Lino Bianco

Lino Bianco (born 31 December 1965) is a Maltese architect, academic and diplomat.

Early life and education

Bianco studied philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy and Humanistic Studies, architecture and building engineering at the University of Malta, geology of building materials at the University of Leicester and modern architectural history at The Bartlett Graduate School, University College London. He completed his doctoral degree in architecture and politics from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia, with a thesis on the development of Sofia.^[1] Bianco holds the Eur. Ing. from FEANI (Fédération Européenne d'Associations Nationales d' Ingénieurs). He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (London) and of the Geological Society (London).^[2] He was conferred Professor Honoris Causa by the Georgian Technical University, Tbilisi, in recognition for his contributions to architectural practice and education.^[3][4]

Career

Academic

Since 1994 Bianco has held various visiting teaching posts, lecturing on the philosophy of restoration of heritage sites, industrial and environmental geology, and minerals planning. At the Department of Architecture and Urban Design of the University of Malta where he teaches and directs research on the history and philosophy of architecture. He is a professor of the International Academy of Architecture and a visiting professor in history and theory of urban design at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia.^[2]

Architecture

In 1997 he set up Lino Bianco & Associates, which offers consultancy services in architecture and environmental planning to private and public agencies.^[2] From 1997-8, he was Chairman of the Planning Council Malta and, from 1997 until 2000, a member of the Planning Appeals Board (Malta). He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Housing Authority, Malta,^[5] member of the board of directors of WasteServ Malta Ltd^[6] and member of the General Services Board, Malta.^[7]

Bianco is acknowledged for challenging developments which impinge negatively on natural and/or cultural heritage, such as the multimillion touristic development of Ramla l-Hamra in Gozo, a site associated with the legendary Homeric nymph Calypso.^[8] This case was eventually taken up at the national political level^[9] and took more than six years.^[10] Bianco describes himself as pro-development but against speculation,^[11] and the Times of Malta had described his approach to environmental protection as innovative.^[12]

In 2012, he was elected professor of the International Academy of Architecture at the World Triennial of Architecture held in Sofia in 2012; he is one of the youngest architects to hold this post.^[13] A project in Zabbar, Malta, received a special prize from the Ministry of Building of Ulyanovsk Region, Russia, for innovation in traditional architecture at InterArch2012.^[14][15][16]

Politics

Bianco was a candidate of the Malta Labour Party for the European Parliament Elections of 2014, with an emphasis on national unity^[17] in diversity.^[18] His stand on irregular immigration,^[19] spring hunting^[20] and the environment,^[21] themes which ran high on the political agenda, illustrated his political philosophy of toleration applied to real scenarios. Presently he is the ambassador of Malta to Romania ^[22] and to Bulgaria.^[23]

Selected works

Architectural

• ‘A Home for an Architect’, (Completed, 1998–2001), Zabbar, Malta^[16]
• Entrances to Second World War shelter, (2005-2006), Zabbar, Malta^[24]
• Shopping complex, (Completed 2008), Paola, Malta ^[25]
• Interpretation facility, (Design, 2008), Mgarr, Gozo ^[26]
• Apartments at Ħamrun, (Completed, 2008–11), Hamrun, Malta^[27]
• Apartments at Nadur, (Design, 2009), Nadur, Gozo^[28]
• Artisan Urban Hub, Place Lalla Yeddouna, Fez, Morocco (Competition entry, 2010)^[29]
• Redevelopment of Via Roma, Agazzano, Italy (Competition entry, 2012)^[30]
• Upgrading and restoration of the ‘Boutilliere’, Cogne, Valle d'Aosta, Italy (Competition entry, 2012)^[31]
• Public spaces for Halte Ceva Champel Hopital, Genève (Competition entry, 2012)^[32]

Publications

• ‘Prefabrication, Aesthetics and the Welfare State: The case for the post-war British public schools’, Malta Review of Educational Research, vol. 7, issue 1, June 2013, pp. 73–88.
• ‘The Urban Container’. In Shooting Society, Edited by Carmel Borg and Raphael Vella, Midsea Books, Malta, 2012.
• ‘Roman Architectural Practice and the Funding of Public Buildings’, Malta Archaeological Review Issue 8, 2006–2007, pp. 18–24.
• Human Rights and the Environment in the Mediterranean Region. Co-edited with Kevin Aquilina. Special issue of the Mediterranean Journal of Human Rights, vol. 14, No.1, 390pp.
• ‘The Contemporary Urban Planning Framework in Bulgaria’, Id-Dritt, vol. XXI, pp. 303–328.
• ‘The Ring Metaphor and the Spirit of Sofia’, Melita Theologica, vol. LXI, N.1, pp. 27–44.
• ‘Valletta: A city in history’, Melita Theologica, vol. LX, N.2, pp. 3–20.
• ‘Malta: Housing and Real Estate, 1980-2005’. In The New Europe, Valentina Croci (editor), Architectural Design May/June 2006, pp. 76–81.
• ‘Geocultural activity in seventeenth and eighteenth century Malta’, GeoJournal, vol. 48, N.4, pp. 337–340’.
• ‘Hegel’s notion of Gothic Architecture’, Melita Theologica, vol. XLVII, N.1, pp. 3–15.
• "Masonry and the Modernist Ethic", The Masonry Society Journal, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 95–99.

Films and Videos

• Our Diezsa (2013). A 20-minute film on the Dgħajsa tal-Pass (The Maltese Gondola), the Seatoland project of Temi Zammit Foundation. Lino Bianco was architect responsible for the architectural design. Film directed by Narcy Calamatta..
• 24 05: Profil ta’ Lino Bianco (2014). A 27-minute documentary on Lino Bianco, one in a series prepared by ONE TV. It gives a background of his life, education, career, and his philosophy. Directed by Matthew Carbone.

References

External links

• Europaconcorsi: Lino Bianco and Associates Profile ()
• International Academy of Architecture: Prof. Lino Bianco ()
• University of Malta: Lino Bianco ()
• Official website ()