STUDJURBAN

STUDJURBAN is a boutique consultancy that treats architecture and urban design as one conversation. The studio was established in 2012 by Antoine Zammit with the aim of championing high-quality design in Malta, and it works from an office in Mosta, in the centre of the island. Its approach links policy, research and collaboration with design, so that projects are grounded in knowledge of how places actually work.

It appears on VisitMalta.co.uk among the architects in Malta, and it is a useful name for anyone who is rehabilitating an old house, building a new one or looking for a designer who also understands streets and squares.

Who they are

The studio grew from a small start-up into a team with experience in urban design, landscape design, architecture, interior design and bespoke product design. Several members have worked on policy and research as well as on built projects. It has completed more than 115 projects of different sizes, and has received a long list of awards and commendations.

Recent recognition includes the Local Cultural Contributor award at the Malta Business Awards 2025, the BIG SEE Architecture Award 2026 in two categories, an Architizer A+ Awards special mention, and finalist or longlist places in the SHARE, Architecture Hunter, Archello and Premju Emanuele Luigi Galizia programmes. Earlier commendations at the MASP awards and the Malta Architect Awards cover urban design, interiors, housing and conservation work in towns including Mosta, Sliema, Gżira and Mellieħa, which our Mellieħa guide covers.

Houses, rehabilitation and interiors

Much of the studio's work is domestic. Its sustainable rehabilitation projects give old townhouses new life while keeping what is valuable in them, including homes in Mellieħa, Luqa and Birżebbuġa, a seafront house from the 1930s that was adapted around its showpiece facade, and the restoration of a village landmark bar. New houses follow the same logic of responsible architecture. DAWL in Naxxar reimagines the terraced house with living space lifted to the upper floors around a central courtyard, using skylights, deep openings and stack-effect ventilation so that comfort comes from the design rather than from machinery. Zero-Energy Living in San Pawl tat-Targa was a BIG SEE winner in 2024.

The thinking behind DAWL shows how the studio works. Sleeping rooms sit on a cooler lower level, while the kitchen, dining and living areas rise to the top floor and open towards the sky. Limestone mass moderates temperature swings, overhangs and louvred screens soften summer sun while admitting winter light, and the house keeps one historic wall while the rest was rebuilt in reinforced concrete to a design that favours durable, repairable parts. A garage and a workspace are reached from the rear lane, so a family can work from home without disturbing the main entrance. Naxxar is the village where it stands, and the house was a finalist for two further awards in 2026.

Interior and bespoke design is a separate strength. The portfolio includes a penthouse in Żebbiegħ with a glazed recess around a pool, a duplex maisonette in Attard with made-to-measure furniture, a childcare centre in Mosta designed as a miniature village, and the studio's own office, converted from a garage. The team also offers property valuation through a senior architect who is a qualified valuer, which helps buyers and owners who need an independent view of what a building is worth. If you have moved here following our relocation guide, these are the services most likely to matter first.

Squares, streets and public space

Urban design is the studio's founding discipline. Birgu's Living Piazza, completed after five years of work and extensive talks with residents, turned the main square of the old Three Cities town from a parking and traffic space into a pedestrian plaza with accessible levels, seating, planting and new lighting. You can see the result when exploring the Vittoriosa guide or the wider Three Cities.

Heart of Mosta, completed in 2024, gave back the central Rotunda Square to people, with shaded corners for cafes and places for children and families. The Slow Streets project, led with the Local Councils Association across 43 localities in Malta and Gozo (see our guide to Gozo), aims to return residential streets to residents. The studio is developing further schemes to pedestrianise town and village squares, and it has also carried out a five-year socio-spatial study of Valletta for the Valletta 2018 Foundation, with ongoing research into the city's long-term liveability. Our Valletta guide shows the city these studies concern.

At Birgu the studio worked through the form of the square itself: a pedestrian-only centre, a shared route for limited traffic around the edge, adjusted levels so that every zone can be reached by everyone, fewer and better organised parking places, new planting, benches and lighting. In Mosta the new surface of local stone, soft landscaping and built-in lighting gives the square warmth and texture and frames the great Rotunda, the domed parish church that dominates the town. Both schemes were shaped through sessions with residents, and the team treats that dialogue as part of the design, not as an afterthought.

Research, policy and the team

A strong two-way link between design, policy and research is central to the practice. The studio shares its research under a publications section, and its work has been written up in architecture and design magazines, from articles on a San Pawl tat-Targa house and a Kappara house to features on a Mosta childcare centre and a Mellieħa townhouse. Competition and concept work includes a green masterplan for the City of Science in Rome, prepared with partners in the UK and Italy.

The founder and director is an architect and urban designer who holds a doctorate in planning and urban design from University College London, lectures at the University of Malta and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Urban Design. The wider team includes a senior associate architect with a background in heritage restoration, a senior architect and property valuer, a BIM manager, landscape architects, urban designers and interior designers. Its founder has also written for the Architects' Council of Europe on responsible design, a manifesto endorsed by architectural associations across Europe, and has lectured in several countries on urban design quality, liveability and policy. Younger architects and interior designers on the team come from Malta, Italy and France, and several bring research interests in subjects such as healing architecture, young people's wellbeing and climate-resilient public space, so a client gets a mix of local knowledge and fresh thinking. Mosta also puts you within easy reach of the old capital described in our Mdina guide.

Getting started

The studio takes a project from first idea to completion, with a design process that listens to the people who will use the place. Work can be as small as a single interior or as large as a neighbourhood scheme, and the same team often follows an idea through all its stages. You can bring it a plot, an old house, an interior or a question about a public space. Professional firms, such as those that work with CLA Malta, sometimes need an office design or a valuation as part of a move to the island, and a collaborative studio is well suited to that.

To open the conversation, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to STUDJURBAN.