Angelo Blay, the visionary founder and principal architect of NUVION, recently led the design and construction of INCANTA Cave Bar & Restaurant in Quezon City, Manila, a project that earned NUVION the Best Luxury Internal Architecture & Design award from Luxury Lifestyle Awards.

In this exclusive interview, led by World Luxury Chamber of Commerce President, Alexander Chetchikov, Angelo shares insights about the creative process behind INCANTA and what the future holds for his company and the industry.

Alexander Chetchikov: Congratulations on winning the Best Luxury Internal Architecture & Design award! What does this recognition mean to you and the NUVION team?

Angelo Blay: This recognition means a great deal to us, as I personally founded NUVION single-handedly a decade ago from scratch — doing everything on my own, operating quietly behind the scenes without marketing or networking. I still can’t believe we’ve reached this point. It’s truly astonishing!

AC: What was the initial inspiration behind the INCANTA Cave Bar & Restaurant concept, and how did you translate that into design?

AB: Firstly, I could not have done this without Sarah Genove-Yu and Chef Cristine Melad, who were truly the catalysts of innovation for INCANTA. They were the ones who conceived the initial inspiration of “dining beneath the moonlight and the stars.” Translating that vision into design was deeply rooted in their shared experiences traveling the world, where they realized the beauty of simply celebrating life, friendship, and family in its purest form—through the most basic form of architecture: the cave.

AC: INCANTA combines ancient natural forms with modern lighting and technology. How did you balance these seemingly contrasting elements?

AB: It is the same with how we normally do construction – by installing utilities, electrical provisions, then the lighting and technology-based inventions on naturally-built environments. This time, we just made sure that the built-environment would be brought inside the structure – which is the cave-like finished walls in the whole interior. The moon is a handmade sculptural element with embedded LED lighting that can be changed with a touch of a button. Added to this are the fiber optic lighting and LED “star lights” that become the backdrop of the moon, completing the overall night sky simulation in the main dining area. The seemingly contrasting natural and man-made elements cohesively complement each other through proper design restraint and harmonious cultivation of concepts we initially gathered prior to the design process.

AC: The project embraces handmade, imperfect finishes rather than factory precision. Why was this approach important for INCANTA?

AB: Actually, this is the most important decision that we have made. Rather than purchasing readily-available finishing materials that are easier to install, we intentionally went for handmade finishes that would showcase imperfections since we wanted to mimic what nature freely offers outside. We tend to appreciate the modern, typical structures that are designed in a way that it looks almost the same in every country we go but as a designer advocating for cultural differences, we don’t want to live in boxes anymore – we have to rethink and realize that the imperfections are actually what defines life with individuality and what living is all about.

AC: Sustainability played a role in the project’s construction. How do you see sustainability evolving in luxury interior design?

AB: Sustainability continuously plays a very important role since it is one of the key factors of any type of endeavour – be it construction, design, real estate or simply running a business. In the aspect of design, sustainability will evolve relative to luxury but not only through grandeur, nor expensiveness of a material or a real estate asset but a complete synergy of eco-friendly considerations that evoke elegance, intention, emotion and character all at the same time.

AC: What challenges did your team face in bringing such an ambitious and unconventional design to life?

AB: The complexity of the finishing of the project itself: with the construction timeline less than a year and the hand-finished cave walls that required on-site decision-making for the protrusions, lines, depth of the sprawling cement works and the substitute materials needed to be considered to lessen the weight of the whole installation on the areas of the ceiling – INCANTA is literally a piece of artwork made by artisans who dedicated themselves to something that is clearly out of a crazy imagination. The biggest challenge of it all, is making that idealistic introspection as physical manifestation.

AC: How is NUVION positioning itself in the luxury design industry across Asia and beyond?

AB: We are focusing on becoming one of our country’s leading premium design and construction firm. We aim to be at the forefront of culminating a design narrative that is mainly-influenced of Philippine architecture where we celebrate being a fusion of multi-colonial ascendancy that instead of becoming against the idea of being colonized by multiple races in the past, why not celebrate it and share that cultural miscellany and use it as a take-off concept to show our neighbouring countries that it is our identity? This is how we, NUVION, position ourselves in Asia – being true to ourselves and where we came from.

AC: Looking ahead, what exciting projects or innovations can we expect from NUVION in the next few years?

AB: Right now, we are focusing more on commercial and hospitality projects. There is a Boutique-type Spa & Wellness Complex which promotes experiential hospitality focusing on luxury that emphasizes more on immersive guest experience rather than intimidating massive spaces. Two restaurants are also being finished right now that would be available first quarter of 2026 then, a couple of residential houses for our private clients. NUVION aims to be versatile especially with the current portfolio that has varying project types. We see it as a challenge to ourselves.

Thank you, Architect Angelo, for sharing your visionary approach and the story behind the project, INCANTA. Your work is an inspiring example of how luxury design can embrace history, sustainability, and creation to construct spaces that truly resonate with people. We look forward to seeing how NUVION continues to shape the future of interiors and architecture.

To learn more about NUVION, visit https://www.instagram.com/nuvionph/