Collaborators

Agustín Hernández was a Mexican architect who graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Inspired by the monumental Mexica and Maya pyramids, his architecture delved into pre-Hispanic roots through modern constructions where national symbolism took on a new meaning. His innovation in combining cultural associations of pre-Hispanic elements with more sophisticated construction techniques added both spiritual and technological value to his works. In 2003, he was awarded the National Prize for Arts.

Alberto Dávila is a young Mexican designer specializing in fine jewelry manufacturing. With 13 years of experience in jewelry production, he has collaborated with premium brands such as TANE, Nouvel Studio, and IK Joyero. He was a participant and collaborator in the Latin American Biennial of Contemporary Jewelry and the founder of the collective "Sin Título," a project aimed at promoting the artistic expression and cultural value of jewelry in Mexico through various formats.

Alonso González artistic work has been influenced by the Spanish surrealist painting movement. However, it also incorporates elements from other artistic currents, such as Pablo Picasso's cubism, Joan Miró's expressionism, and René Magritte's surrealism. The connection between poetry and imagery in Alonso González's work is intensified in his paintings and sculptural models, where black, as the main color, imparts a dreamlike and abstract quality to his creations.

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Bernardo Gómez studied architecture at the Universidad de Anáhuac, earned a master’s degree in architecture from Columbia University in New York, and completed a doctorate at Universidad Europea in Madrid. In addition to architecture, he has ventured into the fields of design and urbanism. For him, design and architecture demand the same level of understanding and complexity in both fabrication and construction. He founded the magazine Arquine, a platform that has played a significant role in promoting architecture in Mexico.

Brenda León was a sustainable-oriented jewelry and textile designer. In 2017, she won first place in the Caos Creativo Contest in the footwear design category. Her pieces were inspired by the textile creations of the southwestern people of Mexico, especially embroidery. During her lifetime she achieved to develop dozens of design works in collaboration with emerging artists and Mexican artisans throuhg her platform "Tumbiko".

Brian Thoreen is an American artist who lives and works in Mexico. His artistic expression is rooted in elements and forms that capture the organic and artificial functions of nature, allowing them to express themselves in space. This approach makes his work either functional or non-functional, with the intention of his art focusing on the viewer's perception as the elements unfold in space. He has experimented with various techniques, such as hand-blown glass and the hammering of industrial rubber sheets, which have helped him amplify his expression of natural elements.

Dimitri Nassisi is a young Swiss designer. His decision to study design was inspired by his birthplace, a village in Geneva where nature is abundant, fueling his desire to keep his creative curiosity alive. In 2018, he earned a degree in industrial design from ECAL. Nassisi believes that object design should be oriented toward future needs with intelligent and visionary planning. In 2019, he was selected for a creative residency in Mexico, where he collaborated with fishing artisans in Puerto Escondido to create his famous net lamp.

Edgar Orlaneita is a Mexican designer. His hybrid and amorphous objects are inspired by modernist artistic movements and Mexican popular culture. He has devoted much of his career to researching art history, particularly in post-war aesthetics and design. He explores the functionality of his work through symbolic, aesthetic, and economic elements, giving artistic value to objects beyond their everyday use.

Godoy is a Mexican industrial designer known for creating sustainable projects in design and architecture, with the aim of applying cutting-edge design to find new ways to help the environment. His work spans urbanism, museography, and curatorship. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with various brands worldwide. In 2011, his “Knit Chair” design was included in the permanent collection of the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art, New York), and in 2015, his duo of bowls titled “Pedro and Pablo” was added to the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York).

Ezequial Farca graduated as an industrial designer from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. He received a scholarship to study a specialization in industrial design at Western Washington University in Washington State. In Spain, he earned a master’s degree in Large-Scale Architecture. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards, including the Quórum Prize for Best Designer in Mexico. In 1995, he opened his design studio in the heart of Polanco, in the capital city.

Mexico City (1942-2022). Fernando González Gortázar was a Mexican architect and sculptor, a conscious defender of the historical-cultural and ecological-natural patrimony. Due to his career and his work, has also received various awards such as the Sculpture’s Award of the Jalisco’s First Plastic Arts Exhibition/Contest (Mexico,1966), the medal ‘José Clemente Orozco’, the Grand Prize Henry Moore from the Hakone Open-Air Museum (Japan, 1989) and the Sciences and Arts National Award (Mexico, 2012). He has exhibited several times at Fine Arts Palace (Mexico) and at Rufino Tamayo Museum. His works can be found not only in Mexico, but also in countries such as Japan and Spain.

Francisco Serrano is a mexican architect and professor. He graduated in architecture from the Universidad Iberoamericana, where he also worked as a professor. Francisco Cerrado's architectural work stands out for making space a functional model tailored to people's needs, focusing on straight and curved lines and the interaction of architecture with the interior, the view, natural lighting, and ventilation. Much of his work is located in the Polanco neighborhood, in the south of the city, and is distinguished by the use of brick construction covered with plaster, marble, high-value tiles, and granite. A notable example is the iconic Basurto Building, which is now considered a symbol of the architectural majesty brought to life by Francisco Serrano. In 2018, he was awarded the Bellas Artes Medal for Architecture by the INBA.

Toledo was a Mexican artist and activist, considered one of the most important contemporary artists in our country. He began his art studies at a very young age, first at the Taller de Grabado de Arturo García Bustos and then at the Taller Libre de Grabado de Escuela de Diseño y Artesanías of INBA. At the age of 20, he received a scholarship to study art in Paris and shortly thereafter, he presented an exhibition in New York. Upon his return from Paris, he founded, along with other Juchiteco artists, the Casa de Cultura Juchitán, which aimed to preserve the Zapotec culture of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. His work was characterized by the fantastic representation of anthropomorphic bestiaries in vibrant colors. In addition to painting, he excelled in techniques such as printmaking, mask and kite making from various materials, jewelry, and sculpture.

Francisco is a Swiss-Spanish designer based in Mexico. He graduated with honors from ÉCAL (University of Art and Design of Lausanne) where he also completed a postgraduate degree in product design in 2002. His work has received a number of prizes, among which stand: Design Prize Switzerland (2001), the Swiss federal prize “The Most Beautiful Swiss Books” (2006), Vitra Award in the Kortrijk Bienal (2010), as well as being a nominee for the Raymond Loewy Foundation award and the Design of the Year (2015) Award by the Design Museum in London. Currently, he leads of Nouvel’s Creative and Communication Management.

Frida Escobedo is a prominent Mexican architect. She graduated in Architecture and Urbanism from Universidad Iberoamericana and later earned a degree in Art, Design, and the Public Domain from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. In 2006, Frida established her namesake studio in Mexico City, where her multidisciplinary and disruptive vision is reflected in the types of projects she develops, ranging from the rehabilitation of cultural spaces to social housing projects and temporary interventions. Her work has been selected for major projects both in Mexico and abroad. The most notable of these is the intervention she carried out at the Serpentine Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, London, making her the first Mexican to be commissioned for this project. Currently, she is the architect in charge of designing the new Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, making her the only woman to undertake architectural design within the MET.

Gala Fernández is a Spanish artist who has collaborated with various institutions and art houses around the world to create projects focused on dissemination, education, and curation from an innovative perspective. She graduated in art and design from the faculty of Fine Arts in the University Complutense of Madrid. She earned her master's degree in industrial design at IED Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan. Between 2012 and 2015, she lived in Mexico, where she opened her studio, Piopio Design Labs, together with Bertha Roda. One of her most notable projects is OUT OF THE CAGE, a series of pieces created in collaboration with artisans specialized in blown glass to replicate glass cages within a mold. This work is distinguished by the craftsmanship and the finesse of the glass inside the cage, as well as the challenge of replicating the color based on the caged birds themselves.

Héctor Esrawe studied industrial design at the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA). Since 2003, he has been the founder of Esware Studio, a design space aimed at promoting collectible Mexican design. Esware Studio produces a wide variety of design typologies, ranging from limited edition pieces, real estate, interiors, architecture, and interventions in public and private spaces. Esware defines itself as a studio where the idea and the creation of objects are in a constant, living dialogue between the client and the artist, seeking to merge their needs and context with the work. For Héctor, multidisciplinarity is one of the core values of design, which has helped him collaborate with different workshops, artists, architects, and curators from around the world. He is co-founder of the collectives EWE, VISSIO, and MASA, and a business partner of the perfume brand Xinú. His pieces have been exhibited throughout much of the country and around the world. He is currently the author of a permanent collection at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

Ignacio Cadena is originally from Sonora and graduated as an architect from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in California. His work is defined by a blend of architecture, design, and visual arts, giving a unique stamp to his creations, which stand out for their fresh aesthetic forms that coexist with modern environments and media. He is the founder of CADENA + Asociados, a company that creates everything from architecture to interior design, based on research, intuition, collective and impeccable work, and the design of concepts from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Iker Ortiz is a jeweler by trade and currently one of the leading contemporary jewelry designers with a long career and a well-defined proposal. His jewelry stands out as a unique conceptual object that combines industrial technology with the delicate craftsmanship process to create decorative art pieces in bracelets, rings, and necklaces, blending various metals and precious stones. His pursuit of experimentation in new geometric design creations for jewelry has led him to collaborate with major designers in Mexico, London, Amsterdam, and New York.

Isaac Broid is an architect from the Universidad Iberoamericana and holds a master's degree in urban design from Oxford Polytechnic. Much of his work is influenced by the Mexican social housing policy of the 1970s. For Isaac Broid, the architect's work does not end with the mere drawing of a plan but extends to the political planning of space, whose architecture, which has historically served to build cities, ensures sustainable socioeconomic value for the most disadvantaged. Among his most notable works are the Teopanzolco Cultural Center in Morelos and the Guillermo Bonfil Batalla Library.

Jan Hendrix received his academic training at Ateliers '63 and the Jan van Eyck Academie, both experimental institutions. In 1975, he won a residency to study in Mexico, and he has lived in the country ever since. His graphic work is inspired by the construction of the aesthetic experience of the naturalist traveler, which is why, in addition to botany, Hendrix’s work engages with volcanology, geography, cartography and archaeology. In 2004, he founded Hendrix + Studio, a space dedicated to generating large-scale conceptual projects using aesthetic approaches, often featuring organic forms constructed from synthetic materials. In this sense, his vision of the interaction between nature and culture remains relevant.

Javier Sánchez is an architect who graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University in New York. His architectural model is based on creating small urban systems within the traces of typical architectural prototypes. He believes cities should be more open, community-focused, and safe, where pathways are not just passable routes but livable spaces, and urban experimentation is the primary means of expression. Javier Sánchez has brought his vision of democratic spaces to his architecture firm, JS Asociados. In 2009, he joined the National System of Art Creators under the National System for Culture and Arts Support (previously known as FONCA), and since 2011, he has been a member of the National Academy of Architecture.

Joel Escalona is an industrial designer from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and holds a master's degree in design from Contemporary Art, Markets, and Business at Centro and Sotheby's. His multidisciplinary nature has led him to engage with various forms of artistic inspiration, such as photography, philosophy, poetry, and sculpture. The elegance and delicacy of his works harmonize spaces, turning them into poetic narratives that are not static but dramatic. Joel has defined his work as "pragmatic and holistic," where objects are a construction of space, the creative experience, contemporary aesthetics, and inspirations from other disciplines. In 2011, he founded his eponymous design studio and NONO, a real estate development company with national and international distribution. His designs have been exhibited at prestigious events such as Maison & Objet Paris, Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano, Design Miami Basel, and Zona MACO.

Jokin Arregui is an industrial designer specializing in bottle and packaging design. Alongside SERIESNEMO, he is one of the most highly regarded designers in the wine and spirits packaging industry. Numerous glass bottles, wineries, and brands bear the name of his studio. His vision lies in the belief that products should explain themselves through the differentiation of the bottle, label, cap, and packaging.

Jonathan Baskett, born in Australia and now based in Mexico, holds a degree in industrial design with a specialization in glass-based product manufacturing from the Canberra School of Art. In 1998, he worked at the design studio of the Ebeltoft Glass Museum in Denmark. Since 2013, he has been the creative director of Studio Luminosa, which is dedicated to producing luxury glass-blown objects such as jewelry, tableware, and industrial products.

Yaspik is a sculptor known for the versatility of his works, which adapt to spaces and are functional. He began his studies at the National School of Fine Arts of San Carlos. His works are characterized by merging geometric functions with contemporary post-conceptual art. The versatility of his creations allows them to fit into various settings, from wall or table installations to public interventions where the sculpture becomes one with the environment.

Juan Manuel Sandoval (Mexico) Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design graduated from the UNAM. He has developed his working career in Mexico since 2004, collaborating since then with artisans, artists and designers as a link between the production process and design. He is currently Head of Design at Nouvel focused on innovation and development of new products.

Julie Richoz (Switzerland) After graduating from ECAL, Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne, she started working for Pierre Charpin as a project assistant. Richoz has won the “Grand Prix” of the Design Parade 2012 at the Villa Noailles. She was a designer-in-residency at Sèvres, Cite de la céramique, as well as at CIRVA, international research center on arts and glass in Marseille. Besides her gallery work she collaborates with companies such as Alessi, Artecnica, Louis Poulsen and more recently Louis Vuitton. In 2015, she received a Swiss Design Award, which is the Switzerland’s leading national design competition organized annually by the FOC (Federal Office of Culture) since 1918.

Laurin was born in Switzerland, started doing pottery during his school years. After an apprenticeship as potter, he graduated 2008 in Ceramic-Design at Applied Art School in Bern. He has gained experience in several traditional manufactories and also develops his own projects. As a member of the collective “Goodlife” he co-founded a platform for contemporary ceramics in Zurich in 2012/13. In 2014 he joined the CERCCO at HEAD design school in Geneva for an Advanced Studies-Degree in ceramics. In collaboration with Damian Fopp, he won the first prize at the Concours International de la Céramique in Carouge in 2015. In 2016 he was nominated for the Federal Swiss Design Awards, in 2018 he finally won the award.

Manuel Álvarez holds a master's degree in design from the Royal College of Art. He has dedicated his career to teaching, research, and product consulting in fields such as interior design, packaging, and visual sensitivity. He is the founder of CODIGRAM, Innovation Leader at ALFHER Porcewol, and has been a judge for the Red Dot Product Design Award in Essen, Germany, since 2008. He is a full-time professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) in Xochimilco.

Mauricio Lara (Mexico) With more than 24 years of professional experience, he has a degree in Industrial Design from the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara. In 1998 he founded EOS México, one of the most recognized design studios in Mexico. His work has obtained several national and international design recognitions, his creations have been exhibited and published in Mexico and Europe.

Michael was trained in different glass studios in Switzerland, France and Scandinavia. In 1992, he worked in the development and production of his first own collection in Switzerland. From 1992 up to 2000 he was the owner of a hot glass studio in Bremen, Germany. He is Director of Nouvel since 2000.

Michael Rojkind is a prominent architect and co-founder of Rojkind Arquitectos, a design and architecture firm based in Mexico City where the business vision prioritizes the human experience created when interacting with design. Rojkind has made design and architecture a medium capable of transforming the human experience by creating spaces that incorporate artificial intelligence while keeping the human experience as the primary creative driving force.

Monica Guggisberg is a pioneer in glassmaking. She studied at the Orrefors glass factory school. Since 1979, she has worked alongside American designer Philip Baldwin, with whom she founded their glass studio in Switzerland in 1982. Initially, they focused on making functional glass objects, but their collaboration with prominent designers helped them explore their artistic side.

Narciso Quagliata is considered an artist who paints with glass. He trained in painting in the studio of the metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico. At the age of 19, he moved to California, where he studied for a master's in painting and opened his first studio near the northern ridge of the California Bay. It was there that he made glass his canvas and turned it into his signature material to capture light and paint with it. His work is part of permanent exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in Yokohama, and the Corning Museum of Glass, among others. In Mexico, he was responsible for the stained glass decoration of the Acapulco Setenta Synagogue.

Nicolas Le Moigne is an industrial designer from ECAL/École cantonale d'art de Lausanne, where he has been a professor since 2007. He has collaborated with various industries such as Omega, Serralunga, and Eternit of Pfister. In 2017, he was one of the designers selected for the community project between the Swiss Government’s Ministry of Culture and Santa Catarina de Michoacán through Fundación Casa Wabi, where, alongside local palm artisans, he designed objects such as lamps and room dividers.

Orfeo Quagliata is an industrial designer and founder of the studio that bears his name. He has dedicated himself to continuing the artistic legacy of his father, Narciso Quagliata. Together, they designed and crafted the new glass dome of the architectural work by Michelangelo, the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome. He apprenticed with glass artist José Fernández Castrillo and furniture designer and architect Chris Deam. His work continues a strong inherited tradition, following his father’s legacy while infusing his own unconventional style, experimenting not only with glass but also with other techniques and materials.

Pablo Gómez Gallardo is a photographer and industrial designer, known for his pursuit of new concepts to reinterpret Mexican art, giving his creations a unique touch. He has gained recognition for his ability to create interior design objects, such as his Mesa Hoguera, which won First Prize in Furniture at the 2006 Design Icons for its clean and avant-garde design. His contributions to design are characterized by creating creative concepts for everyday objects that represent Mexican tradition, from its pre-Hispanic history to its contemporary legacy.

Pedro Ramírez Vázquez is one of Mexico's most important architects of the second half of the 20th century. His approach of merging urbanism with the country's housing crisis positioned him as a professional committed to the functionality of architecture. His work has been associated with European structural expressionism and Italian structural poetics. He was responsible for monumental public projects such as the Azteca Stadium, the Basilica of Guadalupe, and the National Museum of Anthropology, among others. He was awarded an honorary doctorate (Doctor Honoris Causa) by the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Perla Valtierra, an artist originally from Chihuahua, has focused her work on the creation of handmade ceramic pieces, collaborating with a team of artisans and creatives. Throughout her career, she has lived in Paris, Kyoto and Brussels, which has allowed her to explore diverse objects, crafts and cultures. Perla has considered herself an apprentice ceramist, rather than a designer.

Philip Baldwin is a pioneer in glassmaking. He studied at the Orrefors glass factory school, where he met Monica Guggisberg, with whom he opened a design studio in Switzerland that has been active since 1979. Initially, they focused on making functional glass objects, but their collaboration with prominent designers helped them explore their artistic side. They now travel the world seeking inspiration to create new objects.

Ricardo Legorreta was a Mexican architect renowned for his distinctive architectural style, characterized by vibrant colors, geometric forms, and light-filled spaces. Over the course of his career, he oversaw more than 100 projects, including the construction of major buildings, museums, and university campuses. His work was influenced by Mexican colonial architecture, Islamic art recreated in courtyard architecture, and the monumental architecture of Louis Kahn. In 1965, he founded Legorreta Arquitectos, which remained active until his death in 2011. He was a long-time professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he led experimental groups, courses, and conferences both within and outside the university.

Rosa Hanhausen is a mexican architect and urban designer based in Berlin. In 2015 she co-founded a design and art direction studio in Mexico City, where she participated in a wide range of design-based projects at different scales. In 2022 she obtained a master's degree from the Technical University of Berlin. After graduating, she joined Bauhaus Earth, where she directed projects such as the exhibition Mass is More (2022), an intervention in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion. She is currently part of the BE-FELLOW program as a Co-Manager and researcher.