SO City Hotel

Located on Malta’s most renowned street for nightlife and evening entertainment, this building is designed to make a silent statement. It stands out amidst the vibrant surroundings, creating a bold architectural experience that merges form, colour, and light. The interplay of artificial illumination enhances its presence, leaving a lasting impression on onlookers.

Unlike traditional applications of colour through painted facades, this design takes a more innovative approach. A dramatic, singular architectural gesture—a carved-out volumetric recess within the façade disrupts the monolithic solidity of the structure, introducing an experiential pause that redefines the relationship between built form and its urban context — accentuated further with a change in material and specialised lighting.

Contrary to local general expectations and concepts of maximisation of space where the architect is expected to embody the full site extents as his usable perimeter in defining the finite, a very bold and unconventional gesture has been applied here — that of deliberately receding the perimeter commencing at human level and carving out a void which runs through the building and cuts through the internal volume like a parasitic form. 

The “emptiness” within the building gives time for the visitor to understand. The void extends into a dramatic “oasis-like atrium” offering a moment of peace away from the urban surroundings.

Day Photos: Alex Attard
Night Photos: Kurt Arrigo