架构师提供的文本描述。几年前，一个叫雷的英国人来到马耳他，爱上了瓦莱塔。他环顾整个岛屿，寻找一个度假之家，但当他发现瓦莱塔时，他的搜寻就结束了。他参观了我们在城里设计的一家餐厅后，发现了我们工作室的情况。几天后，他来到我的办公室，让我去看看他要交押金的一处房产。

Text description provided by the architects. A few years ago, an Englishman called Ray came to Malta and fell in love with Valletta. He scouted the entire island looking for a holiday home, but when he discovered Valletta his search was over. He found out about our studio after visiting a restaurant we had designed in town, and a few days later he came to my office and asked me to go see a property he was about to put a deposit on.

 © Chris Briffa

(C)克里斯·布里法(Chris Briffa)

这是一个独特的房子瓦莱塔标准。不仅房间非常宽敞，而且地下室里还有一个花园，所有的主要房间都可以俯瞰它。从这个意义上说，这所房子是完全内向的-这一特性非常适合雷对隐私的渴望。但除了石灰石，很少有人谈到瓦莱塔。

It was a unique house by Valletta standards. Not only were the rooms extremely spacious, but it also enjoyed a garden in the basement with all the main rooms overlooking it. In this sense, the house was fully introverted – an attribute that well suited Ray’s desire for privacy. But apart from limestone, there was little which spoke of Valletta.

 © Chris Briffa

(C)克里斯·布里法(Chris Briffa)

街道上没有窗户，房子里的任何地方都看不见马耳他阳台或瓦莱塔街景，直到我们走到屋顶。就在我们走出房顶时，在盖瑞歌后面的一个小门道上，是标志性的卡梅尔岩大教堂的穹顶。我告诉雷，我们必须以某种方式捕捉这一观点并加以利用。他说，他想在这里建造一套顶层套房，因为这里到处都是更高的派对墙，他的隐私问题再次成为人们关注的焦点。

There were no windows onto the street, and nowhere inside the house could one catch a glimpse of a Maltese balcony or a Valletta streetscape; until we walked up to the roof. There, just as we walked out on the roof trough a small doorway after the garigor, was the dome of the iconic Carmelite Basilica. I told Ray we have to somehow capture this view and exploit it. He said he wanted to build a penthouse suite up here; since it was surrounded by higher party walls everywhere and his privacy issues once again came into the picture.

 © Chris Briffa

(C)克里斯·布里法(Chris Briffa)

这成为最初设计的转折点和主要设计挑战。建造一个内向的顶楼套房毗邻周围的屋顶墙壁，同时仍能瞥见瓦莱塔最著名的穹顶。问题是，只有从这个门框才能看到穹顶，因为当一个人走到屋顶上时，穹顶慢慢地从视野中消失了。因此，我们采取了一个附近的地点计划，跟踪两条线从这一点，并将他们投影到穹顶。我们不得不说服Ray，最终形成的三角形空隙将留待建造，而阁楼必须围绕着这个空洞来设计，以保护穹顶的景观，并在爬上阁楼时，通过盖里戈把它固定起来。

This became the turning point and the main design challenge of the initial design. Building an introverted penthouse suite abutting the surrounding roof walls, while still catching a glimpse of the most famous dome in Valletta. The problem was that the dome was only visible from this one particular doorframe, since as one walked out onto the roof, the dome slowly disappeared from view. So we took a site plan of the neighborhood, traced two lines from this point and projected them over to the dome. We had to convince Ray that the resultant triangular void would be left unbuilt, and the penthouse had to be designed around this void to secure the dome view, and frame it upon climbing to the penthouse via the garigor.

 © Chris Briffa

(C)克里斯·布里法(Chris Briffa)

几次会面后，雷承认他在伦敦拥有一所周末别墅，由世界闻名的极简主义者约翰·波森设计。虽然他很喜欢在这座房子里待上一段时间，但他抱怨说，这本身就是一座白色雕塑，每当他想从他不断增长的藏品中拿出一件艺术品时，它就会觉得不对。

A few meetings later, Ray confessed that he owned a weekend house in London, designed by the world-famous minimalist, John Pawson. As much as he loved spending time in this house, he complained that it was too much of a white sculpture in its own right, and whenever he wanted to put up a work of art from his growing collection – it simply didn’t feel right.

 © Chris Briffa

(C)克里斯·布里法(Chris Briffa)

雷的瓦莱塔房子需要提供波森的房子所不能提供的东西-为各种艺术品提供友好的空间：绘画、雕塑、折中的家具和大型物品-…随着杰作坐在他们的顶部-瓦莱塔穹顶适当地框架在他的房子顶部和艺术画廊。

Ray’s Valletta house would need to provide what his Pawson house could not – a friendly space for artworks of all sorts; paintings, sculptures, eclectic furniture and large objects … with the masterpiece sitting on top of them – the Valletta dome duly framed on top of his house-cum-art gallery.

 © Chris Briffa

(C)克里斯·布里法(Chris Briffa)

这是我们在瓦莱塔建造的最漂亮的房子之一。雷原来是个非常有洞察力的客户。他不仅理解了构造标志性穹顶的重要性，而且还敏锐地回应了新旧之间微妙的平衡-使用石灰和当代混凝土等传统材料。

This is one of the most beautiful houses we have built in Valletta. Ray turned out to be a tremendously insightful client. Not only did he understand the importance of framing the iconic dome, but he was also keenly responsive in dealing with the delicate balance between old and new – with the use of traditional materials such as lime and contemporary concrete.

雷在过去的四年里一直来到马耳他，他很少离开瓦莱塔。现在他的房子已经完工了，他比以往任何时候都更频繁地访问瓦莱塔，并承认他很少离开这栋楼。

Ray has been coming to Malta over the past four years, and he rarely left Valletta. Now that his house is complete, he visits Valletta more often than ever, and confesses that he rarely leaves the building.