Edwin England Sant Fournier (1908–1969) was a Maltese architect. He married the ''Marchesa'' Adeline Cassar Desain, with whom he fathered Richard England.

Rialto Cinema in Cospicua

His main work is deemed to be the Rialto Cinema in

Bormla Cospicua ( mt, Bormla ), also known by its titles Città Cospicua or Civitas Cottonera, is a double-fortified harbour city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. Along with Birgu and Senglea, it is one of the Three Cities, located within the Grand ...

(Cospicua), designed in

Art Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

style. According to Mark G. Muscat, it is "renowned for the extensive use of rich blue ultramarine stained glass and the vertical arched openings, all relating to the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

aesthetic movement that was prominent in the United States throughout the 1930s and the 1940s. The classical triangular pediment was by now replaced by a simplified quadrilateral structure. "This large, streamlined but stylish building was one of the most popular venues of its time. It was built for

Cinemascope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

widescreen features with stereophonic sound." The Rialto Cinema was disbanded in 1988 and now hosts a HSBC bank branch. It is under Grade 2 scheduling protection since 2010.

Other works

England Sant Fournier also authored: * the Pandora Theatre in Zejtun (1950–1955) * Joinwell factory and offices in Mill Street,

Qormi Qormi ( mt, Ħal Qormi ; pronounced in the Qormi dialect), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), mak ...

Joinwell
/ref> * Barclays Bank DCO in Tower Road / High Street

Sliema Sliema ( mt, Tas-Sliema ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, a ...

, built in the early 1950s and demolished in 1964. The replacement building was to be built by Richard England. "The original building contained an interesting interplay of concave and convex forms, which were comparable to Italian examples of the 1930s, most notably

Giuseppe Capponi Giuseppe Capponi (14 September 1832 – 6 August 1889) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang leading roles both in Italy and Europe. He is most remembered today as the tenor soloist in the world premiere of the Verdi Requiem. Capponi was born in ...

's (1893–1936) Palazzina Nebbiosi in Rome."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:England Sant Fournier, Edwin 20th-century Maltese architects 1908 births 1969 deaths