2 minute read
HEADLINERS
headliners Otto Studio
founder, chief designer: Paola Navone. firm site: Milan. firm size: 13 architects and designers. current projects: A residence in Tuscany, Italy; Como Le Montrachet hotel in Puligny-Montrachet, France; Fresh Hotel in Athens. honors: Interior Design Best of Year Award; Red Dot Award; Good Design Award. on the road: Born in Turin, Navone considers the world her home and has visited Africa, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and China among other places. on the page: One of her first jobs was as an editor atCasabella magazine during Alessandro Mendini’s inspired direction in the 1970’s. paolanavone.it
Bibiana Huber. firm site: Guadalajara, Mexico. firm size: 40 architects and designers. current projects: Properties for Four Seasons Hotels,
Edition Hotels, and St. Regis. honors: Ibero-American
Biennial gold medals. origins: With her Swiss and Mexican roots, Huber studied plastic arts in Florence, Italy, and industrial design at the Tecnológico de Monterrey. beginnings: She earned her first commission, a prestigious jewelry store in Guadalajara, when she was 19. b-huber.com
X+Living
“Landscape Forms,” page 146 founder, architect: Rubén Valdez. firm site: Lausanne, Switzerland. firm size: Three architects. current projects: Plateforme 10 art hall in Lausanne; Forde Art Gallery in Geneva; and a residence in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. learning: In addition to an architecture degree, Valdez holds a master’s in contemporary art. curating: He is an editor at Cartha magazine, which is developing an online archive of critical architectural thinking. rubenvaldez.com
“Spiral Bound,” page 138 chief designer: Xiang Li. firm site: Shanghai. firm size: 100 architects and designers. current projects: Foshan Zhongshuge bookstore,
Jinan Meland Club, and
Senbo Hotel in Kaiyuan, all in China. honors: Interior Design
Best of Year Awards;
Iconic Awards Interior
Designers of the Year. things: Li’s hobbies include antique collecting. beings: She donates to wild-animal protection organizations and has adopted several cats. xl-muse.com
Yashar Yektajo Architects
“Landscape Forms,” page 146 founder: Yashar Yektajo. firm site: Todos Santos, Baja
California Sur, Mexico. firm size: Five architects and engineers. current projects: Houses in Baja
California Sur and Cancún. international: Yektajo was born in Iran, and his family moved to Mexico when he was 3. local: He’s lived in Todos Santos since 2019. yektajo.com
headliners
Hickok Cole
“Prow Factor,” page 130 senior principal, co-owner: Yolanda Cole, FAIA. senior associate, director of sustainability + high performance design: Guilherme Almeida, AIA. firm sites: Washington; Richmond, Virginia. firm size: 87 architects and designers. current projects: Apartment buildings in Washington; a mixed-use complex in Richmond. honors: IIDA Mid-Atlantic Premiere Design Award. musical: Cole serves as principal flutist of the DC Concert Orchestra Society, of which she is a founding board member. global: Almeida has lived in five countries—Brazil, Venezuela, Italy, France, and the U.S.—and grew up speaking Portuguese at home. hickokcole.com
