Addressing the need for a quiet breakout zone within a lively departure lounge, the Oasis space marries the identity of an existing airport terminal with the attributes of a wider island vernacular.

Sited opposite a busy flight gate and adjacent to an outdoor smoking area, the Oasis space responds to a need for a comfortable dwell zone within Malta International Airport’s busy departure lounge. In-keeping with a wider branding exercise, the design ties in with the airport’s overall aesthetic signifiers whilst rejecting homogeneity. The space makes visual links with the islands’ broader natural and architectural language – chiefly through its materiality and introduction of green boundaries.

Spread across a rectangular plan, the breakout space is divided into three uniform sections that align with existing arched windows, previously boarded up and hidden from view. Each window sits above a U-form timber desk and stools, creating identical enclaves for working. An upholstered, uninterrupted bench stretches across the full length of the space, offering informal seating opposite the working alcoves.

Flanking strips of planters run along each edge of the space, introducing bands of greenery as permeable privacy buffers. Natural stone offers tactile contrast and draws on the islands’ widespread material heritage. The newly exposed arched windows and supporting columns are painted in a dark grey, creating variation between the paleness of the terrazzo stone and the warm ochre of the shared seating bench. The grey colour also pulls the arches into visual emphasis, highlighting their role as staples of Mediterranean visual language.