The Wembley ice-cream factory in Triq D'Argens,

Gżira Gżira ( mt, Il-Gżira) is a town in the Central Region of Malta. It is located between Msida and Sliema, also bordering on Ta' Xbiex. It has a population of 8,029 as of March 2014. The word ''Gżira'' means "island" in Maltese, and the ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

was completed in 1937 by architect Antonio Grech Dimech.Gzira high-rise over Wembley factory slashed from 18 to 11 storeys
MaltaToday 1 March 2018 It was built for industrialist Luke V. Gauci, who in 1937 introduced pasteurized and pre-packed ice-cream in Malta under the brand name of Wembleys. Edward Said described the factory as one of “the best examples of pre-war industrial architecture in Malta” due to the symmetrical façade which includes subtle features reflecting the

eclectic style Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact t ...

used in dwellings at the time. The pilasters which divide the façade are expressed in the Art Deco style, “give a sense of haute verticality to the squat two-storey building”.Malta Today
27 March 2019 It stands very close to the iconic

Muscats Motors The Muscats Motors showroom, belonging to a car dealership of the same name, is a building located in Gżira, Malta. It was designed by Joseph Colombo (architect), Joseph Colombo in the Streamline Moderne style, and it is the only building of that ...

building and across from the demolished Mira building (excavated to be developed as Metropolis high-rise). Said had called on the PA to schedule the building and protect it from suffering the same fate. The Wembley ice-cream factory is on the

Planning Authority A local planning authority (LPA) is the local government body that is empowered by law to exercise urban planning functions for a particular area. They exist in the United Kingdom and India. United Kingdom Mineral planning authorities The role ...

's waiting-list of properties awaiting a decision on scheduling. In March 2019 the Planning Authority accepted a redevelopment plan by Emil Bonello Ghio and architect Ray Demicoli into a seven-storey office block (with four underground parking levels). This was a downscaled revision of an earlier 18-floor high-rise application. The Planning Authority recommended a simpler design, with a distinct extension and no central element. The current façade will be dismantled and relocated to the centre of the new site. Times of Malta
28 March 2019

References

External links

* {{commons category inline, Wembley ice-cream factory
ERA Scheme - Maria Louise Zammit
PA/06697/17, 2018 Gżira Art Nouveau architecture in Malta 1937 establishments in Malta

See also

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External links