PHILIA MAGAZINE

Nickolas Gurtler is an Australian interior designer and the founder and principal of Nickolas Gurtler Office, a boutique practice established in 2015. Over more than a decade in interior design and decoration, he has developed a distinctive approach spanning residential, multi-residential and commercial projects across Australia and the United States. His work is defined by a discerning and thoughtfully edited sensibility, with each project conceived around the experience of inhabiting a space rather than its visual impact alone.

Drawing from a wide field of references encompassing history, film, fashion and product design, Gurtler brings together different cultural and creative influences to form interiors with a strong sense of identity and atmosphere. His practice is also closely connected to contemporary Australian design, with an ongoing commitment to supporting emerging makers, local artisans and locally produced work. Through Nickolas Gurtler Office, he continues to develop a body of work that reflects both an international outlook and a strong connection to Australia’s creative community. In 2025, Gurtler was shortlisted for Designer of the Year at the IDEA Awards.

Kazuhiro Yamanaka is a Japanese designer whose multidisciplinary practice spans collectible furniture, product and lighting design, and installation. Born in Tokyo, he studied at Musashino Art University before completing his MA at the Royal College of Art in London. Throughout his career, Yamanaka has collaborated with international design houses including Ligne Roset, Boffi, Ingo Maurer, Alessi, Pallucco, and SAAZS, developing a body of work characterized by experimentation, precision, and a particular sensitivity to light and space.

Central to Yamanaka’s practice is an exploration of the relationship between objects, their surroundings, and the invisible void they define. His work has entered the collections of institutions including MoMA in New York and the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, where his first major solo exhibition was held in 2017. Alongside his design practice, he has taught at Musashino Art University since 2014 and has served as a visiting professor at the China Academy of Art since 2020. In 2025, his work was recognized with the Dezeen Award for Best Lighting Design of the Year.

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.

Hanne Gathe is a Norwegian interior designer and creative director whose work is defined by a refined balance of Scandinavian restraint, material richness, and understated elegance. As co-founder and creative lead of Gathe + Gram, she has developed a multidisciplinary practice spanning luxury residential, boutique hospitality, and lifestyle projects, creating interiors that are deeply personal, atmospheric, and timeless.

Guided by a strong sense of narrative, Gathe approaches each project as an opportunity to shape emotional experiences through space. Combining bespoke elements, carefully curated vintage pieces, natural materials, and a restrained palette, she creates environments that celebrate craftsmanship while fostering a lasting connection between people and place. Her work has been featured in international publications including Vogue Living, Homes & Gardens, Livingetc, and Travel + Leisure, reflecting an approach where architecture, interiors, and storytelling converge to create spaces of enduring character.

Dan Schneiger is an American architect, artist, and designer whose multidisciplinary practice explores the intersection of architecture, sculpture, and collectible design. Trained as an architect at the University of Minnesota, Schneiger spent nearly two decades working on public, commercial, and residential projects before establishing his independent practice dedicated to sculptural furniture, lighting, and artworks. His work reflects an ongoing dialogue between architectural thinking and handcraft, creating pieces that balance structural precision with artistic expression.

Rooted in a deep appreciation for making by hand, Schneiger’s practice investigates the relationship between technology, materiality, and form. Rejecting the increasingly digital nature of contemporary design, he embraces traditional processes to create works that reveal the tactile qualities of wood, metal, and stone while maintaining a distinctly architectural language. Blurring the boundaries between art and design, his sculptural furniture and lighting embody a timeless sensibility shaped by craftsmanship, material honesty, and a refined understanding of space.

Sandra Lipovetsky is a French state-certified architect and the founder of ODA LIK Studio. After fifteen years designing interiors for leading luxury houses across Paris and New York, she established a practice spanning architecture, collectible design, and sculpture.

Guided by an interest in perception, femininity, and material transformation, Lipovetsky creates sculptural works that shift with changing light and perspective. Combining dichroic glass with mirror-polished stainless steel, her pieces invite an evolving dialogue between object, space, and viewer.

UNFORMED DESIGN is a transdisciplinary architecture practice founded by Hassan Elgendy and Nahed Zmeter, operating between Milan and Cairo. Working across architecture, landscape, interiors, and urban design, the studio explores design as a medium for storytelling, spatial experience, and dialogue with place. Drawing on experience across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, its practice is shaped by a deep sensitivity to context, culture, and human perception, approaching each project as a response to its unique social, environmental, and historical conditions.

Working across multiple scales, from intimate interiors and installations to cultural, civic, and urban projects, UNFORMED DESIGN balances conceptual thinking with material exploration and craftsmanship. The studio has received international recognition through numerous award-winning competition entries, with projects spanning Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East. Rooted in a multidisciplinary approach, the practice continues to investigate how architecture can foster meaningful experiences while creating spaces that are both emotionally resonant and firmly grounded in their surroundings.

Joy Moyler is an American interior designer and founder of Joy Moyler Interiors, a studio renowned for creating refined residential, hospitality, and commercial environments that seamlessly blend architecture, fashion, and craftsmanship. Drawing on a career that spans leading architecture and design firms—including Ralph Lauren, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Thierry Despont, and Giorgio Armani Interior Design Studio—her work is distinguished by its sophisticated layering of textiles, colour, materiality, and bespoke detailing inspired by haute couture and traditional tailoring.

Moyler has completed projects for an international clientele, including private residences, luxury hospitality, and commercial commissions across the United States, Europe, and beyond. Her work has been recognised with repeated inclusion in the Elle Decor A-List (2019–2026) and Architectural Digest AD100 (2021–2026). Alongside her design practice, she serves as Contributing Design Editor for Veranda magazine and continues to contribute to the broader design community through writing, editorial work, and industry leadership.

Maria Loram is a ceramic artist based in California whose practice spans collectible vessels, sculptural lighting, and functional objects. Born in Russia, she brings together a multidisciplinary background in science, linguistics, yoga, and visual art, approaching ceramics as both a material investigation and a philosophical inquiry.

Inspired by wabi-sabi aesthetics, Eastern philosophies, and the natural world, Loram creates tactile forms that explore the relationship between the organic and the cosmic. Through an intuitive process of wheel throwing, hand-building, and extensive glaze experimentation, her works balance sculptural presence with functionality, inviting moments of stillness, contemplation, and connection. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at Paris Design Week, and she has participated in artist residencies across the United States and Europe.

Javier Sánchez is the founding partner and principal of JSa, the Mexico City-based architecture studio he established while studying at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). Raised in a family of architects, he has developed a practice that spans housing, cultural, commercial, and mixed-use projects, while playing a significant role in the regeneration of Mexico City’s historic neighbourhoods through architecture and urban development.

Over the past three decades, Sánchez has become widely recognised for his work in heritage rehabilitation and for creating resilient, mixed-use environments that respond to the evolving needs of contemporary cities. Increasingly focused on architecture’s environmental responsibilities, his recent work explores self-sustaining design strategies that integrate social, cultural, and ecological considerations. Rooted in the rich urban fabric of Mexico City, his practice continues to demonstrate how architecture can shape more connected, inclusive, and enduring communities.

Atelier HA is a Paris-based architecture and interior design studio founded by Hugo Vince and Adèle Nourry. After meeting at the École Camondo in 2015, the duo established their practice, combining Adèle’s expertise in spatial planning with Hugo’s focus on three-dimensional design and materiality. Their collaborative approach has led to a portfolio of refined residential and hospitality projects, including private residences in Paris and the celebrated Mistinguett restaurant at the Casino de Paris.

Guided by a deep sensitivity to detail and the identity of each space, Atelier HA creates interiors shaped by intuition, materiality, and atmosphere. Through a thoughtful dialogue between architecture and its constraints, the studio develops expressive environments where colour, texture, and light contribute to a distinct sense of place.

Martina Guandalini is an Italian architect, interior designer, and product designer based in New York. Her practice spans architecture, interiors, and collectible design, united by an interest in creating spaces and objects that evoke emotion through materiality, form, and atmosphere. Working across disciplines, she develops designs that challenge convention while establishing a distinct visual language rooted in experimentation and refinement.

Guandalini gained international recognition in 2020 when she was named NYCxDESIGN Honoree for Best Emerging Designer following the debut of her Soulmate furniture collection, which was presented by Dezeen, Sight Unseen, and at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Since then, she has continued to expand her body of collectible furniture while collaborating with leading brands and galleries, establishing a practice that seamlessly bridges architecture, interiors, and contemporary design.

Elisa Uberti is a French artist and designer based in Roubaix. After more than fifteen years in the fashion industry, she turned to ceramics, embracing craftsmanship as a way to reconnect with material, gesture, and time. Since founding her studio in 2018, she has developed a body of work that exists at the intersection of art and design, creating sculptural objects in stoneware distinguished by their soft, organic forms and quiet presence.

Guided by a pursuit of refined, timeless beauty, Uberti explores the delicate balance between technical precision and the spontaneity of hand-making. Rooted in an ancestral manual practice, her work celebrates the expressive qualities of clay, where each gesture leaves a visible trace of the making process. Through vessels, lighting, and sculptural pieces, she creates contemplative forms that evoke warmth, simplicity, and a profound connection between material, craftsmanship, and everyday life.

OFFHAND PRACTICE is a Shanghai-based design studio founded in 2019 by Yuan Yuan and Nie Xuan. Working across interior design, exhibition, and spatial design, the studio develops projects defined by a thoughtful balance of experimentation, material sensitivity, and contextual awareness. Their practice embraces curiosity and hands-on exploration, approaching each commission as an opportunity to uncover the essence of a place through careful observation and refinement.

Guided by the belief that meaningful spaces emerge from an ongoing dialogue between people and their surroundings, OFFHAND PRACTICE creates interiors that are understated yet deeply expressive. Their portfolio includes projects such as Aesop Suzhou Cangjie Store, Déjà Vu Recycle Store in Shanghai, and Brownie / Project M50 Gallery, each reflecting the studio’s commitment to authenticity, clarity, and enduring spatial experiences.

Michel Rojkind is a Mexican architect and founder of Rojkind Arquitectos, an internationally acclaimed practice based in Mexico City. Since establishing the studio in 2002, he has developed a multidisciplinary approach that brings together architecture, urban strategy, business innovation, and design to create projects that respond to contemporary social and cultural challenges. His work is driven by collaboration and experimentation, transforming architecture into a platform for dialogue, community, and meaningful public engagement.

Spanning cultural institutions, hospitality, commercial, and residential projects, Rojkind’s portfolio includes landmarks such as the Cineteca Nacional, Mercado Roma, HighPark, the José Cuervo Metadistillery, and The Ledger in Bentonville, Arkansas. His work has earned widespread international recognition, with numerous awards and publications highlighting his contribution to contemporary architecture. Through Rojkind Arquitectos, he continues to explore architecture as a catalyst for innovation, shaping spaces that foster connection while redefining the relationship between people, cities, and the built environment.

Hamed Ouattara is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. For more than three decades, he has transformed reclaimed industrial oil drums into sculptural furniture and objects that reinterpret the architectural and cultural heritage of the Sahel through a contemporary lens. Working alongside a workshop of skilled artisans, Ouattara combines traditional craftsmanship with material innovation, creating distinctive works defined by intricate textures, rhythmic forms, and a deep connection to place and history.

His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in the permanent collections of several leading museums and cultural institutions. Through a practice rooted in sustainability, craftsmanship, and storytelling, Ouattara continues to expand the dialogue between African artistic traditions and contemporary collectible design, creating works that celebrate material transformation, cultural identity, and enduring craftsmanship.

Kaori Akiyama is a Japanese designer and the founder of STUDIO BYCOLOR, a Tokyo-based design practice established in 2013. Working across product, furniture, interior, exhibition, and branding design, she explores the expressive relationship between colour, material, and form, seeking to uncover the essential character of an object while questioning conventional perceptions of the everyday.

Driven by a process of observation and material experimentation, Akiyama creates works that balance functionality with a refined sensitivity to colour and texture. Her practice has received international recognition, including the iF Design Award Gold, iF Design Award, DFA Gold Award, DIA Top 100, and Good Design Award, reflecting an ongoing commitment to thoughtful, research-led design.

Rogerio Shinagawa is a Brazilian architect and founder of Shinagawa Arquitetura, a São Paulo–based studio specializing in contemporary residential architecture and interiors. After graduating in Architecture and Urbanism from PUC Campinas and completing part of his academic training at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, he established his own practice in 2015. His background, combined with an early exposure to architecture through his family home, shaped a design approach grounded in careful observation and sensitivity to the experience of living.

Each project is conceived as a response to its context and the people who inhabit it, balancing spatial clarity, natural light, and material expression to create environments that feel both timeless and deeply personal. Through a process that prioritizes dialogue over stylistic formulas, Shinagawa develops architecture distinguished by quiet sophistication, precision, and lasting functionality. His work has been featured in ArchDaily, Casa Vogue, and Casa e Jardim, and has received international recognition through the DNA Paris Design Awards, INT Interior Design Awards, LOOP Design Awards, and BLT Built Design Awards.

David Samuel Ko is an American designer and founder of Maison Ko, a Los Angeles–based interior design studio whose practice spans residential, commercial, and event design. Drawing on a multidisciplinary background in fashion, styling, photography, and interiors, he creates spaces that blur the boundaries between fashion and interior design, combining a sharp sense of style with an honest and approachable design philosophy.

After beginning his career in fashion public relations while apprenticing at an interior design firm, Ko founded Maison Ko to bring his multidisciplinary creative vision to life. Through the studio, he develops thoughtfully curated interiors that reflect each client’s personality and celebrates the belief that design is a deeply personal experience. His work has been featured in publications including Architectural Digest, Domino, and Clever.

Louise Liljencrantz is a Swedish interior and furniture designer based in Stockholm and co-founder of Veermakers, whose practice explores the relationship between sculptural form, natural materials, and enduring craftsmanship. Since founding her interior design studio in 2009, she has become known for creating refined, bespoke interiors distinguished by timeless elegance, tactile materiality, and meticulous attention to detail.

In 2017, Liljencrantz co-founded Veermakers in collaboration with KFK Cabinet Makers, extending her design philosophy into a collection of collectible furniture, lighting, and objects. Working closely with master cabinetmakers and artisans, she creates pieces defined by honest materials, balanced proportions, and uncompromising craftsmanship, resulting in works that celebrate permanence, sustainability, and the enduring beauty of Scandinavian design.

Arthur Bitsch is a French artist and designer based in Strasbourg. Working across collectible design, sculpture, scenography, and artistic direction, he develops a multidisciplinary practice that explores the relationship between function, symbolism, and narrative. Rooted in both design and visual arts, his work challenges conventional typologies through a distinctive sculptural language that balances conceptual inquiry with material experimentation.

Drawing inspiration from mythology, ritual, architecture, and cultural memory, Bitsch creates objects that blur the boundaries between art and design. Combining handcrafted processes with contemporary production techniques, he develops works distinguished by bold forms and expressive materiality, transforming everyday objects into evocative vessels for stories, emotions, and collective memory.