{"id":34722,"date":"2020-11-09T11:17:10","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T11:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dmn157.ipmarketing.grn.es\/sin-categorizar\/interview-with-cristina-and-paula-martinez-abad-founders-of-maraba-studio\/"},"modified":"2024-02-06T15:42:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T15:42:56","slug":"interview-with-cristina-and-paula-martinez-abad-founders-of-maraba-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/interviews\/interview-with-cristina-and-paula-martinez-abad-founders-of-maraba-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Cristina and Paula Mart\u00ednez Abad, founders of Maraba Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

Young and enterprising, Cristina and Paula form part of a new generation of lighting designers who\u2019ve been able to forge a path in their profession with optimism and enthusiasm in spite of all the difficulties. In their short life as a studio they\u2019ve already become a benchmark for Lanzarote, an island that\u2019s provided them with their inspiration and creative discourse, based on nature and its effects in terms of light and shadow.<\/h3>\n\n

It\u2019s interesting to note that, as sisters, you both studied architecture and specialised in architectural lighting design. Moreover, you work at the same independent lighting studio. Are you really inseparable?<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n

Paula:\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s true, it\u2019s curious. Both Cristina and I have always been attracted to the world of architecture; our family is connected with design and construction and that\u2019s undoubtedly influenced us. But although we\u2019ve grown in parallel, we actually started out in different cities. Cristina graduated in Seville whereas I graduated in Madrid. When, in 2015 and after working in Germany, I founded ABAD Lighting Design Studio in Lanzarote, Cristina was furthering her career in architecture in Madrid. But in the end it was light that brought us together. We wanted to create something together and, at the beginning of 2020, we founded Maraba Studio.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

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Nave Grupo Mart\u00ednez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

When you decided to study architecture, were you already interested in light or did you discover it later?<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n

Paula<\/strong>: I\u2019ve always been fascinated by natural lighting, its impact on materials. Living on an island like Lanzarote with its landscape and environment, where the sun is present for more than 12 hours a day, creates a different vision. You learn to sift the light, to protect yourself from it and create shade using natural elements. Shadow is as powerful as light; you just have to know how to work with it. But my interest in the profession of lighting designer came later. During my degree I discovered how important it was to design lighting in order to enhance architecture, its form, structure and texture. So I began to investigate and that\u2019s how it all started.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Cristina<\/strong>: I agree with Paula. Being born in a place like Lanzarote has a lot to do with who we are and what we\u2019re doing today. Living on this island, you develop a particular sensibility. I\u2019ve always seen light as a fundamental part of my architectural projects but it was during my work that I realised the profession of lighting designer actually existed. That\u2019s when I took the decision to redirect my career and specialise in lighting design.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
San Jos\u00e9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

What were your career paths before founding Maraba Studio?<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n

Paula<\/strong>: After finishing the Masterd\u00eda Master in Architectural Lighting in 2014, I had the chance to meet Andreas Schulz, CEO of Licht Kunst Licht, who gave me the opportunity to work with him in his studio in Berlin. It was a wonderful experience! For almost a year I was immersed in a world of light that I\u2019d never imagined, working on very special projects. I learned to design by thinking about every nuance and every detail to create spaces that are comfortable for our visual perception. It was after this that I was offered the first project on my native island: Jameos del Agua, a project by the architect C\u00e9sar Manrique. It was a real challenge for me.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Cristina<\/strong>: In my case, before entering the world of lighting completely, I specialised in retail design and worked for several architecture studios in Madrid. It wasn\u2019t until 2019 that I trained as a lighting designer at the IED in Madrid.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

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C\u00e9sar Manrique<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Are you finding it difficult to make your way in a profession that\u2019s not yet recognised as it should be?<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n

Paula:\u00a0<\/strong>When I had to make the decision to return to Lanzarote, the profession of lighting design was unknown. But contrary to what people might think, I saw it as a great opportunity. The island was like a blank canvas on which I could start designing and developing a lighting culture.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Cristina:\u00a0<\/strong>Yes, on Lanzarote we\u2019ve been able to carry out projects in all kinds of fields, related to culture, the landscape, business, retail and education. Little by little we\u2019ve raised awareness of the importance of light that\u2019s now bearing fruit.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Monumento al campesino<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

At the Arrecife Gran Hotel you work with Lluria\u2019s LED linear lighting.\u00a0<\/strong>Do you like using it? Do you think it allows you to develop new ideas?<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n

Cristina:\u00a0<\/strong>Lluria\u2019s linear lighting is used to create indirect lighting on walls and to enhance textures and materials, as well as to guide routes for guests and define the surroundings in space.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Paula:\u00a0<\/strong>At the Arrecife Gran Hotel, whose inspiration is nature and its different forms, we\u2019ve implemented an LED strip whose modules are perpendicular to the base so it adapts perfectly to the curves, projecting the light vertically and homogeneously. In outdoor lighting, flexible waterproof products enable us to design without limits.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Maraba Studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Dynamic light is another of the great virtues of linear lighting. What possibilities does it offer you in creative terms?<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n

Cristina:\u00a0<\/strong>Such tools add personality and character to a design and open up a range of possibilities during the creative process.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Paula:\u00a0<\/strong>The truth is that, right now, we\u2019re using dynamic lighting in two different projects. In the first, a shopping and sports centre, we\u2019re designing a dynamic fa\u00e7ade in blue tones that changes throughout the day, simulating the movement of the sea. In the second, a glass roof for the Pool Bar at Arrecife Gran Hotel, we\u2019re creating a magical space in constant flux that takes you to another galaxy. Using the metal structure of the roof as a support, we\u2019ve covered the entire surface with linear strips. They\u2019re installed in pairs, combining White Tunable with RGB White, which produces a colourful environment where our aim is to create a limitless, changing space. It\u2019s a mutating environment in which the immersive experience begins at sunset with a show of lights that multiply. We\u2019ve played with the spatial perception of the environment as it\u2019s reflected in the glass dome and on the surface of the water.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Clinica Nores<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

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Young and enterprising, Cristina and Paula form part of a new generation of lighting designers who\u2019ve been able to forge a path in their profession with optimism and enthusiasm in spite of all the difficulties. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[149],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34723,"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34722\/revisions\/34723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lluria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}