Owain Caruana-Davies

Owain Caruana-Davies (BA, MA, PGCHE, FHEA) is a multidisciplinary designer, artist and educator whose work has been displayed internationally. He is a Lecturer, Year 1 Convenor and Module Leader on the BA (Hons) Interior Design course at Regent’s University London.

His practice crosses art and architecture, completing an MA at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL, receiving a distinction and the ‘Deans Award’. Owain is a PhD candidate at CCW, UAL. His research is in spatial practice, focusing on obsolescent buildings and the process of demolition/renewal, impacting on human-spatial relationships and ideas surrounding situated identity and sustainability. Owain’s work responds to existing spaces through hybrid drawing, found objects, film and photography. 

Owain is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy, completing a PGcertHE at Regent’s University London. Previous experience includes acting course leader for Foundation Fashion and Design at Regent’s, establishing and running a short course for international students at UAL and leading an MA studio at Canterbury School of Architecture, University for the Creative Arts (UCA) from 2017-2021. He is currently an associate lecturer at the Royal College of Art. His teaching is linked to previous experience as a student welfare mentor, recognising the importance of mental health awareness within higher education, and, as a queer academic, has an interest in inclusive design education.

• PhD (in progress), Chelsea College of Arts, CCW,  University of the Arts London
• PGCertHE, Regent’s University London
• MA Interior and Spatial Design, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London
• BA (Hons) Architecture [RIBA], Oxford School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University
• A Levels: A*AB

• Regent’s University London: Lecturer, Year 1 Convenor and Module Leader, BA (Hons) Interior Design
• Regent’s University London: Curator – The Knapp Gallery
• Royal College of Art: Associate Lecturer, MA Interior Design
• Regent’s University London: Interim Course Leader: Foundation, Fashion & Design
• Canterbury School of Architecture: Associate Lecturer/Unit Leader, MA Interior Design, MA Architecture
• University of the Arts London: Short Course Leader, English Plus: Art, Architecture, Interior Design
• Canterbury School of Architecture: Associate Lecturer, BA (Hons) Interior Design
• University of the Arts London: Visiting Lecturer, BA and MA Interior and Spatial Design
• Student Welfare Mentor: University of the Arts London
• Freelance Designer

Human Spatial is a research platform that Owain founded in 2020 to cumulate different research interests originating from his practice-based PhD at CCW, UAL (which he is currently completing). 

Spaces play a significant role in our lives and impact on the way that we live, work, play and rest. Human Spatial explores the intimate connections that humans form with spaces through reflexive creative processes to (i) help better understand how to respond to redundant spaces and (ii) design meaningful future spaces. Such processes include hybrid, large scale, experimental drawings, installations, spatial experiences, photography, film and architectural interventions. Human Spatial is an exciting confluence of creative work housed in one place to explore projects, collaborations, research and academic outputs.

Owain’s current research investigates architectural obsolescence encompassing social relationships and emotional investments associated with redundant sites. The research develops site-responsive archival processes responding to obsolescent spaces.  

Research interests: interior design, architecture and spatial design, spatial practice, fine art, obsolescence, thinking through drawing/making, design representation, site-specific intervention, creative pedagogy. 

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Owain's awareness of the pressures of being a student are reflected in a keen understanding of the importance of mental health awareness within academic institutions. He volunteered as a student welfare mentor within higher education and has training in mental health first aid. This approach to pastoral concerns ultimately enhances the overall student experience. 

Owain is a member of the LGBTQ+ Network at Regent’s University London as well as other groups supporting equality and diversity, spanning beyond academic institutions addressing areas of inequality. Owain has a keen interest in opportunities for all into higher education, challenging long-held structures within the academic field that have historically precluded certain groups from the opportunities afforded to more privileged students. 

He is proud to be an educator on the BA (Hons) Interior Design, a course representing numerous nationalities and backgrounds, reflected in both the student and teaching body.

Further to Owain's teaching at Regent's University London, other institutions, and his PhD research, Owain engages in independent design consultancy, competition work, often with collaborative international teams, as well as exhibiting work globally. Owain has a passion for all creative disciplines and engages on a multi-disciplinary level with other specialists in their respective fields.