AKKA – Exhibition

For far too long we have excavated, constructed, demolished, dumped, and restarted. AKKA by A Collective seeks to bring together key individuals to raise awareness on the impact that quarrying for natural stone has on our landscape, coupled with the increasing space consumed by blindly dumping construction waste, and, in turn, bringing to light Professor S. Buhagiar’s reconstituted limestone, a recycled and recyclable construction material, ‘ReStone’.

Historically, we cut the ground on which we built to ensure that the material used for construction was contextually adequate. The principles were inherently sustainable but as construction boomed, sustainable practices where brushed aside for economic gain. It’s time to reconsider the economic cycles and put the environment at the forefront. The sand-coloured limestone walls are an intrinsic aspect of the Maltese landscape that cannot be discarded, so whilst the reconstituted limestone retains this intrinsic sand colour it allows for the sustainably engineered stone to be used in a contemporary manner.

AKKA, ‘H’ in Maltese, was conceived as a contemporary interpretation of the standard limestone building block. AKKA attempts to challenge the common perception of stone as a heavy, impermeable, and static material whilst playing on vernacular construction techniques of stacking, spanning, and interlocking. AKKA strives to portray reconstituted limestone as a sustainable solution for contemporary architecture which respects the past and looks forward to a cleaner and greener approach.

COLLABORATORS:

Professor Spiridione Buhagiar, Hugh Vella, Julian Vassallo (photographer), James Vernon (videographer), Dr. Margaret Camilleri Fenech (environmental researcher), Robert Colvin

DATES: Friday 10th December 2021 till Sunday 16th January 2022

LOCATION: MUŻA Corridors

COURTESY OF:

Halmann Vella, BRND WGN & SAW

SPONSORED BY:

Project is supported by Arts Council Malta