Harrison and Hubbard – Planning for the blitzed Harbour area 1945

One can safely say that Harrison and Hubbard’s report for the planning and reconstruction of Valletta after the second World War has been very cautious in preserving the planning of Valletta and what was left of its texture and fabric. There is already a “conservationist” approach in 1945 when dealing with the ancient monuments and assets which make up the city. The proposals are guided by two principal considerations: “The first is that the damage which the City has suffered through enemy action is not, in itself, such as to warrant a scheme of radical planning. The second is that…every care should be taken to conserve the unique character of what remains of the City of the Order.” The problem was and still is today “to modify a City to serve the simple needs off the sixteenth century so that it may satisfactorily serve the complex needs of today.”1

1 Austen St. B. Harrison and R. Pearce Hubbard, Valletta – A Report accompanying the Outline Plan for the Region of Valletta and the Three Cities, Valletta (1945), pg.64