Dar Tereza

What if restoring a building could also restore lives?

Some projects stay with you—not just for their complexity, but for their humanity.

Dar Tereza is one such project: a pre-19th century house in Bormla, heavily damaged during World War II, and further worn down by time, vibration, and neglect. What remained was a fractured shell—partially inhabited, structurally unsound, and deeply scarred by war and weather.

Our role in this restoration was not simply structural—it was restorative. We were entrusted with the task of adapting the building to new uses, while preserving the historic grain of its stone, its layout, and its meaning. Every intervention had to be surgical. The house had suffered severe deterioration, including corroded beams and fractured slabs. The site posed additional constraints: access was difficult, ownership was divided, and the building had to be made whole again—structurally and socially—before anything else could begin.

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But what makes Dar Tereza different is its purpose. The building now belongs to Richmond Malta, a local NGO supporting women and children recovering from trauma. This is not a home in the traditional sense. It’s a space for re-entry, reflection, and re-imagining life. The structural alterations were conceived with a quiet logic—to make the space feel safe, flexible, and modern, while never erasing its past.

Some spaces don’t just hold people—they help them rebuild.

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Lead Engineer: Jeanette Muñoz Abela

Lead Architects: Local Office for Architecture

Photos: Sean Mallia

Discipline: Structural Engineering
Award: Community Impact Award (Emmanuele Luigi Galizia Awards)