Graduated in architecture in 1998 at the University of Chile, she completed a Masters in Interior Design at the University of Salamanca in Spain, and later specialised in Architectural Lighting Design. After 11 years working for other studios, she founded LDLuz – Lighting Design in 2016, and in 2021 she merged with Michela Mezzavilla to found MMAS Lighting Design. She is a member of the Board of Directors of IALD, International Association of Lighting Design and is President of the Board of Directors of the Professional Association of Lighting Designers of Spain (APDI). She also teaches at the UPC - Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, BAU- Centro Universitario de Diseño de Barcelona and IED Barcelona- Escola superior de Disseny. She has extensive experience working on hospitality, restaurant, retail, exhibition and residential projects, among others, all in collaboration with teams from multiple areas and disciplines.
MMAS Lighting Design Studio arises from a friendship and passion for light in its different aspects or applications, both in architectural projects and in ephemeral/artistic installations. Mariel Fuentes and Michela Mezzavilla merge their professional backgrounds and multiple diverse experiences, with commitment and professionalism as a common factor, from a conceptual creative approach to the achievement of optimal results through efficient and sustainable technical solutions. MMAS has a multicultural and multilingual core team based in Barcelona, with a network of collaborators in South America and the Middle East. The fundamental design philosophy at MMAS Lighting is to work with the language of light as a narrative and emotional tool so that the luminous, visual and perceptive speech is the guiding thread of people's experience, the underlying element of cohesion and coherence in the space.
