The ANTIPORTA is an inner door prevalent in Maltese homes – which simultaneously provides privacy and accessibility to those who find themselves on either side. It’s an often-overlooked architectural characteristic that is rapidly disappearing from our architectural landscape.

This archetypal feature of the Maltese landscape is the subject of research work and an exhibition by Chris Briffa Architects at the Venice Architecture Biennale (May to November 2018) and at St James Cavalier in Malta (7th Dec 2018 to 3rd Feb 2019).

The project brings together a group of creatives with interests across media, to tackle this piece as a study, to examine its social and physical functions, document its passage over time, and imagine which direction the antiporta might be heading in.

Be part of ANTIPORTA

The ANTIPORTA team invites all those interested in being part of the project, to submit clips and images – new, old or even vintage – of the Maltese antiporta through the website www.antiporta.com and Instagram @antiporta_cba using the hashtag #antiporta.

All contributions and submitted images or clips will form part of the ongoing research and may be shared on the website, in future publications and events, and/or social media. Images will be credited accordingly.

About Chris Briffa Architects

Chris Briffa Architects, a practice based in the heart of Valletta, Malta, strives to be a contemporary ambassador that does not forget where it comes from. Already, a similar award-winning project (www.gallarija.com) has been carried out by the architecture studio in 2013, studying the marriage of the traditional ‘gallarija’ (closed balcony), with contemporary archetypes.

ANTIPORTA: A Fading Negotiation is curated by Andrew Borg Wirth and forms part of the Valletta 2018 (Valletta Design Cluster) and Spazju Kreattiv programmes. The project is supported by the Project Support Grant, Malta Arts Fund – Arts Council Malta, and produced in collaboration with Camilleri Paris Mode and Halmann Vella.