Our team : Meet Kat!
At Space A our team is paramount to our success as designers in creating unique spaces.
Here we introduce Kat - our Project Architectural Designer.
She tells us about her childhood in Malta, her obsessions in architecture, her favourite things and her top tips when renovating homes …
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Malta, a very small island in the Mediterranean. It’s an interesting place to say the least - its history, the language, its people and politics. Given the island’s size and the dynamics of the culture, it is very dense - both physically and emotionally, in both the positive and negative sense. However, this means I have always been very close to my loved ones, and ever since I’ve started traveling and living abroad, I realised how much I value the sense of community, hospitality and connection.
What inspired you to become an architectural designer?
Funnily enough, it was never really the plan growing up - As determined of a person as I am, I’ve never really believed our career should be defined by a choice we make early on in life. I have always been a big fan of mathematics (my visits to my grandpa would always consist of him giving my sister and I maths lessons and solving numerical riddles), and initially I started studying Maths and Physics at university. However, after a few months, I realised that my creative side was growing and I started to become more interested in the ways culture manifests within a landscape and society. Architecture was the discipline I felt bridges the creative with the practical, the arts with the sciences.
My mother is a seismologist and as a result I have always been fascinated by geology and landscapes, so as I started studying architecture I became increasingly interested in ways we interact with ground and the meaning that can emerge out of these practices. In fact, I eventually dedicated my Masters course research to this subject - my work was focused on landscapes of extraction, investigating possible futures for dust, a by-product of Maltese limestone extraction, through a wide range of digital media practices.
Another reason why I was drawn to studying architecture was the interdisciplinary nature of the course structure itself - I knew the course would also allow me to develop skills in photography, graphic design, digital media, fabrication, presentation etc. I wanted to be able to follow a path which would give me a great foundation in the design field while I figure out where exactly I fit within it - and I think this will be a process that constantly evolves throughout my career and personal life.
You love ceramics - tell us more about it!
I started practicing ceramics in 2018 at a studio in Malta, when I felt like I needed a new, physical creative outlet while working as a junior architect in Valletta. It was the first year of working full-time, and I immediately started to realise how prolonged hours of sedentary screen-time was affecting my wellbeing. I started to develop an urge to create objects with my hands. I was always finding myself dreaming of tablescapes which were fully designed and made by myself. I approached a local ceramicist in Malta and asked to join her studio, thinking that I would be able to make my dream tableware set in a few weeks. Little did I know that this was going to lead to years of training and growth!
I immediately realised that pottery is a practice which requires a lot of discipline and patience. I am pretty much self-taught, which probably prolonged my development - however it has fully allowed me to discover my personal way of working with the material, learning first-hand from my mistakes while also figuring out what style and type of work I want to be making.
When I moved to London, I joined a shared studio in Leyton and have been a member ever since. Being surrounded by so many creatives and talented people really inspired me and pushed me to pursue my ceramics practice further, and I currently make small batch productions for friends and collaborate with small businesses to create vessels with meaning. I like to call all my pieces ‘vessels’, as I still don’t like to prescribe the function. I allow people to use objects as they please, for the pieces to become vessels for stories and narratives as time goes on.
“Just like ceramics, I see homes as vessels for stories.”
It isn’t the cheapest craft and it doesn’t have the quickest turnaround, but there is something immensely gratifying and grounding in using a handmade object (made from a material coming from the earth) in your daily life. I feel there’s the right level of the artist’s control over the process - as my skills improve on the wheel and I understand the material better, I have an increasing degree of control over the form, however there is always an element of unpredictability in the process during firing and glazing. It is such a long process and a lot of things can go wrong throughout, and you should never get too attached to pieces until they are fully complete - I guess it’s taught me a lot of lessons which are applicable to various other aspects of my life!
Favourite colour for a space & why
I think the creation of contextual, cohesive palettes is more important than the individual designation of colours, so for me it really depends on what the space itself affords, as well as what would allow the users to feel their best. However, if I had to choose a dream space for myself, I would give preference to natural materials and textures which I feel are timeless. Warm timber finishes paired with rough clay plaster and beautifully detailed accents in coloured marbles such as Rosso Levanto or Verde Alpi would definitely be what I would go for. I’m definitely giving more importance to the right textural combinations, so that is also an important characteristic. I think it is really special when ‘new’ pieces and materials are paired with surfaces which have a story to tell. My ceramic work is influencing this quite a lot.
Favourite pattern/texture & why
I’m definitely drawn towards patterns and textures which can be assimilated to natural landscapes or phenomena. Whether it’s a stone relief texture, a swarm pattern or a geometric pattern derived from a mathematical sequence, I feel these elements hold something which is universally true. Simplicity is always key - and it’s fascinating how simple rules can create complex and detailed results.
Favourite space in London & why
As cliche’ as it is for a designer to say so - it has to be the Barbican Estate. It is a space I quite often choose to visit on my days off, just because it offers so much. There are the obvious elements of the structures’ proportions, rhythm, detailing, and textures which are always a joy to admire, especially on a sunny day when shadows play so beautifully across the estate. I feel like every single element is designed so beautifully, carefully and intentionally. There is so much variety and interest yet everything is coherent. I know there are many who don’t agree with this, but I think that as an estate, it stands out in its surroundings but feels right in context.
One of the things that I love about it the most is that it has no beginning and no end to it - it’s accessible through so many routes. Every time you experience it, you always experience something new. It’s true to its structure and I find it very authentic, as it doesn’t need any extra masks or additions - it’s true to its being. I think it’s very democratic as a space - it is open to everyone and feels like a truly public space. It has varying degrees of privacy - one can find spaces of peace but also plenty of spaces to interact. I feel like it is spiritually powerful as well. It’s a space which always inspires me. Every single aspect of life is somehow offered in it.
Favourite place around the world & why
It’s very hard to say - I feel like there’s still so much I have to explore! I spent a year in New Zealand and I will forever be amazed by what the country has to offer. The fact that there are so many different types landscapes and climates within a small stretch of land is incredible - and I felt so connected to the land, to people and to life when I was there.
However, as I get older I’m finding myself being drawn back to the Mediterranean - I’m really valuing the culture that belongs to the Mediterranean (particularly in small Italian cities such as Bologna and islands such as Sicily and Cyprus). Though most importantly, there are a few spots around the Maltese islands which will always be home to me - the swimming spot in St. Paul’s Bay where I spent all my summers growing up, my grandpa’s garden in Sliema, some secluded beaches around the island as well as the bastions of Valletta.
If you had to choose one luxury for a home space (not an essential/typical home item) what would it be?
I think having undefined spaces in homes is very underrated and is becoming a luxury not a lot of us will be able to have. As land becomes more limited and buildings are becoming more crammed, we are increasingly feeling the need to designate a function to every single room, corner and wall of a building, leaving no space for us to sit in spaces and see what we can do within them to feel more like ourselves.
Whenever I think of a space that is truly ’mine’, the first image I have of this is that of a space where I can be at my full potential. It would definitely become a space where I could make my ceramics, but I see it as a space where I can work, host, create, relax and connect. The ideal scenario would be to have a light-filled space, with very high ceilings, that is semi-detached from the rest of my house (just so I would be able to cut-off from the rest of my living space). It would be on the street, so I still would be able to interact with passers-by.
Oh, but I won’t say no to a few timeless furniture pieces dotted around while we’re at it!
& a top tip for people doing home renovations?
I would say it’s important to sit in the space pre and during renovation to really understand what the place reveals during the process. The beauty of a renovation project is that you are working on a canvas which has already seen the work of others - it is anything but blank. Try and find out as much as you can on the property’s history, understand how natural light flows through the space, and notice any unique features of the house that really speak to you. When populating the space, seek objects with stories to tell, rather than mass-produced objects. Just like ceramics, I see homes as vessels for stories. Trends can be inspiring, however see what truly speaks to you and what you can extract from them in order to make your space timeless and personal to you.