An Emergency Conservation Order (ECO) has been issued for the immediate protection of the iconic Palazzina Vincenti in St Julian's.

The Planning Authority has termed the Palazzina Vincenti property as "heritage at risk."

This comes after a developer planned to demolish the property to make room for a hotel.

"Built straight after the Second World War, this property is a pioneering example of modernist architecture where the experimental use of reinforced concrete for domestic purposes was introduced. The Palazzina was built by one of Malta's most prominent architects of the first half of the 20th century, Gustavo Romeo Vincenti. The property which served as his residence up until his death in 1974, is one of the best modernist examples on the Island, whereby Vincenti's mastery play with the circle and square geometric shapes is taken to an unprecedented dimension with protruding forms and sculpted spaces," the Planning Authority said in a statement.

"The ECO is being issued in the light that that a development application has been submitted to the Planning Authority with the intention of demolishing the property. This application has rendered the property at risk with the irreversible loss of Malta's cultural heritage.  For this purpose, the property is being regarded as Grade 1 scheduled property by virtue of its historical, architectural, and contextual values. The ECO which has a one year validity period will enable the Authority to carry out a full and thorough assessment of the building so as to determine the long-term level of protection the property merits," the PA statement read.

The ECO also obliges the owner of the property to ensure that the building does not incur any further damage and that its upkeep and maintenance shall be exclusively their responsibility by means of a continuous maintenance programme.

This was not the only property Vincenti designed in the Sliema - St Julian's area. He had a private summer residence further up Triq Gorg Borg Olivier which was built in the Art Nouveau style, and he was also the designer of another scheduled house in Triq Sir Adrian Dingli, Sliema.  Vincenti is perhaps most known for "Vincenti Buildings", a scheduled building which replaced the "Forni della Signoria" in Triq id-Dejqa, Valletta.