ABOUT NANAI
NANAI is a multi-disciplinary studio based in Asheville, North Carolina, working across building design, interior design, and artisan craft.
We specialize in state-of-the-art modern design that draws on principles of architecture, nature, and artisan craftsmanship. Our homes and spaces are designed to heal communities, the environment, and the people who live in them.
Our studio philosophy is rooted in a shared reverence for nature, relentless curiosity, and a passion for quality craft and design. We partner with a community of artisans stretching from Southern Appalachia to the southernmost reaches of Chile. When buildings and interiors designed with beauty and intention, they're made to last.
ABOUT NANAI'S FOUNDERS
Felipe Santander
Felipe trained as an architect at Universidad Finis Terrae in Santiago, Chile, where he received his license. Before co-founding NANAI, he spent more than 20 years designing custom homes, commercial spaces, and community projects for renowned firms WMR Arquitectos and Acadis, where he developed a distinctive style rooted in place, culture, and the natural world.
After moving to the United States, Felipe studied permaculture design, deepening his love for gardening and his commitment to creating regenerative structures that integrate with the land they inhabit. That same instinct shapes every NANAI project: homes designed to be felt, not just seen.
Cassidy Santander
Cass is leads NANAI's textile and interior design work, guided by a lifelong pull toward craft with a story behind it, natural materials, and spaces that invite stillness and care. She believes design rooted in biophilic principles — spaces that honor the living world — has the power to heal, not just decorate.
That eye for story comes, in part, from a decade as an award-winning public radio journalist, where her reporting consistently surfaced social inequities in education, housing, and public health. That same instinct to look closely and ask "why" now drives every space and object she creates at NANAI.
