Carrie-Louise Matossian
(she/her)
I’m Carrie, an interior designer driven by an endless curiosity for the way spaces shape how we feel, behave, and connect with one another. I believe our built environment should be as emotionally engaging as it is functional. I am particularly interested in socially responsive design and how interiors can support inclusivity and belonging. I approach design from a human perspective, using conceptual thinking and experimentation to carry narrative throughout every stage of a project.
During my final year at the Glasgow School of Art, my project, The Fold, became an opportunity to build on my practice and interests, with a focus on gendered identity and representation within space. The project takes a building with a history rooted in the display and objectification of women, and transforms it into a women-focused making and cultural space.
The idea of femininity and the ways it can be experienced, perceived, and represented became a central theme throughout the project, shaping every aspect of the spatial experience and design.
the concept
The Fold is a women-focused making and cultural space located within 520 Sauchiehall Street. Responding to the site’s history of positioning women as objects of display, this project explores how spatial design can address gendered inequalities in public space, with a focus on access to hands-on making environments.
Femininity is explored throughout as both a conceptual and material language. Stereotypical feminine aesthetics are contrasted with an angular spatial language and raw industrial materials, creating an atmosphere shaped by contrast and tension. The project aims to foreground women within both cultural and fabrication spaces while challenging traditional narratives of representation.
the fold
the site
520 Sauchiehall Street is a B-listed late Victorian commercial building designed by David Paton Low with a later rear extension by Bruce & Hay.
Occupying a through-block site between Sauchiehall Street and Renfrew Street, the building was originally occupied as a piano showroom and performance space, later adapted for cinema and entertainment uses.
This material contrast of the site informs the project’s material and spatial approach, balancing decorative elements with more raw and functional qualities. The building’s through-block condition and dual frontage further support a strategy of separation and controlled movement, allowing distinct public and makers’ journeys to be established across the site.
users
the extension
the fold void
The Fold is a 12-metre vertical void that divides the building into a public gallery and private makers space. It serves as the main circulation route for makers, linking social, collaboration, and workshop spaces together across levels. Public access is limited to the ground level, forming part of the grid makers gallery. It operates as a controlled viewpoint into the makers area, providing a brief connection between public and maker activity.
welcome to the fold
– ground floor
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– first floor
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– second floor
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– third floor
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the model
