Restoring a building to its former glory can be intimidating. It can be messy, exhausting and costly.
Jonathan Pisani, founder of Pisani Restoration Ltd, and a trained professional restorer, thinks not.
Design & Build sat down with this trained professional restorer to find out why.
Jonathan Pisani is a professionally trained restorer who holds a Diploma in Restoration as well as a building license. He starts his interview by simply describing restoration as the art and science of bringing stone and wood back to life. The secret to that is not only formal qualifications and on the job experience but also a passion for the job, and bucketloads of patience.
The principle of restoration, Jonathan goes on to explain, is to show respect to the traditional style of the building and to show off the materials used – this could include the stone walls, wooden apertures and beams. Sometimes the irreversible damage caused means that original material needs to be replaced.
Jonathan had graduated from MCAST at Level 4 in the course of ‘Advanced Diploma in Masonry Heritage Skills’. He has been working in restoration for the past eight years, half of which he gained experience through an apprenticeship phase. Four years ago he decided to branch off on his own and set up shop providing stone, wood and facade restoration to the local community.
restoration … the art and science of bringing stone and wood back to life
Although a small enterprise, the company consists of Jonathan, his father who has years of experience working in stone, an additional employed mason who brings decades of experience in the field to the team, and an assistant to support the mason. Building a reputable and reliable team of skilled craftspeople is a slow process, Jonathan explains but is process that needs to be done properly – similarly to the work they do. Jonathan goes on to explain that much of the skills and crafts required to carry out type of work is becoming a dying art and the people that undertake this kind of work need to be skilled artisans.
BREATHING LIFE INTO A BUILDING
Buildings, Jonathan enthuses, are like living organisms. They fall ‘ill’, have parts removed and replaced. Sometimes even functions change. Jonathan always takes into account the technology of the era in which the building was constructed. Either as independent restoration specialists, or together with architects, Pisani Restoration Ltd must work to choose what new technology (materials and finish) will be introduced in order to maintain tradition and ‘soul’. This is done by means of a thorough assessment.
The assessment will see the structure’s current condition being examined thoroughly and exterior walls assessed for unsafe conditions which might include loose or cracked stones, cracked windows, missing mortar, improperly secured air conditioners, and any other dangerous conditions.
Buildings in Malta take a heavy beating from wind, rain, traffic fumes, pollution and of course, time. This makes a restorer’s job highly challenging, and Jonathan collaborates with highly qualified, experienced workers who range from architects, masons and sculptors – all of whom are passionate about their work and take pride in the end result.
Jonathan collaborates with highly qualified, experienced workers who range from architects, masons and sculptors
RECENT PROJECTS
Pisani Restoration’s portfolio of work is not limited to houses of character, town houses characters and palazzos. They are currently working on the Public Abattoir’s main gate. The Abattoir, based in Albert Town, Marsa was built in 1897. As a fully functional abattoir based in an industrial area of Malta, it has been exposed to some harsh treatment.
there is a very limited pool of skilled artisans who undertake such work
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, with whom Jonathan works closely, has designed some parts of the building of industrial archaeological heritage and hence a process of restoration is currently being undertaken. In most village cores one often finds a variety of niches dedicated to saints and holy figures – these are very commonplace in typical old Maltese streetscapes.
Unfortunately many are left to fall into a state of complete disrepair and at time destruction. More recently, Pisani Restoration undertook the renovation of the much revered Redeemer statue and St. Joseph niche in Zabbar. For this project, a sculptor was employed to assist with the more intricate work.
The next project is the restoration of Store Number 36 in Barriera Wharf in Valletta which has been transferred to Birzebbuga Regatta Club as a store for their boats. A lot of work will need to go into this project, since the high vaulted ground floor warehouses have fallen into practical ruin.
A DYING ART?
So would such work be referred to as a dying art? Jonathan would not call it a dying art, however there is a very limited pool of skilled artisans who undertake such work. The main reason behind this is that apart from the precision required, a lot of the work involved is required to be done by hand, using small hand tools. And whilst there is a deep interest in projects that merge the old with the new, a great deal of protocol is involved, especially when working in listed or graded buildings. Pisani Restoration is assisted in such matters by its close collaboration with the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.
Pisani Restoration is assisted in such matters by its close collaboration with the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.
So is it possible to achieve modern pieces of architecture whilst maintaining an aged historical facade? There are many opinions to this question but Jonathan has worked on a number of these projects. A number of old houses have had their facades restored and preserved whilst the actual interior was rethought and redesigned in a modern way. This kind of renovation complements and adds value to the old whilst maintaining its cultural heritage, thus giving it a unique quality.
Jonathan’s passion is evident. He happily admits that some projects will give you more than what is bargained for, but there is a lot of satisfaction to be derived from restoring what is, at its essence, a true antique.
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