Retro-Modernism: Mizzi Studio Reimagines And Electrifies Malta's Iconic Bus

The traditional Maltese bus was hugely popular with locals and tourists. Dating back to the 1950s, they were owned by locals who customized their vehicles, adding their own flavor – flamboyant ornamentation, giant lights, writing and religious references. It is hardly surprising then that it caused a huge uproar when the characterful fleet was forced to retire in 2011 for no longer meeting European Union standards for carbon emissions. They were briefly replaced by London’s “bendy buses” which proved to be hazardous on the island’s picturesque, winding roads. Now Mizzi Studio is bringing love and life back to the traditional Maltese bus. Supported by the government, the London and Valletta-based architecture and design practice is planning a return of the buses as an all-electric fleet.

“They made a huge impression on me growing up,” Jonathan Mizzi replies when asked why he decided to re-invent the Maltese bus. “As a child, I fell in love with them for their dynamic design and friendly, almost cartoonish appearance, with their cute hooded eyes and big smiling chrome bumpers.” He appreciates their value as one of Malta’s most vibrant cultural symbols. “You see them everywhere from postage stamps to souvenir shops. To lose them from the roads was a devastating blow to our national identity.” Working in London, Mizzi was impressed by the city's investment in its heritage through projects such as the Heatherwick Studio’s re-imagined Routemaster bus. “It really motivated me to design a new bus for Malta that could similarly bring about a renewed sense of pride.”

The classic buses were driver-owned who customized their vehicle. Mizzi set his multidisciplinary team the challenge to define the strongest common features, including the oversized chrome grill, round hooded headlights and a visor overhanging the windscreen. He says the hooded visor, set upon a split windscreen, gave the buses “puppy-dog-like framed eyes” and the smiling chrome grill, adorned with angel wing references “symbolizes flight and victory”. Mizzi has re-imagined these classic features. For instance, the chrome bumper of the new bus adopts the form of the angel wing imagery. At the rear, a dual set of chrome wings provide cooling for the motor. In combination with the curving rear glass, they also form the negative space around an abstract Maltese cross. Badges of a Maltese cross and horseshoe, traditionally fixed to the buses to ward off evil spirits, also feature on the new design.

Over the years, the route-led multi-colored system was made into a uniform fleet painted yellow with an orange stripe in Malta, whilst grey with a red stripe on the tiny island of Gozo. Mizzi is using the former coloring code. One of the most captivating details of the traditional buses was the hand-painted line patterns and lettering, tberfil, used to articulate features and emblazon the buses with slogans. This has been reimagined by the studio in digital form so that the drivers can customize each bus with text and imagery using LED technology. “This gives the drivers the freedom to make their bus their own again,” says Mizzi. “They can make it the ‘Saviour’ bus, the ‘Elvis Presley’ bus or the ‘Ave Maria’ bus again! They can also incorporate the traditional symbols and line patterns. We hope that they will feel the spirit of the old and the sense of pride that they had in the old buses.”

Mizzi feels that there is an intimate relationship between the form of the bus and its decorative flourishes. “I like to think of the tberfil as the mascara that further articulates the bus's features. This is one aspect where the studio has married our industrial design and graphic design skill-sets, harnessing our background in interactive design to breathe new life into a traditional craft.”

The aim is for a fully electric, emission-free fleet that is in line with the EU’s long-term strategy for a climate-neutral future. So, the studio’s next challenge was to transpose the design elements onto a modern-day chassis. “We incorporated various features to improve safety and comfort too, such as a full vision panel at the front, state-of-the-art air-conditioning systems and low floors and ramps for disabled access. We had to appropriately map the old features onto this new body in a way that makes functional sense, but at the same time retains the familiarity of the old.”

Mizzi tells me he is very excited by electric vehicles. “It is fantastic that we are embracing this new technology,” he says, “that we have the opportunity to design a bus for the future with zero emissions.” Malta’s relative small size means the fleet can operate from a central depot. The island also has the potential to harness solar power in the future. “It is the government’s ambition for Malta to be the first European state to completely switch to electric vehicles. We hope that our new designs for an electric bus fleet will drum up public support and help to drive the nation towards this goal.”

The buses will be on exhibit at the parliament building in the capital Valletta from July of this year.

Read about Gacha, the first all-electric, all-weather bus by Muji