PHILIA MAGAZINE

Rogelio Vallejo Bores is a Mexican architect and founder of HW Studio Arquitectos, known for a quiet, precise, and deeply human approach to design. Born in Michoacán, he holds degrees in Architecture, Art & New Technologies, and Design & Innovation, and has trained with renowned practices including Fran Silvestre Arquitectos, RCR Arquitectes, and Aires Mateus.

His work explores the beauty of the essential—where silence, light, and disciplined craftsmanship define space. Rogelio’s projects have received international recognition, including Design Vanguard 2024, Record House 2023, Best Emerging Firm by Azure Magazine, the German Design Award 2024, and multiple Loop Design Awards.

Widely published in Architectural Record, Azure, AD, Dezeen, and Archello, HW Studio has been named among Mexico’s best architecture firms and one of Latin America’s most influential studios. Rogelio’s architecture seeks harmony, clarity, and emotional resonance, inviting reflection through thoughtful design.

Chaeyoung Lee is a furniture and object designer based in Seoul. After studying Woodworking & Furniture Design and Aesthetics of Art, she began developing a craft-based design practice driven by narrative and purpose.

Her work seeks to translate abstract thoughts into tangible visual and tactile experiences. Through furniture and objects, she gives form to moments of life and explores the attitudes embodied within those forms.

Her practice continues to expand as a way of experiencing life and the world through both everyday and artistic acts.

Madeleine Sloback is an interior designer specializing in thoughtfully curated residential spaces that balance functionality, warmth, and timeless design. From early in her career, she discovered a strong passion for residential interiors, finding the greatest reward in transforming collaborative client visions into highly personal homes.

With over a decade of experience, Sloback has worked on hundreds of homes, developing a deeply client-focused approach shaped by her ability to connect with a wide range of personalities and lifestyles. Her expertise extends beyond design alone, drawing from hands-on experience in finishing carpentry as well as multiple personal home renovations.

Leading a team of skilled designers, Madeleine combines creativity with practical construction knowledge to create spaces that feel refined, livable, and tailored to each client’s unique way of living.

Atelier V&F was co-founded by Chen Furong and Vega Zaishi Wang. Their professional background and artistic upbringing shape the character of Atelier V&F. Its work tries to break the divide of territories and cultures, with an inclusive narrative to interpret aesthetics and functionality. The two designers’ poetics of life and living, their respect for different materials’ true nature, and their unceasing pursuit of exquisite craftsmanship instill vitality into Atelier V&F’s works — from artistic sculptures, installations, and spaces to practical and utilitarian objects. As a married couple, Vega and Furong’s collaborative works embrace the non-utilitarian and pure beauty, and are thus emotionally powerful.

Lucas Huillet is a French interior architect, designer, and ceramic artist whose multidisciplinary practice explores the dialogue between objects, spaces, and storytelling. Working across furniture, ceramics, and interiors, he develops projects that move fluidly between drawing and material, creating works that balance sculptural expression with functional purpose. Rooted in craftsmanship and a strong commitment to sustainable production, Huillet has produced a collection of handcrafted ceramic objects in his studio since 2019, while also collaborating with cultural institutions and luxury brands on projects that integrate design, narrative, and spatial experience.

Solid Objectives Idenburg Liu (SO–IL) is an internationally recognized architecture studio founded by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu in New York City in 2008. With offices in New York and Amsterdam, the practice is known for its open, humanistic approach to architecture, creating cultural, civic, and residential projects that foster meaningful connections between people, space, and environment.

Working across architecture, research, and publishing, SO–IL combines material sensitivity with intellectual rigor and a refined spatial language. Their work has been widely exhibited and collected internationally, including by the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The studio has received numerous distinctions, including the American Academy of Arts and Letters Architecture Award and the Architectural Review’s New into Old Award, and is featured in the 2025 Venice Biennale.

Jay Boggo is a Brazilian artist and designer whose multidisciplinary practice spans collectible design, sculpture, visual arts, and fashion. Working with reclaimed native woods, natural fibers, stone, and salvaged materials, he creates pieces that explore the relationship between nature, memory, and cultural heritage. Deeply influenced by the landscapes and communities of the Brazilian Amazon, Boggo approaches design as a dialogue between craftsmanship, sustainability, and storytelling.

Rooted in the principles of circular economy and environmental responsibility, his work reinterprets ancestral knowledge through contemporary forms, transforming raw materials into sculptural objects imbued with a strong sense of place. Through furniture, installations, and artistic projects, Boggo celebrates the connection between people and the natural world, creating works that serve as a passage between tradition and innovation, past and future.

ALVA Design is a Brazilian furniture and object design studio founded by siblings Marcelo Alvarenga and Susana Bastos. Drawing from backgrounds in architecture, fine arts, and fashion, the duo develops a poetic design language that balances structure and fluidity, functionality and emotion.

Rooted in the cultural landscape and craft traditions of Minas Gerais, their work is distinguished by sculptural forms, refined materiality, and a strong sense of atmosphere. Since its founding, ALVA has become a prominent voice in contemporary Brazilian design, creating furniture, objects, and creative projects that celebrate craftsmanship, intimacy, and the poetry of everyday life.

ALVA Design is a Brazilian design studio founded by siblings Marcelo Alvarenga and Susana Bastos. Drawing from backgrounds in architecture, fine arts, and fashion, the duo creates furniture and objects that balance structure and spontaneity, functionality and emotion.

Rooted in the cultural landscape of Minas Gerais, their work is guided by a deep appreciation for craftsmanship, materiality, and storytelling. Through a multidisciplinary approach, ALVA develops sculptural pieces distinguished by refined details and a poetic sensibility that explores the relationship between objects, space, and everyday life.

Today, ALVA stands as a distinctive voice in contemporary Brazilian design, creating timeless works that evoke intimacy, atmosphere, and human connection.

Founded by Jasper Goh and Agnes Yap, Ascend Design is a Singapore-based interior design studio that crafts thoughtful, design-centric spaces grounded in emotional resonance and quiet sophistication.

As Principal Designer, Jasper leads the creative direction of the studio, shaping its distinct aesthetic language — one that balances restraint with warmth, and celebrates tactility, imperfection, and the lived-in beauty of space. His projects, such as The Bahru House and Amayadori House, reinterpret modern living through a lens of sensitivity and calm.

Agnes Yap, the studio’s Creative Director, brings a refined eye for proportion, atmosphere, and material harmony. Having designed many of Ascend’s residential works featured across its portfolio, his approach merges technical precision with an instinctive understanding of light and texture. Together, Jasper and Agnes cultivate a studio culture rooted in authenticity, collaboration, and curiosity — continually evolving the visual language of contemporary Singaporean design.

Jay Boggo is a Brazilian artist and designer whose multidisciplinary practice spans collectible design, sculpture, visual arts, and fashion. Working with reclaimed native woods, natural fibers, stone, and salvaged materials, he creates sculptural pieces that explore the relationship between memory, nature, and cultural heritage. Deeply influenced by the Brazilian Amazon and its communities, his work reflects a commitment to sustainability, craftsmanship, and the preservation of ancestral knowledge.

Through furniture, installations, and artistic projects, Boggo transforms raw materials into poetic objects that bridge tradition and innovation. Rooted in the principles of circular economy and environmental responsibility, his creations serve as a passage between past and future, nature and culture, and Brazil and the wider world.

Negar Reihani is a Vancouver-based interior designer known for her refined, timeless approach to luxury interiors. With more than two decades of experience, her work spans a wide range of styles, each thoughtfully tailored to reflect the individuality, lifestyle, and aspirations of her clients.

Recognized for creating elegant yet highly livable spaces, Negar approaches every project with a balance of creativity, practicality, and close client collaboration. Her interiors are defined by understated sophistication, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of how people live within their environments.

Praised for her warmth, professionalism, and commitment to exceptional service, Negar has built long-standing relationships with clients across Canada, the United States, and internationally.

Agathe Lavaud is a French architect and interior designer, and the founder of Volta, a Paris-based studio established in 2016. Working across architecture and interior design, her practice is defined by a refined dialogue between contemporaneity and tradition, with a strong attention to detail, materiality, and spatial harmony.

After studying at ESAG Penninghen and the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Marne-la-Vallée, including a period of study in Italy, Lavaud worked with renowned studios such as Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Wilmotte & Associés, Vidalenc Architectes, and Thierry Lemaire Architecture before establishing her own practice. Through Volta, she approaches each project through a sensitive and contextual process, developing spaces shaped by thoughtful research into volume, craftsmanship, and the existing environment.

Giorgio Bonaguro is an Italian designer working across product design, interiors, and art direction. After studying Mechanical Engineering in Modena and Industrial Design in Milan, he collaborated with influential designers including Michele De Lucchi, Francesco Faccin, and Lorenzo Palmeri.

Working between Europe and Brazil, Bonaguro develops furniture, objects, and interiors distinguished by elegant forms, material research, and a refined contemporary sensibility. His work reflects a balance between craftsmanship, innovation, and timeless simplicity.

Tristan Montabord-Marc is a Belgian interior architect and designer based in Brussels, where he founded his eponymous studio. Working across high-end residential interiors and collectible design, his practice explores the relationship between architecture, craftsmanship, and timeless elegance. Guided by a balance of precision and poetry, he creates spaces and objects distinguished by refined proportions, noble materials, and a quiet sense of sophistication.

Extending his architectural practice into collectible design, Montabord-Marc recently introduced his first limited-edition furniture collection, Auguste, conceived as a series of sculptural objects that blur the boundaries between furniture and architecture. Characterized by meticulous craftsmanship, authentic materials, and subtle asymmetry, his work seeks to create a lasting dialogue between art, design, and architecture, revealing beauty through simplicity, balance, and enduring materiality.

Francesca De Giorgi is an Italian designer and architect whose work explores the relationship between light, textiles, and craftsmanship. Drawing on the heritage of her family’s historic workshop in Lecce, Puglia, she creates lighting and textile pieces that blend contemporary design with artisanal tradition. In 2023, she founded NASSI, a brand named after her grandmother, celebrating a family legacy carried through three generations of women while reflecting the culture, materiality, and enduring craftsmanship of southern Italy.

Johannes Hemann is a German designer whose practice explores the intersection of experimentation, material behavior, and contemporary craftsmanship. After studying Product Design at the School of Art and Design in Offenbach am Main and spending a semester at Kingston University in London, he founded his eponymous studio in 2011. Since then, Hemann has developed a distinctive body of work that challenges conventional design processes through playful investigation and technical innovation.

Known for reinterpreting familiar forms through unexpected methods, Hemann gained international recognition with projects such as the Storm Series, in which furniture is shaped through simulated storm conditions, allowing natural forces to become active participants in the creative process. His work has been exhibited internationally, including in Milan, London, Basel, New York, Tokyo, Berlin, and Tel Aviv, and has earned multiple nominations from the German Design Awards, establishing him as one of the notable voices of his generation in collectible design.

Liyang Zhang is a Chinese-Canadian architect and ceramic artist, born in Osaka and based in New York City. Her interest in ceramics emerged from a desire to explore the most elemental aspects of architecture, namely light, material, and form, on a more intimate, tactile scale. Her work often arises from a dialogue between hand and material, allowing form to emerge from the clay’s inherent qualities. As an artist, she sees her role as guiding a material to reveal its true nature and inviting its own character and story to emerge.