‘I want them to inherit a Malta that still knows how to breathe’: Archi+ partner Anthea Huber

Midway through the election campaign, Architect Anthea Huber is questioning the direction of Malta’s political priorities, arguing that long-term quality of life risks being overshadowed by short-term economic promises.

“As Malta approaches another election, I keep asking myself: When did we start believing we can solve everything by throwing money at problems?” she asked in a LinkedIn post addressed to both of the major parties.

Ms Huber said current political discourse has become dominated by payouts, incentives and temporary measures, while larger conversations about the future of Malta’s environment and public spaces are often sidelined.

“But almost nothing about the bigger picture. About the Malta we are leaving behind for our children,” she wrote. “Because some things cannot simply be bought back once they are lost.”

She pointed specifically to clean air, open spaces, trees, beauty and national identity as elements that directly shape quality of life.

“As an architect, I understand how deeply our environment shapes the way we live, feel and grow,” she said. “And as a mother, it breaks my heart to sometimes wonder whether my children may one day need to leave Malta to have the life they deserve.”

Ms Huber added: “I want them to inherit a Malta that still knows how to breathe. A Malta with dignity, with beauty, with space to run, dream and belong.”

The comments arrive at a moment when both major political parties have placed environmental proposals within their electoral manifestos, albeit framed differently.

The Labour Party has proposed measures including a “10-minute walk rule” to ensure every citizen lives within walking distance of a green space, the installation of drinking water fountains in every locality, a nationwide upgrade of street lighting by 2028, and the return of Manoel Island to the public with protections against future development.

Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party has pledged to reclaim sites such as Manoel Island, Selmun and White Rocks as public landscapes while proposing a National Park Designation and Protection Act to strengthen environmental protection beyond the Natura 2000 framework.

Yet despite these proposals, Ms Huber’s comments reflect a broader frustration increasingly expressed by professionals in architecture, planning and urban design: that conversations around health, wellbeing and the built environment often remain secondary within Malta’s highly partisan political climate.

Anthea Huber is Partner and Design Director at Archi+, where she oversees the firm’s design and planning direction. A warranted Perit and graduate of the University of Malta, she joined the practice in 2013 and became partner in 2018.

Her work focuses on wellbeing-driven architecture, sustainability and long-term community impact, while she also serves as a visiting tutor at the University of Malta.