Prof. Rubenstein himself who had signed the Liber Aureus which I suppose is a special book created for those who receive an Honoris Causa degree. We then heard Vivaldi's Largo from L'Inverno which always goes down with any audience as who isn't familiar with The Four Seasons?
It was now the turn of Prof. England to receive his Honoris Causa and Prof. Alex Torpiano, Dean, Faculty for the Built Environment to deliver his interesting oration. He said that the earliest recollection that he had about his decision to become an architect is an essay he wrote as an eleven-year old, "inspired by my discovery, in a children's newspaper, of an architect called Basil Spence. Later, this architect would become Sir Basil Spence, would come to live in Malta, and would have a house designed for him by today's graduand." The other memory Prof. Torpiano has, as background to this decision, is of his father driving the family around one Sunday afternoon, climbing up the hill from Pwales Valley "into a sleepy village I barely knew, and then, turning right, suddenly coming to a stop in front of this unbelievable construction, still raw, grey and rough, but whose exciting quality was, to me, a moment of enlightenment. This building was the Church of St. Joseph of Manikata. I can still remember the excitement at the discovery of this church, which was yet to be finished - the embracing curved walls, the gaps, or pauses, between the walls, the simplicity and, at the same time, the great power of the interior volume...I had never seen or experienced anything like that. For me it was magic." (This of course was the now famous church designed by Richard England). Prof. Torpiano continued: "This is what architecture can do; it is not just a pretty façade in a photograph, but a deeply satisfying experience of discovery of space, form, light and texture. My brother, who had already started his studies of architecture, knew that the architect of that unbelievably different building was somebody called Richard England. I only had a vague impression."
Prof. Torpiano's and Prof. England's paths would meet in subsequent years. The orator praised Richard England's availability to his students as well as his dedication to them. Prof. Torpiano subsequently worked with Prof. England and three other architects on ventures abroad. In the early 80s a commission came from Baghdad. "Not many people appreciate the importance of that particular commission," Prof. Torpiano said. "Here was this architect, from the tiny island of Malta, receiving a direct commission, from the Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji, who was in charge of the rehabilitation of Baghdad, to work together with other world-famous architects, including Carlfried Mutschler, Arthur Erikson, Sheppard Robson, Ricardo Bofill, Robert Venturi, and Arup Associates, to prepare plans for the Bab Al-Sheikh district of Baghdad. Richard England received this call in recognition of his ability to understand vernacular traditions, and to propose solutions which, although compatible with these traditions, would not rigidly adhere to traditional forms.
This was Chadirjee's explanation of why he selected Richard England, and in his words, Richard England turned out design solutions "of high quality". This was before the Iraqi-Kuwaiti War of 1990, and the
subsequent invasion in 2003. I therefore do not know whether anything remains of the Bab Al-Sheikh Project, and in particular of Richard's Zone 4."
I found the following part of the Oration particularly interesting. Prof. Torpiano said that he has learnt "a number of important lessons from Richard. The first is the importance of quality, and attention to detail. This comes through in all he does, from his drawings to his poems, from his buildings to his publications, his house, and the music he loves. Quality and detail are what is sorely lacking in so much of our urban environment, and what we do within it; this is what undermines the appearance of his beloved Malta and Gozo, as he, regularly and passionately, has warned us.
The second lesson is the need for courage. An architect's work is never hidden, as an unsuccessful book remains shut, or an unsuccessful painting painted over, or a poor piece of music remains un-played. An
architect's work is inevitably public, the good work as well as the less good. The impact of an architect's work is there, impossible to hide (except by wholesale demolition!). And the public comments on one's
work are often facile, and unbelievably crude, whether merited or unmerited; we have all experienced the "enlightened" critique that compared Renzo Piano's new Parliament façade to a cheese-grater? This criticism, particularly from holier-than-thou media and bloggers, can break lesser spirits, unless there is the courage to persist with one's convictions, until time makes the real test of quality and greatness.
In addition, an architect's creation, once finished, often becomes a helpless victim to the whims of subsequent owners. No words are changed in a successful novel once published, no notes tweaked in a
good piece of music, no colours added to a good painting. And yet, nothing stops an owner from making alterations, building extensions, changing openings and adding floors, in spite of the quality of the
architecture. Even in the case of what we glibly refer to as "scheduled buildings", nothing much prevents an owner from gutting the interior, whilst retaining the exterior façade; this is even perceived as a good
way of preserving an important piece of architecture! It takes great courage for an architect to continue to produce what he believes in, in the context of such "amendments" being inflicted on his creations.
Speaking of scheduled buildings, I would add that Richard England is also the only local architect whose works have been "scheduled", whilst he is still professionally active! Arguably, a double-edged honour?
The third important lesson is that of mentorship and friendship. I consider myself lucky because, when I was younger, and, in truth, all through my career, I always found Richard England available, with his advice and his encouragement. And I know for a fact that I am not the only one to benefit of this mentorship.
Young students continue to knock at his studio's door, and he continues to open it to them, to discuss their projects, to answer their questions, to give them direction when they so ask, to guide their aspirations. His way with students and young architects is a rare gift, which I have tried very hard to emulate in my work at the University.
And the strength of his friendships is confirmed not only by the number of people who came to celebrate this event today, but by the many architects, architectural critics, and artists all over the world, who
admire his work, and covet his friendship."
Prof. Torpiano then gave a long list of awards and decorations bestowed on Prof. England. This was not the first Honoris Causa he had received. Far from it. Prof. Torpiano continued: "At this stage, one is tempted to quote the words "a prophet is not without honour save in his own country". In truth, Malta has acknowledged him. The Government of Malta honoured him in 1993, when he was appointed Officer of the Order of Merit. It has to be acknowledged, however, that the University of Malta, his own Alma Mater, did take its time to recognise the most important alumnus in this discipline."
I would like to end by a quotation from Richard England himself, which I read in the latest book he has published, Sanctuaries of the Soul, since I think it helps us understand who he is:
"Many roads lead to God, I have chosen Architecture"
It is with great pride that, as Dean of a Faculty with this centennial tradition, I am sponsoring the award of the highest academic recognition that the University of Malta can offer, the Doctorate of Engineering (Honoris Causa), to Professor Richard England. In spite of all the things that are said about "periti", we also have our great stars, and he is certainly the brightest."
This was an excellent oration which I unfortunately cannot reproduce in its entirety. I would suggest to those interested in our built environment to get hold of a copy of it and digest it. It should be read by every politican over and over again and especially by those who are destroying this little island with their greed and their ugly buildings replacing those which are so much more beautiful.
Prof. England then gave his Acceptance Speech.
There isn't the space on my diary page to give this speech the credit it deserves. So I shall reproduce it this coming Saturday on the Lifestyle pages. Please buy a copy of the paper because it is worth keeping.
We had more lovely music by the Galathea University Ensemble directed by Mro John Galea.
An Oration by Dr Mark Harwood, Director, Institute for European Studies followed by the conferment of the Doctor of Literature degree on Dr Joseph Borg followed by another interesting acceptance speech and Telemann's Sinfonia Spirituosa in D Major.
We all walked to the Old University where we enjoyed a vin d'honneur in this historical building where I remember working, all those years ago as an assistant librarian. I hardly recognized it as it has been so transformed - for the better let me say.