21 minute read
Explore est living's Esteemed 10: Architects + Interior Designers
The esteemed 10 recognises influential voices in the architecture and design community in 2025. Criterion is based on approach, notable achievements and completed and anticipated projects.
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Dimorestudio
Co-founders Britt Moran & Emiliano Salci
Milan, Italy
Timeless, Functional, Refined
Our design work is best summed up as:
"A dialogue between tradition and modernity." We seek to blend the timeless principles of great design with contemporary innovation, creating pieces that are as much about heritage as forward-thinking experimentation.
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
People are often curious about how we balance form and function. The idea that design can be both aesthetically pleasing and highly functional is something we strive for, drawing on the principles established by mid-century design icons.
What has recently challenged the way you think about design?
The work of the great designers of the 20th century, especially figures like Le Corbusier and Carlo Scarpa, constantly challenges us. They pushed the boundaries of what design could be, not just as an art form but as something that enhances the human experience, encouraging us to consider how our designs can better serve people and spaces.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting impact on your work?
Mid-20th-century Italian design pioneers, especially Osvaldo Borsani, have profoundly influenced our work. We reinterpret their legacy, blending craftsmanship with modernism to create spaces that are both timeless and tasteful. This approach honours Italian design's elegance while making it relevant today. With each project, we bridge the classic and modern, showcasing our ability to enhance Italy's rich interior design tradition.
The three words we would most like people to attribute to our work:
Timeless, functional, refined.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
"Study the masters, but don't be afraid to find your voice." The great designers of the 20th century, such as Ettore Sottsass or Isamu Noguchi, had unique perspectives. Their work is a testament to the importance of innovation and the courage to carve out a distinct path in the design world.
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Architectural landmarks and historic interiors, such as Piero Portaluppi or spaces created by Jean Prouvé and Gio Ponti. Museums and private collections also allow us to experience various designs that continue to shape our approach.
Something you want to see more of in 2025? And less of?
We would love to see a rediscovery of lesser-known designers from the past who have remained underappreciated despite making significant contributions to the design world. Designers who created with a unique vision, far from the more popular trends, yet embodied beauty and functionality in original ways. On the other hand, we’d like to see less focus on over-commercialised designs that prioritise trends over substance and originality.
Studio Asaï
Founder Antoine Simonin
Paris, France
Theatrical, Timeless, Fun
My design work is best summed up as:
"Let your dreams devour your life so that life does not devour your dreams.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
The use of colours in our interiors. However, our work never starts from a palette but from a concept, nourished by the storytelling we write infused by the site itself and the story behind the owners. The colours bring nuances, which inexorably punctuate and spice up spaces. As for fragrance formulas, the site is the head note, the owner the heart note, and the materiality and colours are the core note. Head and heart leave an indelible trace in the space, and the architecture remains. The balance between these three elements creates our singularity and sophistication.
What has recently challenged the way you think about design?
Overconsumption. Nowadays, building anything forces us to be truly responsible. If we ever find good architectural elements on the existing site of our projects, we do our best to keep or re-use most of them, like floors, panelling, and stones. We also try to source our different materials and contractors locally. All those facts can also drive the project conceptually.
In terms of design, we are regularly sourcing lots of vintage pieces, but as a non-nostalgic team, we also hold to work with contemporary designers, trying to be a platform for their creations by not staying stuck in the past.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting impact on your work?
We spend a lot of time visiting artists, galleries and exhibitions. Lately, the works of Ugo Rondinone, Dhewadi Hadjab and Edi Dubien, among others, have greatly impacted our work and state of mind.
But if we talk about the lasting impact that I keep, there remains the cinema and the films I have seen hundreds of times and the new ones I will see millions of times. From The Shining, Alien and Beetlejuice, all these spooky movies seen and re-seen since my childhood to the masterpieces discovered recently like Emilia Pérez, The Worst Person in the World or Dune.
The three words I would most like people to attribute to my work are:
Theatrical, timeless, fun.
What is one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Keep the head cold. Try to have fun. Free yourself of people's stares. And Dare!
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
In terms of discovery, getting drawn by another country and culture is always good for breaking your inward certitudes. I visited India this year; it was another way to come across beauty and stunning aesthetic codes. The colour matches are more intense and without complexity over there.
What do you want to see more of in 2025? And less of?
More openness versus withdrawal in human exchanges: much more joy, risk-taking and enchantment in interiors. And our profession finally leaves neutral, white and boring on the emergency lane.
Studio Bright
Founder Mel Bright
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country/Melbourne, Australia
Generous, Delightful, Rigorous
My design work is best summed up in the phrase:
Responsive architecture for people and places.
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
How do we design? What is our process? Sometimes, people think design is a light bulb moment, but for us, it takes many hands, tests and iterations to get the right thing. There are always so many ideas that go in the bin on the way to the right answer.
I’m also often asked about our studio culture—the place we have created for our team. We have daily shared lunches and personal training sessions twice a week. I hope the studio is a place that nurtures and cares for our team.
What has recently challenged the way you think about design?
Moving into projects of different scales, particularly doing more social housing, has shifted how we think about design. Often, design is excessive in ego and resources, so we’ve been excited to challenge ourselves to use restraint and focus design in places where it makes a difference. It’s about finding the right balance, doing more with less, and seeing value in what already exists or might often be overlooked.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting impact on your work?
It’s difficult to reduce it to just one thing. Each project is a combination of so many influences. For me, design is never singular; it’s layered and multifaceted. Rather than any one thing isolation, it’s a mash-up of art, context, practicalities, and human comfort, among many other things, synthesised to make a more holistic and unique design outcome.
The three words I would most like people to attribute to my work are:
Generous, delightful, rigorous.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Be patient; architecture takes time. Every good project is the stepping stone to the next great commission. Be generous and share what you learn.
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Travelling anywhere is inspiring to me. A recent trip to India was hugely inspiring. I went with a group of incredible Australian architects, and we saw favourite buildings by Louis Kahn, Le Corbusier, and Doshi. It was a really special trip that will stay with me for a long time.
Something you want to see more of in 2025? And less of?
More restraint, less excess. I’d love to see fewer planning setbacks.
Keiji Ashizawa Design
Founder Keiji Ashizawa
Tokyo, Japan
Simplicity, Honest, Craft
My design work is best summed up as:
"Honest Design". I’m not sure if I've achieved this yet, but it’s a philosophy I’m always striving for.
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
In the spaces and architecture I create, people often say it feels comfortable. That's exactly the experience I aim to evoke—spaces where people feel at ease.
What has recently challenged the way you think about design?
I approach space comprehensively, from architecture to furniture and styling. Though I’m still working toward the ideal, envisioning a space in its entirety has been no easy task.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting impact on your work?
I've been deeply influenced by many things, from traditional Japanese architecture to gardens. If I had to name one, Katsura Imperial Villa has been influential. Also, the craftsmanship of Jean Prouvé and the relationship between space and sculpture in Isamu Noguchi’s work, to name a few.
The three words I would most like people to attribute to my work are:
Simplicity, honest, craft.
What is one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Keep making by hand, and keep drawing.
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Of course, encounters in architecture and museums are valuable, but there are also great designs to discover by opening our eyes to the wider world.
Something you want to see more of in 2025? And less of?
In 2025, I hope to see more 'culture' and less 'war and walls (boundaries)’.
Mesura
Co-founders and partners Carlos Dimas, Jaime Font, Jordi Espinet, Benjamín Iborra & Marcos Parera
Barcelona, Spain
Timeless, Transformative, Conscious
Our design work is best summed up in the phrase:
Mesura designs for the unknown.
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
The aspect of our work that sparks the most curiosity is the process behind each project. We engage in extensive research and investigation to shape the final outcomes, which often captivate people. Every final story we share is a reflection of this behind-the-scenes effort.
What has recently challenged the way you think about design?
The diversity (in typology and scale) of all the projects we are currently working on. However, a persistent challenge in our practice is addressing climate change and its impact on private buildings. The recent and devastating floods in Spain prove we need to prioritise sustainable practices.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting impact on your work?
We are big fans of Peter Zumthor and Hassan Fathy.
The three words we would most like people to attribute to our work are:
Timeless, transformative, conscious.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
To trust their instincts and embrace experimentation. Don't be afraid to try new things—it's often where the most innovative ideas come from. Recognise the value of collaboration and teamwork; it’s an opportunity for growth and mutual success. Most importantly, listen actively and understand other perspectives.
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
In Barcelona, there are a lot of places one can go to when one needs to be surrounded by beautiful architecture. Our highlights include the Fundació Miró, the Mies Van der Rohe and Lilly Reich Pavilion, the Casa Gomis, or anything by Gaudí.
Something you want to see more of in 2025? And less of?
Architecture is one of the main reasons why many places lack identity and uniqueness. We want to see architecture that honours the past and respects culture and tradition in the contemporary world. We want more authenticity.
Wardle
Partner John Wardle
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country/Melbourne, Australia
Curiosity, Experimentation, Relationships
My design work is best summed up as:
I paraphrased a portion of the jury citation from my Gold Medal in 2020 that resonated with me. In part, it says my work is: A celebration of detail-driven, highly resolved architecture that respects craft and production processes. These processes are often experimented with, and the outcomes are invariably the result of a studio-based collaborative practice.
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
The resolution of invented details is often a talking point. Which can suggest a specific narrative that can contain elements of humour or reference a historical moment or personal memory of mine, our clients or the community.
What has recently challenged the way you think about design?
A focus on circularity in architecture has challenged us to consider the lifespan of a building. There are two ways to think about this—build for eternity and all that entails or design with a view to the eventual disassembly of the structure. Global pressures on the environment are ever-present, and we’re working towards an acutely propositional architecture that can be balanced with other factors.
An immense opportunity for us as architects is our focus on learning more Indigenous knowledge and its specificity to place. We need to afford ourselves the patience to do so.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting impact on your work?
To narrow down is extremely difficult. As it has provided a starting point for several of our projects, one that jumps to mind is D. H. Lawrence’s note ‘Upside Down at the Bottom of the World'. Written forlornly at the end of each of his letters home in Australia, writing ‘Kangaroo’ became our appreciation of our position upside down in the world.
The three words I would most like people to attribute to my work are:
Curiosity, experimentation, relationships.
What is one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Always be inquisitive and empathetic and discover territories and skillsets that can be yours. Define yourself as someone with acute knowledge and be willing to share it generously.
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
I travel widely and broadly to discover territories within our vast continent and places and cultures further afield. Conversely, by delving into the industry and the places where things are made, we can also understand the creative aspects of craft that can better attune us as designers to the cultural imperatives in new forms of making.
What do you want to see more of in 2025? And less of?
More time to do and less anxiety about what distracts from the enjoyment of doing.
Kallos Turin
Founders Stephania Kallos & Abigail Turin
London, England & San Francisco, North America
Rigorous, Contextual, Personal
Our design work is best summed up in the phrase:
Restraint and rigour interwoven with a distinct sense of individuality and eccentricity.
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
We have created a large body of work around the world and managed to remain a very personal boutique firm. We have also maintained a transatlantic partnership for 20 years, from sketches back and forth to the onset of video conferencing. We have enjoyed the benefits of collaborating across continents and how it helps to keep our work fresh as we merge the mindsets of California and Europe.
What has recently challenged the way you think about design?
In our careers, we have seen the design world move from a “less is more” mindset back toward a more layered “more is more” mindset. While we are thrilled to see the return of the hand, of texture and exuberant design ideas, we also find ourselves gravitating back to our roots—to simplicity and to trying to reduce the complications and clutter that has built up in our lives.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting impact on your work?
Adolf Loos’s ideas, Lina Bo Bardi’s sketches, Mies Van der Rohe’s plans and Carlo Scarpa’s details. We both gravitated to their work while in architecture school and find ourselves returning to their projects for inspiration and reference again and again.
The three words we would most like people to attribute to our work:
Rigorous, contextual, personal.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Keep looking at everything. Then, forget what you saw and find your own voice.
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Milan’s Salone del Mobile Milano—it freshens our eyes every year and gives us a week of conversation with fellow designers from around the world.
Our motto for both architecture and interiors remains “Fewer, Better Things.” We believe that trendy and cheaply delivered ideas will ultimately just be landfill. We are hoping to see more high-quality, long-term design thinking and fewer disposable materials.
Pasquale Cook
Co-founders Sophie Di Pasquale & Sally Cook
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country/Melbourne, Australia
Evocative, Warm, Enduring
Our design work is best summed up as:
Purposeful and individual through an unexpected mix of styles and genres, while remaining connected and respectful to the building’s history and setting.
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
How we convey a sense of familiarity and comfort while remaining detached from trends or a moment in time. We pay attention to the many layers of a space—how the light hits it, how the proportions feel, and how it brings sentimental warmth—merging the old and new.
What has recently challenged the way you think about design?
A recent residential project on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, inspired by the expansive farmhouse homes of Napa Valley, challenged us to explore how scale and volume can coexist with a sense of comfort and intimacy.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting impact on your work?
Sophie: I visited Villa Panza many years ago and was in awe of how its contemporary art collection—including works by James Turrell and Dan Flavin—was curated against such an ornate historical setting. We often draw inspiration from this interplay of different eras and genres.
I also admire pioneering French interior and product designer Andrée Putman for her impeccable eye for detail and her strong sense of modernity.
The three words we would most like people to attribute to our work are:
Evocative, warm, enduring.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Focus on the work in front of you, and what inspires you most. Give each project the time and attention it needs, without getting too distracted by what’s happening around you.
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Sally: I have family in Belgium and so am lucky to travel there regularly, and always come feeling inspired and re-energised. Belgian designers are masters at creating restrained, elegant and warm spaces.
Travelling as much as possible abroad and locally; museums, galleries, collectors’ homes, design books.
Something you want to see more of in 2025? And less of?
Generally, improved quality when approaching building foundations and design, to create more considered and long-lasting designs for the future. More emphasis on layering with furniture, rather than walls and walls of built-in cabinetry.
Andrew Burges Architects
Principal Andrew Burges
Gadigal Country/Sydney, Australia
Thoughtful, Inventive, Connected
My design work is best summed up as:
I coined the phrase ‘architecture as geography making’ to express how even residential-scale designs can connect to broader narratives about place, landscape, sustainability, and urban contexts. Acting small still allows for thinking big.
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
A potential client recently shared that our projects have a consistent, intangible quality best experienced in person—an observation I found both intriguing and a lovely our work!
What has recently challenged the way you think about design?
The dramatic rise in construction costs is reshaping how we approach design pragmatically, making architect-designed homes less accessible. Philosophically, I think issues around sustainability and First Nations concepts of ‘country’ are very challenging to our Western conception of the design canon and what we think great design is. As a practice focused on connecting projects to geography and place, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity to deepen our understanding of Indigenous histories and knowledge.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting your work?
While studying at Harvard GSD, I had the privilege of learning from the late Enric Miralles and Rafael Moneo—two globally influential Spanish architects with vastly different teaching styles.
In 2017, I visited five Peter Zumthor projects. While his work is often praised for its resolution, I was struck by the extraordinary conceptual range. Each project was radically distinct in approach, typology, materials, and form, demonstrating that great architecture isn’t about a signature style but about thoughtful, inventive responses to site and brief.
The three words I would most like people to attribute to my work are:
Thoughtful, inventive, connected.
What is the one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
In my 20s, I was torn between teaching, research, and practice but ultimately chose to focus on building. It took time to master designing projects with enduring, raw material character.
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
I love travelling to see architecture in the flesh. It is fundamental to our creativity and critical reflection to keep looking at as much architecture as possible.
Something you want to see more of in 2025? And less of?
More of: we would love to increase the diversity of projects in our office in 2025. We enjoy working on public and urban design projects as well as the residential projects that have been a big part of our identity over the last 15 years.
Gabriela Carrillo
Founder Gabriela Carrillo
Mexico City, Mexico
Logic, Efficiency, Economic
My design work is best summed up in the phrase:
Building spatial dignity.
What aspect of your work are people most curious about?
Materials and structural design.
What recently challenged the way you think about design?
In the last three years I’ve worked on 36 public projects around Mexico. The differences in the contexts, needs and programs allowed me to understand architectural design from another perspective.
What person, building, product or art piece has had a lasting impact on your work?
The Espacio Escultórico at UNAM campus in Mexico City.
The words I would most like people to attribute to my work are:
Logic, efficiency, economic.
What is one piece of advice you would share with an emerging designer?
Do not overthink; go beyond with passion instead.
Where do you go to appreciate exceptional design?
Museums and books.
Something you want to see more of in 2025? And less of?
I want to see more of how architecture can be an integrated tool for collective development in strong relationship with its surroundings, landscape and culture. Less of architecture as a unique answer.
