Speakers

Daniel Baumann

Henning Larsen

Daniel joined Henning Larsen in 2011, and has worked in several of Henning Larsen’s global offices, including Copenhagen, Munich and New York. Over the years, he has built up a vast cultural understanding of communities that we engage, a knowledge that he utilizes in his everyday work. Since 2018, he has been based in New York where he forms part of the management team of Henning Larsen’s North American office.

Currently, Daniel is leading the design for the new Visa Global HQ as part of the Mission Rock Development in San Francisco, California, a new green district emphasizng active ground plane design, and the highest standards within sustainability.

Sebastian Hofmeister

Henning Larsen

Sebastian Hofmeister is a Senior Associate at Henning Larsen who leverages a decade of experience in complex projects. He seamlessly blends his keen technical knowledge with design sensibilities, expanding his expertise across office and life science buildings like Henning Larsen’s One Milestone East Lab Building in Allston, and performing art centers—having worked with REX on the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center and the Lindemann Performing Arts Center at Brown University.

Kritika Kharbanda

Henning Larsen

Leading sustainability strategies at Henning Larsen’s New York office, Kritika Kharbanda spearheads diverse projects worldwide, from educational, cultural, and civic buildings to labs, offices, and masterplans. Her work lies at the intersection of architecture, sustainability, and technology. With a Master in Design Studies specializing in Energy and Environments from Harvard GSD with cross-enrollment at MIT, Kritika was a Social Innovation and Change Initiative Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. Her commitments within the broader building science community include contributing to the global Carbon Leadership Forum, International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA), and local carbon-focused policy efforts in Boston and New York City.

Stacy Smedley

Building Transparency

Stacy Smedley has a BA in Architecture from the University of Washington, and over 18 years in the architecture and construction professions. Her resume includes the first LEED for Homes Platinum certified project in Washington State as well as the first project in the world to be certified under Living Building Version 2.0 standards. As Sustainability Director at Skanska, Stacy has led sustainable initiatives, and is considered a subject matter expert in LEED, Living Building Challenge and carbon emissions associated with buildings and construction.

In her role at Building Transparency, she leads the continued management and development of the free, open-access Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool and works to educate and engage the building industry on actionably reducing embodied carbon emissions of building materials. Stacy has served in various advisory and leadership roles, including: Co-Chair of the Washington Businesses for Climate Action; Advisory Board Member for the University of Washington Carbon Leadership Forum; Construction Taskforce Chair for the Embodied Carbon Network; Advisory Group Member for AIA Materials Working Group; Emerging Professional Regional Chair for USGBC; Membership Chair for the Cascadia Green Building Council. She is a 2020 Grist 50 Fixer, a 2019 ENR Top 25 Newsmaker, and shared a Living Building Challenge Hero award for her work on the Bertschi School Living Science Building.

Rustom Cowasjee

Tishman Speyer

Rustom Cowasjee is currently responsible for the design and construction of the Washington, DC, and Boston portfolios. Since joining Tishman Speyer in 1999, he has been responsible for the design and construction of the company’s projects in Northern Virginia, District of Columbia, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston. He was also responsible for setting up Tishman Speyer’s Design and Construction groups and projects in India. Prior to joining Tishman Speyer, Rustom worked for London & Leeds Development Corporation and was responsible for the design and construction of the commercial office building portfolio and hotels in the Americas, including in Canada, the Caribbean and South America. He has also worked as an architect for I.M. Pei & Partners in New York. Rustom graduated from Cornell University with a B.Arch. and earned a MAUD in architecture and urban design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

Ruchika Modi

PAU

With a background spanning industrial design, economics, and journalism, Principal Ruchika Modi brings a multifaceted understanding of the ways in which cities function to her architectural practice. Modi’s experiences living and working in Mumbai (then Bombay), New Delhi, and San Francisco have also influenced her nuanced view of urban planning and design, inspiring her passion to find architectural solutions to a range of relevant issues, from sustainability to inequality. At PAU, Modi sets the firm’s vision in partnership with Creative Director Vishaan Chakrabarti, including shaping the firm’s diverse portfolio of projects, and overseeing all aspects of the design process.

Currently, Modi is leading the design team for the FAA’s new sustainable air traffic control tower prototype, which will be adapted to replace over 100 aging towers in regional and municipal airports across the nation. She is also project lead for Princeton University’s newest residential college, Hobson College, as well as for the master plan and design of forty-one buildings as part of a new mixed-use development in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She spearheaded the design of the iconic Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, an adaptive reuse project transforming the historic nineteenth-century factory into offices with a mixed-use ground level, opening in the fall of 2023.

Modi holds a Master of Architecture degree from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, where she was awarded the Charles McKim Prize for Excellence in Design / Saul Kaplan Traveling Fellowship, the William Kinne Fellows Prize for Study and Travel Abroad, and the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Prize. Modi received her BA in economics from the University of Delhi and a BA with distinction in interior architecture from the California College of Arts, San Francisco. Her work has been exhibited at the Center for Architecture in New York, the International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam, and the China International Architectural Biennale in Beijing.

Dominyka Voelkle

BIG

Dominyka Voelkle is an Associate at BIG after returning to the firm’s New York office in 2015 as a Senior Designer. She has extensive experience with building envelope design and planning for commercial and cultural buildings throughout the United States and Europe. With her experience, Dominyka has become a crucial resource for several high-rise and skyscraper projects at BIG, including The Spiral on Manhattan’s west side and River Ring, a residential high-rise in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Rohit Aggarwala

City of New York

Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the City’s Chief Climate Officer in February 2022. Under his leadership, DEP has embraced a leadership role on both stormwater and coastal resilience, streamlined its procurement processes to be able to invest more money in infrastructure each year, and improved DEP’s water revenues by reducing accounts receivable and delivering revenues $250 million above budget in his first year. As Chief Climate Officer, he also led the development of New York City’s most recent sustainability plan, PlaNYC.

Prior to the Adams administration, Aggarwala served as the first Director of the New York City Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, where he led the creation of the first PlaNYC. He later founded the environmental grantmaking program at Bloomberg Philanthropies and served as president of the Board of Directors of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. He was part of the founding team at Sidewalk Labs—Google’s urban technology startup—and more recently was a senior urban tech fellow at the Jacobs Cornell-Technion Institute. He has co-chaired the Regional Plan Association’s Fourth Regional Plan for the New York metropolitan area and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University. Aggarwala holds a PhD, MBA, and BA from Columbia University and an MA from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Hiroshi Okamoto

OLI Architecture

Hiroshi Okamoto is a member of the American Institute of Architects and a LEED Accredited Professional, licensed in New York and New Jersey. He graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1992 and from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Master of Science degree in Architectural Studies in 2000.

From 1994-1998, Mr. Okamoto was employed with the Ushida Findlay Partnership in Japan, and with the Joint Venture of Nikken Sekkei, Tohata Gumi and RTKL International, on the Saitama Koiki Godochosha, the large-scale Tokyo decentralization project completed in 1998.

From 2001 to 2012, Mr. Okamoto worked with I. M. Pei on the Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (2001-2002); as a Designer, Site Representative and Construction Administrator of the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (2001–2008); and as the Project Architect of the Chapel at the Miho Institute of Aesthetics (2008-2012) in Shigaraki, Japan, I.M. Pei’s last project. From 2008-2012, Mr. Okamoto was an independent design consultant and the Design Architect and Project Manager for the Museum of Islamic Art Park in Doha, where in collaboration with Richard Serra he designed, at the end of the manmade park peninsula, a cantilevered stone pier for Serra’s sculpture 7 (2011).

In 2010, Mr. Okamoto founded OLI Architecture PLLC and has been the design principal and project architect for the MuXin Art Museum (2011-2015), the Chengdu Silk Art Culture Museum (2012-2016), and the Museum of Islamic Art Renovation (2015-2017) in Doha, Qatar. In 2018, after being featured in the reboot of BBC’s Civilizations, the MuXin Art Museum was listed in the Financial Times as one of Simon Schama’s 10 Forgotten Wonders of the World. Other accolades won by the museum are:

Winner of the 2016 AIANYS Award of Merit: Architecture/Institutional.
Winner of the 2016 German Design Council Iconic Award Best of Best: Museum Architecture.
Shortlist Finalist for the 2016 World Architecture Festival: Culture/Completed Buildings.
Winner of the 2015 Concrete Industry Board Roger H. Corbetta Award of Merit: Out of Country.
Other notable projects Mr. Okamoto has led are: the Tencent Shanghai Cloud Services office design (2017-2018), the signage and environmental graphic design in collaboration with Pentagram for OMA’s Tencent Beijing HQ (2018), the retail concept designs for Amplitude (2018 – on going), the homegrown high-end cosmetic line launched by the Japanese cosmetic giant, POLA, which has been implemented in eleven of the most traffic retail locations in Japan; and the London Cross Pavilion (2015-2020): a purpose built private commission in Westchester NY, to house Richard Serra’s London Cross (2014), which was first shown in the Gagosian Gallery in London. The Pavilion, another collaboration with Serra, was a 2021 World Architecture Festival Finalist, and the winner of the 2020 AIANY Projects Award of Merit).

Recently completed and current ongoing projects Mr. Okamoto is working on are: the Ascentage Pharma R&D Headquarters (2018 – 2022), for the Hong Kong listed pharmaceutical company Ascentage, the design of the AnjiPlay Kindergarten and Early Childhood Education Center (2015 – Present), the Diageo Jade – Single Malt Whiskey Distillery and Visitor Center (2020 – Present), and The Passage of Time Art Park (2021 – Present), a 15.5 acre art park in NW Florida with a purpose built pavilion housing Richard Serra’s Passage of Time (2012).

Vishwadeep Deo

Thornton Tomasetti

Vishwadeep Deo joined Thornton Tomasetti as a Vice President in 2022, bringing over 20 years of global experience. He leads the design of façades across various sectors, including cultural, institutional, commercial, sports, aviation, transit, and residential. As a Façade Consultant, he investigates façade system designs that intersect analysis, fabrication, assembly, optimization, materiality, and computation—driving designs to achieve more with less. Vish holds a Master of Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi, India.

His project experience includes Princeton University Hobson College, Princeton; Columbus Airport, Columbus; Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, Cleveland; Air Traffic Control Towers, across continental US; Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center, New York City; Seaport L5, Boston; MIT Metropolitan Warehouse, Cambridge; ERC Hotel, Allston; Google campus in Mountain View; Tianjin Juilliard School, Tianjin, China; Qatar Education City Light Rail Stations, Doha, Qatar; the Canadian House of Common Glass Roof and Entrance, Ottawa, Canada; and, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, among others.

Cheryl M. Saldanha

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Cheryl M. Saldanha, P.E., CPHD specializes in the design and evaluation of building enclosures for new construction projects, and in the investigation and renovation of building enclosures for existing buildings. Her background is in building science, including computer simulations of buildings and building components. She is adept at using multiple computer software packages to perform thermal and hygrothermal analyses of building details, and whole-building energy and daylighting analyses. Cheryl leads SGH’s Building Science and Passive House practices.

Dominick Fortuna

Turner Engineering Group

Dominick Fortuna is a design professional with over 30 years of experience in engineering design, facilities management and construction of data centers, laboratories, schools, commercial office space, and retail projects.

Dom is recognized for his leadership and ability to develop and maintain strong relationships both inside and outside of Turner, expertise in managing and motivating effective teams during varied business climates, and for a relentless approach in delivering results.

William Gorlin

McLaren Engineering Group

William’s 37 years of experience include engineering of scenic, entertainment and amusement structures, staging, rigging, theatrical infrastructure, buildings, show action equipment, scenic elements, theme park attractions, architectural theming, sculptures, and other frameworks, worldwide.

He has published articles in Architecture Week, Structural Engineering Forum and ASME Journal and is a frequent lecturer at universities and industry conventions.

William is a graduate of Cornell University in Engineering (Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees) and is registered as a Professional Engineer in twenty-six states.

Lena Dau-Ping Fan

Kostow Greenwood Architects

Lena Dau-Ping Fan joined KGA in 2012 where she quickly rose from Junior Designer to Associate Principal to being named a Principal and equity owner in September 2023. Key projects include the expansion to The Shubert Organization’s James Earl Jones Theatre on Broadway; the expansion of the iconic Apollo Theater into The Apollo Stages at The Victoria, and several broadcast studios and offices for CNN. Lena graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Florida, Gainesville with a Bachelor of Design with a minor in Business. She received a Masters in Architecture from Columbia University.

Gary A. Li

Kostow Greenwood Architects

Gary Li joined KGA in 2017 where he quickly rose to Associate to being named a Principal and equity owner in September 2023.

Key projects include the expansion to The Shubert Organization’s James Earl Jones Theatre on Broadway and an R&D studio for Smart Design at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Gary received his Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a volunteer on NCARB’s Examination Committee and was recently an invited speaker at the League of Historic American Theatres National Conference.

Diana Darling

The Architect’s Newspaper

Darling is CEO, creative director, and co-founder of The Architect’s Newspaper, celebrating its 20th year. The A|N media company consists of print and digital publications covering architecture and design news, as well as the Facades+ and TECH+ conferences. As A|N’s publisher, Darling won the AIA National Collaboration Award, Grassroots Preservation Award, and ASLA NY’s President’s Award. She began her publishing career as director of print production for The Gap’s European markets. She holds a BS from The University of Texas at Austin.

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.

Oliver Stepe

YKK AP

Oliver oversees YKK AP’s North American group of architectural products companies including its commercial and residential business units as well as its unitized curtain wall subsidiary Erie AP which has numerous notable projects in New York City including the Delta Terminal at LaGuardia, the new JKF T-6 Terminal, the 911 Memorial Museum, and the recent facade modernization at One Times Square.

He is focused on how to reinforce the company’s purpose to “build a better society through architectural products” and its primary pillars of human capital development, co-creation of value with all stakeholders in the built environment, and fulfilling the company’s social obligations including decarbonizing its footprint.

Bryan Scheib

Studio Gang

Architect Bryan Scheib (he/him) is a Senior Project Leader in Studio Gang’s New York office, where he is engaged in cultural, educational, and public projects, and currently serves as Project Leader for One Milestone West, a new hub for advancing science and research in Boston. Previous built works include the Rescue Company 2 facility in Brooklyn and the Solar Carve tower in Manhattan. Prior to joining Studio Gang, he was responsible for residential, urban design, cultural, and institutional projects at leading design offices in New York and London. He was drawn to Studio Gang for the devotion to investigation and innovation paired with the precision of analog and sophistication of digital design. Bryan holds a Master of Architecture with Distinction from Syracuse University and Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Texas.

Samuel Berrigan

Arup

Sam is dedicated to optimizing the lifecycle efficiency of Building Envelopes: saving energy & reducing emissions while contributing to resilient and adaptive architecture.

Originating from his dual major in Design Innovation and Society and Building Science, Sam is intrigued by the pivotal role buildings will play in the relationship between humans and a changing environment. Sam has worked on interdisciplinary teams to design and engineer a variety of custom façade systems including low-GWP, post-consumer, and agricultural waste materials, and has engaged in research to unlock lower GWP curtainwall systems in North America.

Alexander Zilberman

AZA

Alexander Zilberman, AIA, NCARB, is founder and principal architect of Alexander Zilberman Architecture PC (AZA), and he leads AZA’s design teams. Alex has served as designer and architect for flagship and rollout works for luxury brands around the world, from Jimmy Choo in Newport Beach and Helmut Lang in Atlanta to Victoria’s Secret in Savannah, Ga., Michael Kors Collection in Manhasset, NY, and new Theory stores on Madison Avenue, in Soho and at Palm Beach Gardens. Other recent works include storefront prototypes and a global rollout for a major fashion house, a new executive lounge for Equinox, a mixed-use commercial building outside Philadelphia, and new travel retail stores in airports and cruise ships globally. AZA is also noted for high-end hospitality works including Soho House as well as workplaces, headquarters offices and select residential works.

Bing Lin

OLI Architecture

Mr. Bing Lin was born in Shanghai, China. At the age of 19, Mr. Lin went to study at Washington State University. He earned Bachelor of Science in 1994, and Bachelor of Architecture, cum laude, in 1995. He received Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University in 1997.

From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Lin worked at NBBJ’s Seattle head office. From 1998 to 2010, Mr. Lin worked at Pei Partnership Architects. He was the Director of Asian Development. He participated in the design of Suzhou Museum, Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. He was the Site Architect for the Suzhou Museum and Project Manager for Chinese Embassy project. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Lin was the Chief Architect for the Shanghai International Financial Centre representing Shanghai Stock Exchange, Chinese Financial Futures Exchange and China Clearing Corporation.

In 2012, Mr. Lin cofounded OLI Architecture PLLC, with offices in New York and Shanghai. Since the founding of OLI, Mr. Lin lead and participated in the design of MuXin Museum, Suzhou Embroidery Museum, Shanghai Stock Exchange Trading Hall, Suzhou Taohuawu Woodblock Museum, Tencent Shanghai Office，Anji Children’s Village, Peking University Shiheng School, Ascentage Pharma R&D Center, Chengdu Pompidou Cosmopolis #1.5 Englarged Intelligence Art Exhibition, Beijing Palace Museum Scholar’s Annual Exhibition and Soochow Securities Headquarter.

In addition to architectural practice, Mr. Lin was a guest professor at Universidad Iberoamericana. He has been the guest critic at Columbia University, Hong Kong University, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. In 2004, he translated and wrote the Chinese Edition of Conversation with I. M. Pei., and received the Non-fiction Book of The Year Award in Taiwan. Mr. Lin was the chief reviewer for the Chinese edition of I. M. Pei’s Complete Works. In 2017, Mr. Lin was the curator of the exhibition titled I. M. Pei Documents for Suzhou Art Museum.

Elliot Glassman

CannonDesign

Elliot Glassman AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHD is an architect specializing in environmentally sustainable design. He is the firm-wide building performance leader at CannonDesign.
Elliot obtained his Bachelors of Architecture from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and earned a Masters of Design Studies degree with a concentration in sustainability from the Harvard GSD. He is licensed in New York State and Connecticut and is accredited in the LEED and Passive House standards.

In his professional career, Elliot has worked on several types of projects as an architect and high performance building consultant including multi‐family residential, mixed‐use buildings, commercial, religious/institutional, medical, athletics, and hospitality. Elliot’s work incorporates a variety of building simulation tools with parametric design techniques in order to generate environmentally responsive design solutions.
Elliot is a board member of the Connecticut Green Building Council, in addition to serving on the Mayor’s Climate Council in Stamford. He also teaches at Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation, Pratt Institute, and City Tech.

Chris O’Hara

Studio NYL

O’Hara is facade director for the Skins Group, a division of Studio NYL, established to provide full service facade design specializing in thermal modeling, moisture/condensation analysis, and in-depth detailing. Although Studio NYL is recognized for its skins work with cutting-edge glass and glazing, their team also specializes in digitally fabricated metal skins, GFRC, reinforced polymers, stone, ultra high performance concrete, terra cotta, and traditional precast. O’Hara is currently working on multiple projects in the Boston area.

Richard Whittington

YKK AP

Since joining Erie in 2016, Whittington injects a blend of technical expertise and a passion for design into the firm. After graduating with a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Carleton University, he started as a 3D product designer with Erie where he developed a technical knowledgebase of facade systems. He advanced his career into Sales and Marketing, where he engages high-profile clients and partners to conceptualize and develop effective facade solutions.

Charul Chhabria

CannonDesign

Charul Chhabria, LEED AP BD+C, serves as the Sustainability Coordinator at Cannon Design in New York City. With a passion for sustainable architecture, Charul brings a global perspective to her role. She holds a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Design from the New York Institute of Design and is a registered architect in India with a Bachelors of Architecture degree.

Advocating for integration of regulations, sustainability, and cutting-edge design, Charul offers practical strategies for creating environmentally friendly structures that go beyond mere compliance.

Drawing from her rich background she enjoys working on different scales, from macro to micro. Moreover, Charul’s focus extends to navigating local building codes, particularly Local Law 97, and understanding their parallels to sustainability certification pathways. She aspires to be at the forefront of devising strategies for buildings to not only comply with local codes but also surpass them in terms of efficiency and sustainability.

Bradford J. Prestbo

Studio NYL

An exceptional leader, Bradford J. Prestbo, FAIA, is advancing the profession through his practice, advocacy, and educational efforts in the use of cutting-edge design technologies, high-performance design, and the incorporation of maker culture into the design process.

Bradford also finds time to share his knowledge of advanced design technologies, high-performance design, and how maker culture is transforming our practice within the industry. He has practiced internationally, is a sought-after speaker, is frequently interviewed by publishers, and is an educator via his detailing workshops, higher-education classes, design juries, and mentorship of emerging professionals.

Bradford is actively involved in the AIA, and has been elevated to the College of Fellows for his notable contributions to the advancement of the profession of architecture. He is part of the leadership group in the AIA’s Technology in Architectural Practice Knowledge Community, and founded the Boston Society of Architect’s MakeTANK Knowledge Community, where he currently serves as the National Director.

Education
Bradford holds a degree from Syracuse University School of Architecture.

Anya LaRoche

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Anya LaRoche, P.E., is a Consulting Engineer at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. (SGH). She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2016 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. She specializes in custom curtain wall system design, computational analysis, and construction. Anya also helps lead the BIM development team for building enclosure work. Notable projects include LaGuardia International Airport Terminal C, and she has authored technical papers and presented on topics such as air sealing building enclosures and firesafing at rainscreen wall assemblies. Committed to the next generation of AEC professionals, Anya actively supports the Fresh Air Fund (FAF) through mentoring and organizing career awareness events with SGH for the FAF high school and middle school programs.

Aris Tsiopoulos

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Aris Tsiopoulos is a Project Consultant at SGH’s Building Technology group in New York City. He holds a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Aris has performed analysis and simulation of heat/air/moisture migration in building enclosures, energy modeling, and finite element analysis while designing enclosure systems for a variety of new structures. He has investigated and designed repairs for below-grade waterproofing, curtain walls, window wall, rainscreen systems and roofing. He also has hands-on experience in field testing, including blower door and fenestration performance testing. Aris recently presented at the 2023 Passive House Network conference on a case study about NYU Rubin Hall, a college dormitory seeking EnerPHit-certification, and will be among the largest EnerPHit projects in the world once complete.

Amandine Cersosimo

Thornton Tomasetti

Amandine Cersosimo is a Senior Project Engineer at Thornton Tomasetti and brings experience in façade and specialty structural design as well as project management. Her portfolio includes a wide range of project, of varying scales and programs, with comprehensive involvement at various stages of design through construction including performance testing. She specializes in the design of façade and structural detailing for different façade systems including curtain walls, rain screens, precast concrete and structural glass systems. She also has a broad experience in impact-rated façades, testing and certification in South Florida through her work on various projects in and around Miami as well as specialty structural analyses, thermal simulations and in-depth material engineering.

Ali Yalaz

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Ali Yalaz, P.E., LEED AP, is a Consulting Engineer with SGH’s Building Technology group. He received his B.S. in Architecture Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2016. His work at SGH encompasses a variety of enclosure-related projects, including energy modeling, building enclosure commissioning, computational analysis of existing and proposed building enclosure systems, and building enclosure consulting. Ali is a certified Passive House U.S. (PHIUS) Verifier and Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Rater. Ali has authored technical papers and presented on topics ranging from air sealing of building enclosures, enclosure commissioning methods, and lessons learned on building physics and enclosure performance.

Andrew Manto

SumPoint

Andrew is co-founder of SumPoint. He’s a problem solving technologist – trained as an Architect, he takes on complex design challenges by collaborating across disciplines, working from micro to macro, and building interesting and impactful spaces that make the world a better place.
Formerly, Andrew was Associate Director of Fabrication Architecture at Sidewalk Labs/Google where he led the DFMA prototyping of a mass timber kit-of-building-parts composed of facade, floor, and structural elements.
He was an Advanced Manufacturing Engineer at Zahner, where he developed custom fabrication processes, implemented bespoke software and hardware tools, and created online platforms for the specification of unique facade components. He holds a Master of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Joshua Kivela

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Mr. Kivela is a Professional Engineer at the national engineering firm Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. He has more than 20 years of experience in the design and construction industry, specializing in forensic investigation and design consulting on complex glazed systems and building enclosures. Mr. Kivela frequently publishes and presents on various building enclosure topics and he is active in ASTM International Committee D08 – Roofing and Waterproofing.

Walker Shanklin

SGA

As one of SGA’s leading designers, Walker develops conceptual solutions for buildings that influence the surrounding context in a positive way. His wide-ranging responsibilities include advising clients and overseeing every stage of projects from initial planning to construction.
Walker joined SGA in 2015. Since then, he has established a substantial portfolio that encompasses commercial, mixed-use, academic and life sciences markets. He has also supported SGA’s use of progressive technologies in the building industry, such as BIM, REVIT, Virtual Design and Construction, and the SGA Dashboard. His track record of success has contributed significantly to the remarkable growth of the New York office, where Walker is based.

Walker received a Bachelor of Science in architecture and a Master of Architecture from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. During his studies, he served as a project manager/designer for Sixteen On Center, a design/build firm.

Tim Nass

SAFTI FIRST

Tim Nass has nearly 30 years of experience in the architectural glazing industry. As the Vice President of Sales at SAFTI FIRST, leading USA-manufacturer of fire rated glass and framing systems, he brings his extensive knowledge and expertise when working closely with architects, consultants, general contractors and glaziers to deliver a code-compliant glazing solution that meets all the aesthetic, performance and budget requirements of the project. Tim also oversees SAFTI FIRST’s global network of architectural sales representatives.

Tim Nass is a dynamic presenter and speaker who has been delivering educational presentations to various architecture firms, AIA local chapters, CSI local chapters, at the CSI National Convention and other architectural and glazing industry events.

Niyazi Can

Bisam Facade

Niyazi Can, a Structural Engineer graduate from the University of Hartford, serves as the Technical Director at Bisam Facade, specializing in building envelope and façade systems. With a Fenestration Master certificate from FGIA and over a decade of experience, Niyazi is renowned for his expertise in designing and adapting façade systems to meet stringent codes and project requirements, particularly in the North Eastern market. Prior to joining Bisam Facade, Niyazi held various roles within the construction industry in US, Europe, Russia and the North Africa. Since 2015, he has skillfully led design and engineering teams, overseeing numerous successful projects in the NYC market and vicinity, shaping the architectural landscape with innovation and precision.

Scott Barnholt

SGA

Scott Barnholt, AIA, has a multidisciplinary background that encompasses both architecture and urban planning. At SGA, Scott focuses on design and project delivery for commercial, mixed-use, academic and life sciences commissions. He thrives on creative thinking and problem-solving, especially in relation to the development of concepts that work within a site’s constraints.

Having initially relocated to New York to pursue an advanced degree in planning, Scott subsequently assumed the role of project manager at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where collaborative endeavors with architects ignited his ambition to delve into the field of architecture. Post-graduation, Scott garnered diverse project experience at esteemed firms such as Arquitectonica, SOM, and WRNS, culminating in his affiliation with SGA in 2018.

A registered architect, Scott holds a Bachelor of Science in environmental design from the University of Colorado, and a Master of Architecture and a Master of Urban Planning from Columbia University.

Felipe Francisco

Studio NYL

Felipe Francisco, AIA is an Architect, Builder, and Fabricator with experience ranging from large-scale commercial and institution projects, medium scale Passive House residential projects, and small scale digital fabrication projects. At Studio NYL Felipe’s role is that of Technical Design Lead for the Boston Office. As part of the facades division, he works with architects, building teams, and contractors to provide expertise on challenging facade systems.

As a charter member and co-chair of the Boston Society of Architect’s MakeTank Knowledge Community, he has played a lead role in many of the committee’s efforts in the greater Boston area. This includes advocacy for STEM education and the development of a digitally fabricated model of the City of Boston for display at the Boston Society of Architects. His work has been exhibited at Architecture Boston Expo, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and World Maker Faire in NYC, and published in Architect’s Newspaper and Architecture Boston Magazine. In his spare time, he is a gravel cyclist, bike-packer, and backpacker.

Dilan Badshah

Thornton Tomasetti

Dilan Badshah is a Senior Engineer at Thornton Tomasetti with over seven years of experience in the design, modeling, and construction of building enclosures in the New York City metro area. Dilan has both performed and supervised the field QA/QC testing for new weather barrier and glazing systems across diverse projects, from educational buildings to supertall skyscrapers. Dilan has also diagnosed building enclosure failures, such as water leakage and air infiltration, where he developed and oversaw the implementation of repair solutions. Through his work on new and existing buildings, Dilan is well versed on the critical role performance mockups and field testing have in ensuring that the building enclosure functions as intended.

Jack Murphy

The Architect's Newspaper

Jack Murphy is the Executive Editor of The Architect’s Newspaper. Previously, he was Editor of Cite: The Architecture and Design Review of Houston and Adjunct Professor at the Gerald D. Hines University of Houston College of Architecture and Design. He earned an undergraduate degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a graduate degree in architecture from Rice University. He has worked for award-winning architects in New York City, Houston, Austin, and Boston. His writing has appeared in Places Journal, Dwell, Architectural Record, The Architect’s Newspaper, Texas Architect, Cite, PLAT, Paprika!, New York Review of Architecture, The Houston Chronicle, and SF Gate, among other publications. He was Co-Editor-in-Chief for PLAT 7.5 Oversharing and PLAT 8.0 Simplicity and Assistant Editor of Totalization, edited by Troy Schaum and published by Park Books. He lives in Brooklyn.

Aaron Alterman

STI Specified Technologies

Curtain Wall & Façade Specialist for the Strategic Accounts Division of STI Specified Technologies, covering the central United States and Canada.

Aaron joined STI Specified Technologies in 2015 and has over 30 years of experience in construction materials. He has conducted firestop trainings for STI, The International Firestop Council and to a variety of groups including; architects, engineers, consultants, code officials, inspectors and all types of trades. He is certified at Level 2 of Firestop Instructional Training (FIT II).

Chris Heider

Longboard Arch Prod

Chris has been involved with the construction industry for the past 23 years and worked professionally in architecture for 9 years prior. At Longboard he is Business Development Manager for the Northern US, and he is proud to offer architects a sustainable and high-quality façade system for commercial projects. In his spare time, he enjoys happy moments with his wife Karen as well as carpentry projects on their historic home. He also enjoys gardening, running, and playing guitar.

Bob Zhang

North Glass

Bob is the Sales Director of Tianjin Northglass for North America, the leading fabricator of specialty and oversized architectural glass for the global construction industry.

Bob has many years of experience working with Quality Control department. Bob was the project manager for Apple Park project in Cupertino, supporting the design team on the glass selection for Apple’s new headquarters. In 2015, Bob came to the US to make more connections with architects and support their designs of future projects with the innovation and capabilities that Northglass has to offer.

Charles Moniz

Ipswich Bay Glass

With more than 30 years in the curtainwall, glass and glazing industry, Charles Moniz is the Director of Sales & Estimating team at Ipswich Bay Glass, where he’s led the team over 17 years. Here, Charles specializes in preconstruction, design budgeting and cost-control for projects, particularly related to curtain wall, metal panel, rain-screen, and building cladding. Over the course of his career, Charles has worked in all areas of the industry, including as a fabricator, installer, project manager, estimator and field coordinator. Through his comprehensive, unique expertise in the field, Charles has fostered strong client relations with a successful track record of delivering projects on time and on budget.

Daryll Mendoza

Clark Pacific

Daryll Mendoza serves as a preconstruction manager at Clark Pacific, a leading manufacturer of prefabricated building systems headquartered in California. At the start of her career, Daryll specialized in managing distinctive precast façade buildings, employing materials such as architectural precast and glass fiber reinforced concrete. Notably, she contributed to skyline-defining projects, including the Mission Rock development in San Francisco and the Torrey View life science campus in San Diego. Leveraging her engineering expertise, Daryll now collaborates closely with design teams during the preconstruction phase, offering innovative precast solutions to create visually striking facades for cities across the West Coast.

Emir Pekdimir

Atelier Ten

Emir Pekdemir is an Associate with Atelier Ten and expert in the firm’s Environmental Design and Energy Analysis practices. Emir leverages advanced building simulation tools to solve intricate building physics challenges encountered in complex designs. He is experienced in dynamic energy and airflow modeling, hygrothermal modeling, daylight/glare simulations and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Emir regularly speaks at local and global conferences including several previous Facades+ events across the country. He is also a professor at Parsons School of Design and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he teaches sustainable design principles to the new generation of architects.

Chris Giovannielli

Kawneer

Chris Giovannielli is Director of Global Product Management for Kawneer, where he has been a leading contributor for more than 25 years. Chris directs product development, positioning and launch strategies across global markets with an emphasis on education and sustainability. His deep expertise on the benefit of Kawneer’s products in the educational setting and how they tie to sustainability in people’s daily lives is highly valued in the industry. He has been featured in Metropolis and Green Building and Design, and recently was the member spotlight for the Air Barrier Association of America. Chris earned his Executive MBA from University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business in 2021. (13) Christopher Giovannielli | LinkedIn

Seif Eses

Atelier Ten

Seif Eses is an Environmental Designer in Atelier Ten’s New York office and a LEED Accredited Professional. Seif specializes in computational simulation to study the relationship between natural elements and the built environment. With a background in architecture, he analyzes the performance of buildings and landscapes, striving to reduce their impact on the planet and improve the human experience. Seif is adept in a variety of simulation software that explore strategies to improve daylight quality, glare, thermal comfort, and overall building energy use. His projects include several ambitious and complex projects including the Integrated Life Science Building at Brown University and the Stevens Institute of Technology’s Davis Hall.

Yingbo Liu

Atelier Ten

Yingbo Liu is an Environmental Designer in Atelier Ten’s New York office and is a LEED Accredited Professional. Yingbo combines her experience in architecture with environmental building science to promote effective sustainability solutions that support the design team’s vision. She’s experienced in daylight, visual comfort, annual/peak loads, and solar convergence to create buildings that support human health and comfort. Yingbo is working on a range of projects including a several healthcare facilities across the country including the Northwell Medical Pavilion in New York City and laboratory projects such as NU Simpson Querrey Biomed Research Center Phase 2.

Davide Agostini

Focchi

Davide has been with Focchi since 2011. Focchi Group is one of the world’s leaders in custom facades and high-end architectural unitized curtain wall system. Established in 1914 by the Focchi family in Rimini, Italy, and still family-owned to this date, Focchi has been at the forefront of the evolution and innovation in the enclosure industry. Focchi currently operates in the UK, Italy and the US, with over 400 employees, and assembly facilities in the North-East of Italy and Connecticut. After spending some years in London managing some Focchi’s high-profile projects, Davide moved to New York in 2018 to oversee Focchi’s expansion in North America. Among the recent Focchi’s projects: Studio Gang’s “Solar Carve” 40 Tenth Avenue, the repositioning of the Domino Sugar Refinery and Renzo Piano’s Columbia Manhattanville Site-0. Davide holds a Bachelor Degree in Construction Engineering from University of Bologna and Master Degree in Engineering from the University of Marche, Italy.

Allison Drda

Pelli Clarke & Partners

Allison Drda joined Pelli Clarke & Partners in 2017. She enjoys the combination of art and mathematics in architecture in addition to creative problem-solving. Her most recent work includes the redevelopment of a highly sustainable Fortune 100 corporate headquarters project in the Netherlands, a new art museum on The College of William and Mary campus, a mixed-use tower in Tokyo, and a luxury multi-purpose complex. Allison holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Architecture from Ohio State University. She has also worked as a faculty member, teaching multiple design studios and leading a trip abroad.

Enzo Figueres

Pelli Clarke & Partners

Enzo Figueres joined Pelli Clarke & Partners in 2004. He has been a designer for several projects, which range from many of the firm’s competitions and high-profile projects. He was originally attracted to architecture because of his love for drawing.
His recent work includes Salesforce Tower Chicago, Wolf Point East in Chicago, Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Liverpool One and One Park West in England, Torre Sevilla in Spain, and the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. A passionate photographer, Enzo is a graduate of the University of Mendoza.

Erik Verboon, AIA

Walter P Moore

Erik Verboon is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Walter P Moore’s New York office. Trained in both architecture and engineering, Erik brings deep global experience with a focus on the design of complex and high-performance building envelopes for a wide range of building types. Erik’s role as Practice Area Leader of the firm’s national Enclosure Engineering team is supported by his experience working with a wide variety of façade applications including high-performance, double-skin façades, geometrically complex composite façades, and custom unitized enclosures for both new buildings and existing building retrofits and additions.

Erik’s portfolio expresses both national and international work with extensive experience in the New York market, bringing expertise in buildings old and new, across academic, commercial, and cultural sectors. In addition to Erik’s professional accolades, he teaches enclosure design at a number of leading universities.

Shantal Chahin

Pelli Clarke & Partners

Shantal Chahin joined Pelli Clarke & Partners in 2021. Her greatest interest is in the interplay between building design and broader technologies, such as where there are meaningful connections between architecture and neuroscience. Her most recent work includes the redevelopment of a 10-story mixed-use LEED Platinum targeted project located in Santa Monica, California, an upscale residential townhome in the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the re-design of a façade for a tower in Makuhari, Japan. Shantal is presently on PC&P’s 2024 Architectural Ceramics Assembly Workshop Team and holds a Master in Architecture from Pratt Institute and a BFA from Parsons, The New School.