Forming part of a row of Modernist townhouses, Mosaic House is the reimagining of a vacant government building into an urban retrofit prototype that conserves the typological value of the local streetscape. Most of the existing two-storey structure was retained, with proposed works involving minor alterations and an extension of a receded third floor to cater for the specialised programme offered in this community centre-cum-LGBTQ respite shelter. The centre embodies a dual nature - the collective spirit of community through its outward-looking social impact approach; at the same time it is a sanctuary of introspection for vulnerable LGBTQ persons who temporarily seek refuge and receive therapy during their stay.
Perforated masonry walls, which echo the exterior modernist aesthetic, were employed internally to render walls from boundaries into active interfaces that smoothen the transitory experience from fully public to fully private. This has effectively resulted in semi-public and semi-private zones being created, helping to foster the necessary degree of shielding and perceived safe zones whilst encouraging the notion of acceptance through opening up. The formal institutional interface has been dissolved to make way for a human-scale home imbued with domestic mechanisms for the users to actively engage in.
Through the use of colour and materiality, layers of adaptable spatial experiences were devised as active everyday design solutions; manually operating the cane reed screens for thermal comfort, personalising the perforated walls to fill the voids with personal narratives and various nooks around the house for growing and nurturing plants. The house is designed to function as a contemporary adaptation of local passive techniques. Vernacular masonry perforated facades and the craft of the typical Maltese ‘hasira’ cane shading devices have been introduced as passive techniques for shading, cooling, introducing daylight and cross ventilation while grounding the building to its Mediterranean context.