Demolition of the primary school building at Qala has started, despite the Chamber of Architects' strong recommendation to preserve what it has described as one of the finest examples of modern architecture on the islands, the chamber said yesterday.

The Gozo Ministry, however, said that the original plans had been amended following meetings between the ministry, the chamber and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, to incorporate the front portico of the school into the design.

The school was built in the early 1960s to a design by Joseph Huntingford (1926-1994), a Maltese architect employed with the government.

The works are in connection with a project for a new facility for the Institute of Tourism Studies, undertaken by the Gozo Ministry utilising European Union funds.

The chamber strongly condemned "this vandalistic act", which it said was taken in defiance of strong objections made by the heritage authorities within the Mepa, in spite of which planning permission was still granted last year. It said that Mepa's own audit officer prepared a damning report last month which called for the immediate issuance of an emergency conservation order.

The chamber said that its position was also supported by comments from art experts, more so when the project could have been accommodated within the building without destroying its unique architectural character, or else housed in another building altogether.

"It is ironic, indeed sad, that, while Malta is trying to diversify its tourism strategy by promoting cultural heritage, the Gozo Ministry, in this instance, is destroying cultural heritage to train tourism employees," the chamber said.

The chamber noted that a February 2001 resolution by the council of the European Union on architectural quality in urban and rural environments called on the European Commission "to seek, in consultation with the member states, and in accordance with the rules governing (the use of) structural funds, ways and means of ensuring, in the application of those funds a wider consideration of architectural quality and the conservation of cultural heritage".

A spokesman for Mepa said when contacted yesterday that chairman Andrew Calleja this week explained the authority's position about the case to the president of the chamber.

The spokesman said: "It would be interesting to hear the comments of the Chamber of Architects with regard to those of its members who endorse such applications as this."

She said that planning permission is granted when Mepa considers a multitude of factors and not just architectural heritage.

The protector of architectural heritage, she said, is the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and the audit officer's advice that an emergency conservation order should be issued could only at this late stage be taken up by the authority according to article 47 and others of the Cultural Heritage Act.

This was because Mepa could not with one hand issue a permit and with the other stop it through an emergency conservation order.

Emergency conservation orders in the Cultural Heritage Act were designed with exactly the purpose of providing checks and balances in mind, the spokesman said. Acting Heritage Superintendent Nathaniel Cutajar said the superintendence so far had no details on the case and had not been consulted about it.

A spokesman for the Gozo Ministry said that like any other applicant, the Ministry for Gozo made a formal application to Mepa, which was registered in December 2003 and validated the following March.

The application followed the same route as any other government project and the permit was approved last June 8.

After meetings held between members of the Chamber of Architects, the Gozo Ministry, and Mepa officials, amendments to the original plans were submitted.

Amendments reflected the suggestion proposed during these meetings, to incorporate the front portico, which serves as a horizontal element linking the existing Qala primary school and the ITS institute.

"It must be stated that the building is being demolished nearly 10 months after the permit to demolish was approved.

"The ministry would also like to point out that it has further studied its design to enhance the proposed building in connection with the portico which is to be retained, and an amended application is currently being processed by Mepa to this effect," the spokesman said.