‘Women Matter’

On 15 March 2018 we held our first Talk that Matter, devoted to the theme Women Matter, and with it we opened the Sala Matter in our Barcelona showroom: a space designed to host a talk or workshop each month of interest to our clients, architects and interior designers.

Just over 100 people joined us to highlight the contribution of women to design and architecture. Five speakers, architects and interior designers, addressed the subject from the perspective of data, institutions, studio practice and a specific project. Here we summarise their talks.

The data: a problem for society, not just the profession

The session was opened by Assumpció Puig, then acting dean of the Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC, the Catalan Association of Architects), who presented statistics on registered male and female architects. Her reading of them was clear: the low presence of women in architecture is not a problem specific to the profession, but one of society as a whole.

Women in the FAD

Next to speak was Judit Bustos, interior designer at the studio Trestrastos and one of the youngest members of the board of ARQUIN-FAD, the FAD’s Associació Interdisciplinària del Disseny de l'Espai (Interdisciplinary Association for Spatial Design). Judit explained the representation of women in the organisation, and her figures confirmed how few women have held the presidency over its history. The changes under way are encouraging, but there is still a great deal to do.

Teamwork and work–life balance

Two speakers agreed on the value of the team, from architecture and from interior design.

Lucía Ferrater: a family studio

Our third speaker was Lucía Ferrater, architect and founding partner of OAB (Office of Architecture in Barcelona), the studio she set up in 2005 with her father, Carlos Ferrater, her brother, Borja Ferrater, and her husband, Xavier Martí-Galí. Drawing on her experience, she explained how they work as a team.

Lucía spoke about the value of teamwork, and especially of working as a family, which has made it easier for her to balance work and family life. Even so, she stressed the need for policies that support working women.

Meritxell Ribé: valuing the way women work

Next came the interior designer Meritxell Ribé, who runs The Room Studio with Josep Puigdomènech. She too highlighted the importance of teamwork, but above all the need to value the contributions and the way women act on site and in technology. Her message: it is important to believe in ourselves and to make others respect and value our work.

Ca la Dona: architecture for a women’s space

The talks were closed by Sandra Bestraten, an architect focused on collaborative and cooperative work, who presented her work on Ca la Dona, at 25 Carrer Ripoll in Barcelona: a building designed for women, their activities and interests, created as a support space for women.

As the association itself explains, the refurbishment was developed with Sandra Bestraten through an agreement with the UNESCO Chair in Housing and Sustainability at the UPC, with a participatory process of architectural definition in which the association itself took part; the works began in 2009. In closing, Sandra stressed the importance of dialogue and collaboration, and associated women with qualities such as welcoming, persevering, delicate and generous.

The speakers

• Assumpció Puig: architect, acting dean of the Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC).
• Judit Bustos: interior designer at the studio Trestrastos and member of the board of ARQUIN-FAD.
• Lucía Ferrater: architect, founding partner of OAB (Office of Architecture in Barcelona).
• Meritxell Ribé: interior designer, co-founder of The Room Studio.
• Sandra Bestraten: architect, author of the refurbishment of Ca la Dona.

An aperitif to close the afternoon

The afternoon ended with an aperitif sponsored by Neolith, a manufacturer of sintered stone surfaces. We thank each of the speakers for their contributions and the audience, who were attentive and engaged throughout.

Epilogue: what came next

A few months after this talk, in the elections of 9 and 10 May 2018, Assumpció Puig was elected dean of the COAC for 2018–2022: the first woman to hold the post in the association’s history. The refurbished Ca la Dona building was shortlisted for the 2019 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. Sandra Bestraten, for her part, chaired the COAC’s Barcelona branch from 2018 and in May 2026 was elected dean for 2026–2030.

At Matter we returned to the subject a year later, on 21 March 2019, with a new Talk that Matter devoted to women architects.

Talks that Matter are part of our work as a materials consultancy: meetings between professionals from architecture, interior design and industry. Book your visit to Matter to discover our Materioteca and talk about the materials for your next project.