Philia
Magazine

Hugo Toro is a French-Mexican architect and multidisciplinary creative whose practice spans architecture, interiors, design, and art. Originally from eastern France, he graduated with a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture from Penninghen in Paris before completing a second Master’s degree in Architecture between Vienna and Los Angeles. From his Paris-based studio, Toro has built an international portfolio including the atelier of Villa Albertine in New York, the Michelin-starred restaurant PUR’ on Place Vendôme, JP at Louis Vuitton in Seoul, and the Orient Express La Minerva in Rome. His work is distinguished by a strong attention to atmosphere, materials, and craftsmanship.

Alongside his architectural practice, Toro works across furniture, drawing, painting, and sculpture. He unveiled his first furniture collection at Christie’s in 2022 and presented Aguas que murmuran at the Institut Culturel du Mexique in Paris in 2025. In 2026, his first solo exhibition in the United States, Ojo de Agua, was presented at Perrotin in New York, bringing together paintings, bronze sculptures, ceramics, and installation. Today, his architectural and artistic practices continue to explore the relationships between space, material, memory, and emotion.

Irene Goldberg has built a practice that crosses architecture, interiors and collectible design, moving between the conception of spaces and the creation of objects. Born in Venezuela in 1970, she relocated to Israel in 1983 and later studied at the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow, graduating in 1997. This ability to work across different scales has become integral to her approach, in which architecture and object-making are understood as part of a continuous creative language shaped by simplicity, materiality and emotional experience.

Goldberg co-founded Baranowitz & Goldberg Architects in 2017 before establishing her independent studio in 2025. Today, she works from the heart of Tel Aviv, where she shares a design gallery with her partner in life, Gal Gaon. The space provides a setting for her evolving collections of collectible design while remaining connected to her ongoing architectural and interior projects, allowing the different aspects of her practice to develop alongside one another.

Sérgio Rebelo is a Portuguese architect and designer and the founder of Sérgio Rebelo Atelier, an independent architecture and design practice established in Porto in 2018. He studied architecture at the University of Porto in Portugal and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, developing an international perspective that would continue to shape his professional trajectory. In 2010, Rebelo also served as a thesis reviewer at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) in New York.

Prior to founding his own atelier, Rebelo was Design Director at FR-EE (Fernando Romero Enterprise) in New York City, where he contributed to major architectural projects on an international scale. During his tenure, he played a leading role in projects including the construction of the Soumaya Museum and the winning competition proposal for Mexico City’s New International Airport. Through Sérgio Rebelo Atelier, he has since developed an independent practice spanning architecture and design, building on the experience gained through his work across Portugal, Switzerland, Mexico and the United States.

Increments Studio is a Melbourne-based architecture practice founded by Naomi Ng and Liang Hu, whose work explores the intersection of architecture, interiors, and spatial experience. Guided by a philosophy that architecture should resonate rather than demand attention, the studio creates spaces defined by quiet restraint, material sensitivity, and a profound connection to their surroundings.

Approaching each project as a unique response to its context and users, Increments Studio places particular emphasis on light, materiality, proportion, and atmosphere, crafting environments that are both grounded and poetic. Their practice spans residential, hospitality, cultural, and installation projects, united by a commitment to resource-conscious design and meaningful human experience. Recognised internationally, the studio’s work has received accolades including the Dezeen Awards and Architizer A+Awards, reflecting an approach where architecture becomes a vehicle for reflection, belonging, and enduring emotional resonance.