Philia
Magazine

Gisela Simas is a Brazilian designer whose work is guided by a quiet restlessness, an innate sense of play, and a deep connection to the legacy of Brazilian modernism. Drawing from lived experience, personal encounters, and the places she has inhabited, her designs emerge from an emotional and intuitive process before being shaped by rigorous thought and craft. Sustainability is central to her practice, informing both material choices and production methods. Through emblematic works such as the Bar Milan, the Lucrécia table, and the Congonhas lamp, Simas explores balance, generosity of form, and functional elegance, while celebrating the richness of Brazilian design on an international stage. Alongside her creative work, she leads her namesake studio with a holistic vision, uniting creation, production, and delivery into a single ecosystem rooted in ethics, beauty, and long-term collaboration.

Stratton Andrews is the owner and lead architect of Stratton Architects LLC. Originally from the East Coast, he brings a blend of regional perspective and innovative design to his practice. Stratton earned his architectural education at the University of Arizona, where he developed his passion for context-driven, landscape-centered design. Today, he leads his firm with a commitment to thoughtful craftsmanship, creative problem-solving, and enduring architectural vision.

Heakyoung Jang is a South Korean designer and the founder of FICT STUDIO, an independent practice established in 2016. Inspired by the phrase “From Craft to Industry,” the studio explores the relationship between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design, examining how craft can evolve within modern society.

With a background in industrial design, Jang approaches craft as more than a collection of materials and techniques, viewing it as a vessel for culture, memory, and human connection. Through material experimentation and process-based research, her work translates the essential values of craft into a contemporary language, creating objects that explore the intersections of tradition, materiality, technology, and time.

Hugo França is a Brazilian artist and designer whose practice centers on transforming discarded tree trunks, roots, and fragments into sculptural works and functional objects. Working from his studio in Trancoso, França begins each project by carefully selecting raw wood based on its texture, organic form, and the marks shaped by time and nature.

His creative process is rooted in an ongoing dialogue with the material itself. Drawing directly onto the wood, França follows the natural paths, cracks, and curves formed by the tree, allowing nature to guide the final form. Through a reinterpreted use of the chainsaw, tree trunks and roots are sculpted rather than cut away, resulting in works that are both expressive and sustainable.

Blending craftsmanship, environmental awareness, and sculptural presence, França’s work celebrates the inherent beauty and life embedded within reclaimed natural materials.

HCCH was founded by Hao Chen and Chenchen Hu in Shanghai in 2018. The studio observes, understands, and responds to its surroundings with boldness and imagination. By mediating and challenging existing paradigms of type, scale, material, and codes, HCCH seeks to explore and amplify the utmost character of each specific project.

Both Hao and Chenchen studied in Shanghai, Vienna, and Boston. They hold Bachelor’s degrees in Architecture from Tongji University and Master’s degrees in Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard GSD.