MAAK

MAAK, short for Maurizio Ascione Architects, is a Malta-based design studio that has worked in architecture and interiors since 2019. It works from the Central Business District in Birkirkara, and its team brings together architects, engineers, designers, visualisation specialists and a photographer under one roof.

On VisitMalta.co.uk the studio is listed among the architects in Malta and the interior designers in Malta. Its pitch to clients is a single, joined-up service, from the first sketch to the finished building, with every specialism working inside the same team.

What MAAK offers

The service list reaches well beyond drawing a building. MAAK handles architecture and design, structural engineering, interior design and product design, and adds artistic visualisations, BIM modelling, 3D printing, virtual reality, graphic design and photography. Having these talents in one studio means clients can see a project in several ways before it is built, and the same people can take on jobs of very different scales and uses.

The studio also designs products, and its website shows a collection of pieces and lighting under names such as La Luce Notturna, Onyx and Palma. For a new arrival who is fitting out a home after reading our guide to relocating to Malta, the mix of architecture, interior and furniture design may save the effort of coordinating several firms.

Design philosophy

Its design rests on four ideas. The first is balance: a building should sit in harmony with its context, so that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. The second is purity, shown in simple forms that act as a calm backdrop for light, shade, solids and voids. The third is permanence, which begins with a clear concept that guides every later decision. The fourth is sensory experience, using light, texture and contrasting materials to shape how a space feels.

Detailing matters just as much. The team believes the quality of a building depends on its joints, and that everything from the largest structural support to the smallest shadow gap should be planned in advance. Its work has been presented at the Venice Biennale in 2023 through an installation called ISSA, which questioned the absence of a distinct architectural identity in Malta, a theme you can read more about in our introduction to Malta.

How the studio works with clients

Clients are involved from the concept stage, through construction, to completion. Regular meetings keep them informed, invite feedback and allow changes. The studio holds weekly workshops so the team keeps expanding its skills, and each member contributes an individual specialism, which is what lets the studio take on varied scales and functions. The studio has also published a book, MINIMA, which sets out its thinking and can be bought through its website.

Because the studio is in the Birkirkara business district, it is well placed for companies and professionals based there, including financial services firms that need new offices. Those setting up a company under the Malta corporate tax structure or working with advisers such as CLA Malta will often need premises designed at the same time.

Getting started

A first conversation can cover a new house, an extension, an office or a fit-out. If you want to see Maltese architecture at its most concentrated before you decide on a brief, our Valletta guide is a good place to start, and the studio's emphasis on light, shadow and material will make more sense once you have walked the streets of the capital. The team is forward-thinking, and each project is handled with care from conceptualisation to completion, with every detail attended to. To begin, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page, tell us what you have in mind, and we will pass your message to MAAK.