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From Fortress to Microstate: how should the cultural values and local identity of heritage buildings in Gibraltar be preserved within its future development plan?

Part 2 Dissertation 2018
Kayleigh Buttigieg
 University of Kent | UK
As a city that grew from a fortress, Gibraltar’s architecture is the result of the necessary responses to climate, the cultural identity of its people and the national architectural styles of its conquerors. The research method cross-references historical records along with information drawn from observation and unpublished archival records. The paper defines special and distinctive characteristics of Gibraltar’s architecture which is invaluable in answering what should be preserved.

Tutor(s)
Nikolaos Karydis
2018
Grouping of buildings by façade typologies and scale.
These drawings illustrated by Captain Thomas Davis in 1793 depict Main Street, in the historic centre, after the Great Siege.
Genoese window shutters showing evidence of Gibraltar’s population origins.
Photograph showing a shop front fascia in 2018. Evidence of stone arches are disrupted by the fully glazed intervention and removal of these historic features.
Evidence of the design influence of the Royal Engineers in Gibraltar as doors featuring Ordnance style keystone arches are common on civilian buildings too.
Working drawing showing proposed repairs for the Old Town from 1965.
[Above] Photo showing a Spanish ceramic tiled shop front in the 1920s. [Below] The same shop front in 2018.
Visualisation showing ‘Ocean Spa Plaza’, a recently proposed (2016) high rise project for luxury housing outside the city walls.
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