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Issue link: https://digital.miamilivingmagazine.com/i/1541986
Luis Fernandez | Architect & Interior Designer ML: You’ve been recognized as one of ELLE DECOR’s top 100 designers—what principles guide your creative approach today? LF: A big part of my design process starts with really understanding what is driving the project—the client’s needs. Largely influenced by the modernist principles of “design follows function,” I see design as a problem-solver with a high aesthetic solution. At the core, I’m always driven by a modernist, almost futuristic sensibility, made human and warm through materials and textures. ML: Your work spans residential, retail, hospitality, and even digital design. What type of project excites you the most right now? LF: Each one has an incredible set of challenges that makes it exciting. I feel that shifting mindsets between these different types of projects helps to keep my design thinking sharpened. ML: Your aesthetic blends modernism with functionality. How do you keep your designs timeless while still pushing boundaries? LF: I like to think that at the core of modernism, and what makes it eternally classic and timeless, is the use of natural materials, and always honoring the inherent properties of those materials to achieve what they are best for, and mixing those thoughtfully. ML: As we move into 2026, what design trends or innovations do you believe will most influence the future of architecture and interiors? LF: Lately we’ve been seeing a lot of metals—shiny, matte, polished—in all different types: brass, stainless steel, nickel, platinum. Natural stone with big movement is also an eternal classic and very on trend right now, as it has been since Roman and Renaissance times. By ML staff. Images / Miele. Mikael B. and Luis Fernandez