A Maltese design firm is celebrating a decade in Ragusa, Sicily, as it prepares for its next chapter in Mumbai.
Founded in 2009 by 48-year-old creative director Keith Pillow, DAAA Haus started in Malta and has since grown into an international design studio with bases in Ragusa, Milan and, now, India’s bustling financial capital.
Describing itself as a studio that specialises in “design in every sense of the word”, DAAA Haus covers everything from architecture and interiors to product, branding and art.
The firm’s story began in Malta 16 years ago, with its first studio still operating out of Msida. But Sicily has long been a central part of its journey.
“Our adventure in Sicily started over 15 years ago,” says Pillow. “We were experimenting and went to Sicily for an adventure and looked for a piece of land that we wanted to design as a project.”
That decision, he says, came before the more recent trend of Maltese buying Sicilian property, drawn in by low prices and large plots of land.
While trying to find land near Noto for a project, he met Daniele Migliorisi and Mario Castello, who helped him navigate the Italian bureaucracy. A year later, Giorgio Occhipinti joined the group. The three would go on to become both his business partners in DAAA Italia and also close friends.
The Zig Zag carpet collection. Photo: DAAA HausProjects
“So Sicily because I went in search of land, and Ragusa because I made friends in Ragusa and I liked Ragusa,” he says.
Times of Malta met with Pillow and members of his young and international team at their 10-year anniversary event in Ragusa, held at the Teatro Donnafugata. The team now numbers around 40 people.
On display were a number of upcoming projects, including Bloom, a new outdoor lighting collection shaped like a lily and photos of Le Vele Bianche, an apartment complex in Modica. Also featured were the playful yet deceptive pouf Marshmallow for Palladio and the Zig Zag handmade carpet collection, a collaboration with Jaipur Rugs.
One project, however, holds a special place in the team’s heart, the Anthea Preziosi Gioielleria in Ragusa.
“It was a small project but I remember the day we had the first sketches in the studio. It represents the design philosophy of DAAA Haus but it also blends in very, very well with the context of the old Ragusa,” Pillow says.
Over the last decade, the partnership between the Italian and Maltese teams has evolved into something unique.
“The Italian side of the team has brought with them a lot of experience and knowledge about materials which were unknown in Malta,” he explains.
“The Maltese side of the studio tends to be more open-minded and has an international way of thinking, a wider multicultural, fast-paced way of working compared to the Sicily team.”
Bloom light features. Photo: DAAA HausLessons
He adds that working across countries has taught him one of the most important lessons in leadership.
“I’ve learned to be patient, patient to understand and to work with different characters.” he says. “I also learnt a lot about working as a team, and, more specifically, I learnt about working remotely long before it became fashionable or the world was forced to do it.”
That experience proved invaluable when the pandemic hit and they have translated the skills of sketching from afar with their work in Milan and Mumbai.
As for the firm’s style, Pillow describes it as “sensible, modern and less is more but the detail is important”.
He continues: “Being sensible to the audience, sensible to the environment, sensible to the context, sensible to what the architecture experience is needed for.”
Locally, DAAA Haus has left its mark on several notable projects, including the Hotel Cugò Gran Macina in Cottonera, Park Heights in Msida and The Barrister Hotel in Valletta. The firm also contributed to the redecoration of some rooms at the President’s Palace.
Looking ahead, Pillow says the next decade will focus on nurturing talent.
“In the next 10 years, we will be seeing juniors growing into senior positions and, hopefully, finding leaders to take on DAAA Haus further after us.”