Speakers

Julia Nagele

Hewitt

Julia Nagele brings more than 20 years of experience to her role as Senior Principal and Director of Design at HEWITT-Architecture. She believes the success of today’s projects is based on the expertise of many, and how well her studio expresses its core values: be smart, be creative and be principled. Julia’s leadership stems from these values, as her team strives to address complex urban conditions in a straightforward and elegant manner. Her design approach in HEWITT’s classic studio environment is similar to the project-based learning she leads as an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments.

Known for her design of tall buildings, Julia’s 40-story Emerald Tower, completed in 2020, is the tallest building on the West Coast created by an all-female design team. Her 32-story Skyglass Tower in the South Lake Union neighborhood was completed in 2024. Mama Tower, which has completed the design review process and is now moving through permitting, will reach 484 feet. Other current projects include 1000 and 1107 NE 45th Street – two residential projects that will change Seattle’s University District skyline. Julia graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Lehigh University. She completed her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and in 2022, delivered the commencement address at her alma mater and was named a Distinguished Alumni. Julia’s work has been featured by outlets including Forbes, Dwell, Aspire Home & Design, and she was named one of the most influential people in the city by Seattle Met magazine.”

Sean Ludviksen

Hewitt

Sean has devoted his career to thoughtful and responsive design solutions. With over 35 years of experience in project development and construction, Sean offers organization and accountability throughout the entire project delivery process and is recognized by clients, consultants, and builders for his thoroughness of all project phases. Sean’s capacity to lead teams, such as several of the City’s most prominent projects including The Emerald, makes him an exemplary Principal and mentor.

He started his architecture career with a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. Sean is passionate about fostering Seattle’s growth, supporting the arts and engaging in collaborative problem solving. He and his family live in Ballard, with their dog Annie.

Dionne Darling

The Architect's Newspaper

Dionne Darling has been with The A|N Media Group for over six years. As A|N’s Associate Publisher, she manages A|N’s Texas headquarters and handles accounts in the West, Southwest and Europe territories. Dionne has over 28 years of direct B2B sales, management and business development experience.

Mathew Albores

Miller Hull

Mathew Albores, AIA

Mathew has always been deeply shaped by his environment. Growing up overseas, his family routinely moved from country to country, exposing him to a variety of places and cultures. His design philosophy has been shaped by these influences and is the foundation for his practice.

Since then, Mathew’s focus has expanded to include large-scale residential projects, buildings of diplomacy, public libraries, and initiatives that advocate for black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). His involvement in Miller Hull’s internal operations groups—Culture Ops and Equity Lab—helps spread awareness throughout the firm and beyond on equity in design, representation, and leadership.

Glen Justice

ZGF

Glen Justice, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Glen Justice is a Principal and Project Architect at ZGF Architects and the Vice Chair of the Portland Building Enclosure Council. With 30 years of architectural experience, Glen has been responsible for programming, master planning, schematic design and design development, preparation of construction documents, and administration of the construction phase, with a focus on façade and building enclosure design. Whether he is focused on the design of building envelopes and façades or turning his extensive experience to systems coordination, his goal is always to elevate craft in design. Glen combines his interest in technical design with his knowledge of building codes to deliver projects that are well-crafted, technically sound, while maintaining the design intent. His past projects include the Nike World Headquarters Expansion Sebastian Coe Building, the GSA Federal Center South Building Complex, the Stanford University Central Energy Facility, and the Twelve | West Mixed-Use Building. Glen is currently working on Phase 2 of the PDX Next Main Terminal Expansion project as the lead for the vertical envelope.

David C. Young

RDH Building Science

David is a Senior Building Science Specialist who provides numerous services across our New Construction and Existing Buildings practice areas.

When contributing to building enclosure engineering projects, he is often involved from the conceptual design phase through project wrap-up. His eye for detail makes him adept at identifying performance issues and opportunities for increased durability.

David also works on historic conservation and restoration on the West Coast; for example, he recently completed the rehabilitation of Kaiser Permanente Town Hall in Portland.

David joined the Vancouver office in 1999 and was part of the team that brought RDH to Portland in 2004.

Brian Court

Miller Hull

Brian Court, FAIA

Brian has brought sustainable design to the forefront of the public realm with his performance-driven design process that works in harmony with natural forces, shaping our environment and establishing a low-impact, regenerative future. Since joining Miller Hull in 2001, Brian has led the design of numerous high profile and complex landmark projects using a deft combination of time-tested and innovative design strategies and emerging technologies. This has earned him the reputation as an advocate for groundbreaking sustainable design.

Brian has a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Washington and continues to give back to the program as a guest reviewer and thesis critic. Pushing the boundaries of current practice make him a highly sought-after speaker and instructor who regularly shares his insight and experience with other designers and students. Additionally, Brian was honored with the distinguished and singular Young Architect Award by AIA Seattle in 2013.

Michael Zanotelli

STI Specified Technologies

Michael has over 20 years of real-world experience on many of largest, high profile projects throughout the Western United States. Through his knowledge and expertise, Michael developed a solid reputation working closely with inspectors, glazing contractors, and curtain wall consultants as a trusted resource on a wide range of curtain wall projects.
Michael is committed to ensure your project stays on budget and gets done right the first time from conception to close out. Prior to his role as Façade and Curtain Wall Specialist for the Western US and Canada, Michael was the Western United States and Hawaii Regional Manager.

Richard Green

Green Facades

SE PE P.Eng., CPEng, Int.PE(Aus), APEC Engineer, NER, RBP, M.ASCE, MIEAUST

Richard is the Founding Principal of Green Facades and a facade specialist with over 30 years of experience as a global expert in the area of facades and structural glass. His experience encompasses all stages of a building enclosure’s life-cycle.

Richard’s specialty is the design and analysis of complex façade structures. He has been involved with a number of world leading and award-winning projects covering a wide range of building types. Curtainwall and high rise towers include Mahanakhon with OMA/ Ole Scherin, Shenzen Stock Exchange with OMA, and Brookfield Place in Calgary with AFK/Dialogue. He has worked on significant airport extensions in Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, Changi Airport in Singapore and was the lead designer for the façade of the Main Terminal Building of Helmut Jahn’s Suvarnabhumi Bangkok International Airport in Thailand.

Richard has worked on cultural facilities on six continents and such iconic buildings as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center by Renzo Piano in Athens, Greece; the restoration of the Sydney Opera House; the Amazon Spheres with NBBJ; and, the refurbishment of the Seattle Space Needle with Olson Kundig.

Richard is the founding technical chair for the ASTM Structural Glass Committee and has an advisory role to Eurocode EC11. He is a member of the technical committee for the American glass standard ASTM E1300 and he was formally a member of the technical working group for Australian Standard AS1288, Glass in Buildings. Richard also represents the United States on International Organization for Standardization ISO (TC160) as an ‘Expert’ for matters regarding strength and use of architectural glass.

He received both Bachelor and Graduate Diploma in Structural Engineering from Monash University in Australia specializing in light-weight structures, and he has formal training in corrosion technology.

*Richard is a Professional Engineer registered in the states of Washington, Colorado, Montana, New York, Oregon, and Texas, USA, and is a Chartered Professional Engineer in Australia, where he also is a Registered Building Practitioner in the State of Victoria. He has presented at many international conferences including giving keynote speeches for Glass Performance Days, Façade Techtonics, and COST Structural Glass.

Luis Martinez

Howard S. Wright

Through over 25 years in the Seattle construction industry, working in the trades, project management, general contracting and development, Luis’ professional passion is the development of successful teams and execution of projects from early design through completion. He believes that design and construction project teams are complex systems that require clearly defined values, thoughtful strategies, rigorous process and strategic planning. With thoughtful and inquisitive leadership, application of Lean practices, and continuous improvement his desire is to bring project teams together to build great projects in meaningful ways. His current role is as a catalyst for what is possible as a Project Executive for Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty Company.

Steve DelFraino

LMN Architects

Steven has 31 years of experience working on a wide variety of complex, technical, and large-scale project types. His extensive understanding of all phases—from design development through construction administration—and his exceptional leadership skills, result in consistent management and successful project delivery. A key element of this success is Steven’s ability to effectively communicate with all project team members, including the client and design consultants while producing complete and cohesive construction drawings. Steven earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati.

Some of Steven’s representative projects include the Voxman Music Building at the University of Iowa, the Triton Pavilion at the University of California, San Diego, and the Hyatt Regency Seattle.

Brad Glauser

Edify Studios

A fourth-generation general contractor who brings a perspective that stretches from real estate development, through sub-contracting and into manufacturing.

Over the last fifteen years, Brad has specifically seasoned his experience in the field of building envelope project management and marketplace of engineered glass wall systems.

Marc Simmons

Front

Marc Simmons is a founding principal of Front, Inc., based in New York, and Associate Professor of the Practice in the School of Architecture + Planning at MIT. He has also served as Ventulett Chair in Architectural Design in the College of Design at Georgia Tech. Marc is a recognized global leader in the design, analysis, and implementation of innovative and high-performance building facades, with 25 years of experience including previous work at Foster + Partners, Meinhardt Facade Technology, and Dewhurst Macfarlane & Partners.

Joshua Ramus

REX

REX’s founding principal, Joshua leads the firm’s team of diverse professionals and remains intimately involved in all the office’s work. Joshua was the first American recipient of the Marcus Prize, the biennial international architecture award conferred by the Marcus Corporation Foundation and the University of Wisconsin, and has been honored by the experimental performance company STREB with their Action Maverick Award. He has also been credited as one of the “5 greatest architects under 50” by HuffPost; the world’s most influential young architects by Wallpaper*; the twenty most influential players in design by Fast Company; “The 20 Essential Young Architects” by ICON magazine; and the “Best and Brightest” by Esquire.

An early member of the TED Advisory Board, Joshua has shared REX’s design methodologies at the TED2006 and TEDxSMU conferences, and lectures frequently at universities, cultural institutions, and symposiums around the world. He has been Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor at Yale University, Cullinan Visiting Professor at Rice University, and a visiting professor at Columbia University, The Cooper Union, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Syracuse University, among others.

Joshua holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University, where he earned the inaugural Araldo Cossutta Fellowship and the SOM Fellowship, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, magna cum laude with distinction in the major, from Yale University. He is NCARB Certified and a registered architect in states throughout the U.S. and Australia, as well as in The Netherlands.

Jay A. Taylor

MKA

Jay A. Taylor, P.E., S.E., is a retired senior principal of Magnusson Klemencic Associates, where he worked for 25 years and led the firm’s cultural, civic, and education specialist groups.

Michael Larson

HEWITT Architecture

Michael Larson is an Associate at HEWITT Architecture where he has played a key role in managing and delivering several significant projects. Since joining the firm in 2016, Michael has contributed nearly 20 years of architectural experience to the studio’s work. With a focus on technically challenging high-rise developments, Michael excels at navigating multifaceted project teams to ensure that HEWITT’s design concepts and goals are consistently maintained throughout all project phases.

His expertise includes overseeing projects with intricate public-private partnerships and addressing the complexities of local processes, all while aligning the aspirations of international and local clients. Michael’s leadership has been key to merging these diverse perspectives and delivering high-quality, human-centric outcomes on projects such as Skyglass, Mama Tower, Capitol Hill Transit-Oriented Development, and Timber45. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and continues to contribute to HEWITT’s architectural studio through his strategic involvement in key project phases.

J-F Robert

RAICO North America

As a Professional Engineer and owner of Blackcomb Facade Technology, J-F Robert has focused his practice on significant curtainwall projects. His experience ranges from 60 story high rise, PHI certified commercial buildings, high end residences and complex freeform structures. Blackcomb Façade Technology is the exclusive fabrication partner for RAICO Bautechnik in the Pacific Northwest for all systems types including Timber, Steel and Aluminum.

Jamilla Walcott

YKK AP

Walcott oversees marketing, communications, branding, and product management, for YKK AP America’s commercial facades and residential businesses; she also supports communications for Erie Architectural Products group. Walcott brings nearly 20 years of B2B marketing experience with manufacturing companies over a variety of industries. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Syracuse University and earned her M.B.A. at Wichita State University; she also served in the armed forces as a U.S. Air Force officer.

Louis Mark

Window Installation Specialists, Inc.

Louis Mark founded Window Installation Specialists in 1998 as a full-service glazing company specializing in sales, consultation, installation and service of pre-glazed fenestration products covering the West Coast. With his 25 years in the glazing industry his expertise is sought out across the Pacific Northwest.