Jonn Galea Draws

Jonn Galea Draws Freelance designer and multi-media buff

A few weeks ago, it was announced that Palazzina Vincenti has (finally) been grade 2 listed and is now protected from de...
06/05/2023

A few weeks ago, it was announced that Palazzina Vincenti has (finally) been grade 2 listed and is now protected from demolition or 'insensitive alterations'. A (rare) win for architectural conservation in Malta and certainly a cause for celebration!

So I dug out some reference photos I took last December and created this initial rendition. I quite like creating close ups of buildings, but I can also see myself creating a wider, more detailed illustration of this amazing structure in the future.
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For my next post today we're in my beloved Berlin, just a few miles drive from where I currently live, and my interpreta...
22/04/2023

For my next post today we're in my beloved Berlin, just a few miles drive from where I currently live, and my interpretation of the Forschungseinrichtung für experimentelle Medizin, or as it's more commonly known — the Mäusebunker (Mouse Bunker).

Just across from the Institut für Hygiene und Umweltmedizin (which I have also illustrated) the two buildings together are amongst the most recognisable brutalist icons in Berlin.

The exposed grey concrete, truncated pyramid form, and gun-like ventilation shafts all couple to give this building an imposing presence many likenen to a battleship or giganting tank.

Built intermittently throughout the 1970s and finally finished in 1981, it was used until 2020 to conduct animal experiments, hence its rodent-themed moniker.

Despite it's ethically dubious original purpose, recent plans to demolish the building have been heavily opposed by many (including a host of prominent architects) with hope growing that the building will be listed and repurposed.
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I have two illustrations to share today. The fist one takes us to my hometown of Birżebbuġa to celebrate, well, the memo...
22/04/2023

I have two illustrations to share today. The fist one takes us to my hometown of Birżebbuġa to celebrate, well, the memory of the Lido Cinema.

Build in 1946, 'il-Lido' was part of a flurry of gorgeously designed cinemas built to quench the local's insatiable thirst at the time for the 'talkies'. It's style blurs the border between Art Deco and Modernism, as befitting the period.

Over the years, the building has had quite a few different incarnations, including as a Hall (fun fact, my parents had their wedding reception there in 1977) and even as a gym.

Today, however, only the facade remains as the plot is being redeveloped into yet another lump of cheaply built and badly designed flats.

This illustration tries to capture the Lido in its glory days, with the inclusion of original features such as the stone balcony and balustrade along the roof, all based on referential images I found from the late 1940s and early 1950s.

It has been great fun and I look forward to paying homage to other Maltese architectural gems that are, unfortunately, not being recognised as a part of the islands heritage.
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And finally, 4/4 of the Brutalist bell towers of Berlin. This is the St. Agnes Kirche in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Originally co...
08/02/2023

And finally, 4/4 of the Brutalist bell towers of Berlin. This is the St. Agnes Kirche in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

Originally completed in 1967, this monumental structure emerged during Germany's post-war regeneration. It was taken over in 2012 by Johann and Lena König and converted into a gallery and cultural space with the help of architect Arno Brandlhuber.
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It has been a minute! But here we are, picking up from where we left off, with number 3 of the (so far) 4 brutalist bell...
07/02/2023

It has been a minute! But here we are, picking up from where we left off, with number 3 of the (so far) 4 brutalist bell towers of Berlin I’ve depicted.

It’s the turn of the imposing St. Norbert Kirche, Only a stone's throw away from the Paul-Gerhardt Church, This building incorporates an earlier 1913 Neo-Romanesque church that sustained heavy damage during WWII. Whilst the original vaulted interior remains, the double-towered facade has been replaced by dramatic angular concrete.
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Here is the second of my four brutalist bell towers of Berlin, the stunning Mor-Afrem Kirche in Berlin-Charlottenburg. T...
10/11/2022

Here is the second of my four brutalist bell towers of Berlin, the stunning Mor-Afrem Kirche in Berlin-Charlottenburg.

This Syrian Orthodox is built predominantly of red brick but arguably has enough exposed concrete to still allow it to be considered a brutalist structure. The stepped-masonry and moulded brickwork also hark back to a style used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
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berli

I’m going feature my four brutalist bell towers of Berlin (which may soon become six, I’d I’m perfectly honest) over the...
05/11/2022

I’m going feature my four brutalist bell towers of Berlin (which may soon become six, I’d I’m perfectly honest) over the next few days.

Starting with The Paul-Gerhardt Kirche, since I live right across the street from it and it pretty much inspired the set along with the St. Norbert Kirche (which is just around the Corner).
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The Bierpinsel, viewed from Schloßstaße. —
15/10/2022

The Bierpinsel, viewed from Schloßstaße.
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Here’s the Fgura Parish Church, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I promised myself I’d take a break from churches ...
27/09/2022

Here’s the Fgura Parish Church, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

I promised myself I’d take a break from churches (I’m seriously not that holy! 😂) and Maltese subjects, but the temptation proved too much with this one.

The stained glass window looked like a proper challenge. It took ages but totally worth it, I love the end result.

I’m officially from Fgura, since I was born there, so this one is a bit personal too 😉
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The main entrance to the Institut für Hygiene Umweltmedizin revisited with a new palette of colours and some minor updat...
21/09/2022

The main entrance to the Institut für Hygiene Umweltmedizin revisited with a new palette of colours and some minor updates.
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