Richard England: monograph and overview exhibition

Following international acclaim given to the church of St Joseph at Manikata, Richard England became "the most influential architect on the island" - Edwin Heathcore in his monograph Richard England.

Heathcore's series of essays, rather than a number of sections in the monograph, roams from his subject's "Origins and Influences" to "Sacred Spaces" - perhaps England's mostly idyllic, emotional, spiritual and poetic outbursts - to our architect's philosophy on "Seeing, Drawing, Making".

England has been reputed to have become closely identified with the notion of critical regionalism in architecture and with the development of a 'cultural identity'.

"To know a place he must know its memories". So philosophises England. The author of the monograph took the hint because he starts his work with an essay on what the architect has achieved through architecture, art and poetry. The very first set of illustrations range from a quarry, which is reputed to be the inspiration, the tool, the wherewithal of Richard England, to the megalithic temples, the farmhouse, and girna, the townscape with the dominant baroque church.

It is early, in the introduction, that Heathcore showed his lasting impression of England's theory of light and silence in the travertine marble sculpture "White Shadows" on the Sliema promenade. This is this year's impressive oeuvre of the artist.

Heathcore encapsulates England's style in this graphic description: "From the baroque churches of the Mediterranean (so much a part of Malta's landscape) he developed a love of sensuous forms, and from the Arabs he learnt a language of shade and simplicity, of cool courtyards and cubic houses."

Apart from the mysterious cult and culture of megalithic structures there is a page of illustrating England's influences. From Gio Ponti's concept sketch for the church of San Carlo Hospital in Milan to Sir Basil Spence's drawing for the British Embassy in Rome on to Victor Pasmore's mural in "A Garden for Myriam" (Richard's wife).

The church at Manikata is surely England's first step to international acclaim. In it the influence of the curving feminine spaces of the neolithic temples is most clearly seen in the plan. The church itself is a composition of curving, battered planes pierced only by small openings giving the impression of a massive fortified structure recalling the forts and bunkers that litter the coastline of this much-besieged island.

The architect was clearly inspired by the Neolithic temples' plan and the rough stone corbelled farmer's rustic tool shed, il-girna, all shown on facing pages.

England did his post-graduate practicum with the renowned Milanese master architect Gio Ponti who wrote In Praise of Architecture. A quotation from this opus is very relevant to England's planning of his many churches and chapels. Heathcore used it as a preamble to the section on "Sacred Spaces": "Religious architecture is not a question of architecture but one of religion."

It is felt that in planning his "sacred spaces, which varied in scope and style the architect was at his most lyrical and spiritual inspiration and achievement." These include, apart from Manikata and others, the church of St Francis of Assisi at Qawra, the meditation chapels of the Franciscans at Burmarrad, of the MUSEUM at Naxxar and of Blata l-Bajda, the mortuary chapel at Addolorata Cemetery, St Andrew chapel at Pembroke, Blessed Gorg Preca's crypt with its chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, to his latest Millennium Chapel at Paceville, much frequented by youths.

He also built for his family chapels in "A Garden for Myriam", another for his daughter, Ir-Razzett ta' Sandrina, as well as his own at his residence in St Julian's.

A truly interesting illustration is that at page 34 which is a concept sketch for the Qawra church. Points of relevance are the various quotes covering round the sketch and the notes below it. This shows his conceptual process, one of them, before deciding on the final plan.

I have to leave the rest of the review of Heathcore's monograph for next Sunday. I shall now make a few comments about the exhibition England mounted at St James Centre for Creativity, to celebrate his 40 years of architectural creations.

View of recent artistic products

Actually the exhibits do not range over that long span of life. Here one sees the inspiration of more recent years.

A particular panel among those depicting ten sections or classifications carries with it a human story. It is evident of the characteristics of the artist as opposed to an ordinary person. The latter doodles meaningless images. Not so the artist. He is continually drawing or sketching what catches his searching eye, this panel proclaimed that thereon were sketches of Santorini.

The answer to the question who was Santorini, the artist with a twinkle in his eyes and a smile explained that Santorini is a tiny island to which he and his wife went to spend a period of complete rest. As if to emphasise the rest he was supposed to have, she made him promise "no drawing or sketches". The artist spent two whole days agonising over his promise. On the third day he went in search of something on which he could sketch. He completed 140. Just eight of these delightful colour sketches are shown here. Besides, there are other travel drawings of various European cities and of Jerusalem.

England is also an artistic photographer. Of particular note is the series of eight black and white photographic images of Maltese architecture. One admires the selection of colour photographic blow-ups of recent architectural works.

Notable are the concept sketches that show the preparatory process before the actual plan of buildings such as St Francis of Assisi church, and of a series of projects ranging from the new Opera House - the yo-yo 10-year-old project - the Monastery project at Dingli and a proposed monument to the famous sculptor Antonio Sciortino.

The exhibition also provides a glimpse of England's other artistic capability in costume and stage designs for the Haydn opera Le Pescatrici. And the two operas by Charles Camilleri, Campostella and The Maltese Cross with lyrics by Peter Serracino Inglott.