Alba Fernández Arias is a native of Muros and the driving force behind Espazo A Maceta. An artist at heart and architect by training, she has over 15 years of experience specializing in sustainability, health, and well-being. Her work spans global communities, and she spent seven years at Richard Rogers’ office in London, where she honed her skills in user-centered design and circular economy-based projects. Alba’s expertise also extends to creating strategies for regenerating communities, blending her passion for art, architecture, and social impact.
Espazo A Maceta, also known as “the Pot,” is a coworking and cultural hub dedicated to promoting exchange and co-creation. Its mission is to generate and implement new collaborative projects, referred to as “seeds,” that engage both the local community and talent from other regions and beyond.
Nestled in the picturesque coastal village of Muros, A Maceta is located in one of the traditional buildings along the seafront in the town’s historic quarter. So far, the space and its community have developed cultural projects with meaningful social and environmental impact. These initiatives focus on artistic creation, the preservation of traditional knowledge, environmental awareness, and addressing key rural issues, such as supporting local businesses.
Destil is a project that fosters learning, experimentation, and knowledge-sharing through art and various disciplines, aiming to challenge and engage in dialogue with the city and other local, international, and imaginative territories. Launched in Tirana in 2014 by a group of friends, Destil reimagines shared spaces in response to the rapid transformation of the city. It all began with the transformation of an old villa into a multifunctional space, experimenting with architecture, design, cultural initiatives, and hospitality.
Over its first six years, Destil cultivated a dynamic exchange with a community of bold, creative minds, both locally and internationally. By 2021, the concept evolved, now occupying a 1938 building near the New Boulevard Zogu I, continuing its mission of rethinking urban spaces.
KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE EXCHANGE
While exploring the map of hubs connected to the programme, Destil Creative Hub stood out as the one most similar to Espazo A Maceta, both in mission and spirit. The key objective of the exchange was to learn from a more established creative hub and to build a strong connection with the human team behind the initiative. In our first online meeting, we set the following objectives:
_ Familiarize ourselves with the studio, its team, and talents.
_Identify key collaborations and partnerships.
_ Engage in conversations with various roles at the hub.
_ Gain deeper insights into ongoing projects and initiatives, particularly those related to:
Women Entrepreneurs
Art & Culture Festivals
Architecture
_ Explore potential opportunities for collaboration.
_ Assess the replicability of initiatives and promote knowledge sharing.
_ Present Espazo A Maceta and its cultural projects to the public.
_ Host an open presentation and hands-on linocut and printmaking workshop.
ACTIVITIES
Day 0 - 22nd Sep
Arraving to Tirana at 23:55, after a long jounery that started leaving my home at 7:30
Day 1 – 23rd Sep
Meet the team and the instalations. Acomodate myself at the coworking space.
Guided tour around Tirana. Contemporary Art and Architecture of Tirana
Participating in the Destil Hub yearly Event and the exhibition ‘Living Bridges’
Day 2 – 24th Sep
Know the studio, people and talent. Conversation with Era. Meetin space 05 at pyramid and knowing the SEAM project in depth
First try of the local gatronomy
Day 3 – 25th Sep
Close meeting with the team. Conversation with Sonila ( manager of the hub) and Esme.
Knowing the stories that brought life to Destil Creative Hub.
Knowing the key project around Destil and the Bulevard
Knowing the structure of the business and the non-profit organizatons.
Public Presentation of Espazo a Maceta Hub + Linocut & Printmaking workshop
Day 4 – 26th Sep
Conversation with Valentina, knowing more in depth The Bullevard projects.
Enjoying the fisrt roof top event
Day 5 – 27th Sep
Planning Destil visit to Espazo A Maceta Hub
Testing some traditional Albanian food
Day 6 – 28th Sep -
Travelling back to Spain, Leaving Tirana at 12:25
