Meet the jury

Since joining Taller in 2017, I have led the conceptual and schematic design of numerous projects and competitions across Saudi Arabia, Albania, Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Georgia, China, Russia, and India. Alongside my work at the Taller, I also pursue independent projects in Iran and Spain, with a focus on design innovation across scales, typologies, and functions. I see architecture as both a collective and personal endeavor. I hold a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Shiraz Azad University and a master’s degree from the Politecnico di Milano. I strongly believe in teamwork: exchanging ideas, listening carefully, and engaging every member of the team are, for me, essential parts of any successful collaboration.

Amit Gupta is the founder and editor-in-chief of STIR – an award-winning global media house and curatorial agency that is committed to promoting, propagating and fostering creativity and innovation in the fields of design, architecture, and art. A creative thinker, curator and entrepreneur, Amit has worked for over three decades with a motivation to facilitate intersections across diverse creative disciplines and distant geographies while launching pioneering initiatives that propel the creative discourse, practice, and allied industries. Starting with a career in advertising, Amit soon moved on to set up India’s first architecture and design gallery in the late 1990s. Progressively, STIR was founded in 2014 and is the only global media house in the field emanating from the region. He is geared to launch the next ventures focused on the foundational principles of STIR, i.e content, connect, collaboration, and community.

Ana María Durán Calisto is co-principal at Estudio A0 and Visiting Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Architecture. She curated and designed the exhibition “Surfacing — The Civilised Agroecological Forests of Amazonia” for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale and was co-awarded a Graham Foundation grant in 2024. She is a member of the Science Panel for the Amazon, a consultant for CAF and IDB, and was the advisor to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development of Ecuador on the national agenda for UN Habitat III.

Anna Kenoff is a designer in New York and co-founder of Morpholio, a technology company focused on drawing and design process specifically for architects. Morpholio’s software, Trace and Board, have been featured as best tools for architects across almost every design journal and highlighted extensively by Apple. Previously, Anna practiced architecture in New York with WORKac and led research, publications, and public projects at Columbia University’s Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture.

Anne Fougeron is an award-winning architect recognized for her diverse portfolio of projects serving institutional, commercial, health-care and residential clients. Whether transforming existing buildings or creating entirely new environments, her thoughtful, rule-challenging designs address the aspirations, opportunities and challenges that come with each commission. Through her involvement with the American Institute of Architects, cultural nonprofits, teaching, and lecturing, Anne is a tireless advocate for making the transformative power of design accessible to all and for a profession that engages the broad perspectives needed to make this possible. Her practice, work, and contributions are recognized with awards and publications nationally and internationally. The American Institute of Architects California has honored her with its Maybeck Award, the association’s highest honor for an individual architect, in 2022. A monograph of the firm work “Framing Light” was published by ORO Publishers in 2025.

Architect Arthur Casas is a founding partner of Studio Arthur Casas, an office founded in 1990. Since then, he has completed projects of various types, including residential and commercial architecture, corporate and urbanism projects, public tenders and interior and furniture design – both in Brazil and abroad, in New York, Lisbon, Paris, Tokyo and Mexico, among others. The projects annually receive relevant international and national awards and are frequently published by the most important Brazilian and foreign media. Arthur has participated in two Architecture Biennials in São Paulo and the Bienal de Buenos Aires, and was invited to speak about his productions in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, USA and Spain. He has published four books about his work and trajectory – the most recent of which was released by the Italian publisher Rizzoli.

Baba Vacaro is a product designer (FAAP, 1986), consultant, and curator. She also works publishing projects, such as the Arranha Céu collection (2015, ed. C4) of architecture books and audiobooks for children, the book Sergio Rodrigues Designer (2017, ed. BEI) and the, Designer collection (2023, ed. Monolito). She is screenwriter and co-creator of the documentary TV series Casa Brasileira (GNT) and De Casa Em Casa (YT). She also created, produces and presents the weekly broadcast Navega (radio Eldorado/SP) since 2016.

Benedetta Tagliabue is an architect and co-founder of EMBT Architects, established in Barcelona with Enric Miralles (1955–2000), and founder and director of the Fundació Enric Miralles. She has led the design of iconic works such as the Scottish Parliament (2004), the Santa Caterina Market (2005), and the Spanish Pavilion for the Shanghai Expo (2010). Recent projects include the Church and Parish Complex of San Giacomo Apóstolo in Ferrara (2021), the Centro Direzionale Metro Station in Naples (2024), and the Clichy-Montfermeil Metro Station in Paris (2024). She served as Louis Kahn Visiting Professor at Yale University and has previously taught at Harvard, Columbia, and other leading institutions. From 2011 to 2023, she was a jury member for the Pritzker Architecture Prize. In 2024, she received the Order of Isabella the Catholic, and in 2025, the Doctor of Design Honoris Causa from The Boston Architectural College (BAC).

Bruno Simões is an architect and design curator, living between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In 2013, he founded his creative studio, dedicated to spatial and product design. This is the same period of his other responsibility as Partner/Curator of MADE Fair (Mercado.Arte.Design), the first platform for collectible design in Latin America. Since 2022, he is the Curator of Apex Brasil – Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, in charge of international exhibitions such as Brazil’s Fuorisalone project, in Milan. Bruno is also the Curator of Instituto Bardi/Casa de Vidro – the organization that preserves the legacy left by architect Lina Bo Bardi and curator Pietro Maria Bardi, based in the couple’s iconic residence in Sao Paulo. The collection includes thousands of manuscripts, architecture and design sketches, models, works of art, furniture and memories of Brazilian modernism.

Carlo Ratti is an architect and engineer who leads the design and innovation practice CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directs the MIT Senseable City Lab. He is also a professor at the Politecnico di Milano. He graduated from the Politecnico di Torino and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, and later earned an M.Phil. and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. His work has been exhibited at venues including La Biennale di Venezia, the Design Museum in Barcelona, the Science Museum in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He was the Curator of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Carlos Banon is co-founder of Subarquitectura Architects Spain, Associate Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, and co-founder of AirLab @SUTD. He holds an M.Arch. with Extraordinary Distinction. He also held visiting professorships at MIT Massachussetts Institute of Technology and at EPFL, and was invited to lecture by a number of universities, including ETSAM Madrid, UIC Barcelona, KEA Copenhagen and PUPR Puerto Rico. His research projects span from Geometric Exploration for Space Making (GESM), 3D Printing applied to actual building components, Artificial Intelligence applied to high-rise developments, and Affordable Housing prototypes.
He also implements his research and teaching methodologies in Design Studios where he applies Parametric Design, into actual buildings through his architectural practice. He was awarded with the Design of the Year Prize by the London Design Museum, received international recognition with the Golden Medal given by the International Olympic Committee, the Spanish Biennial Prize and the Mies Van der Rohe Prize nomination.

Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, Hon. ASLA, the distinguished 2023 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal recipient, is a visionary architect, urbanist, mentor, and educator, and has relentlessly advocated that excellent design is a right, not a privilege. Through her unwavering dedication to crafting public buildings and spaces that elevate our daily lives, she has produced distinctive structures and places that have become cultural icons.

Chad Oppenheim founded Oppenheim Architecture in 1999 to design a new kind of sensory, site-specific architecture. Working across scale, typology, and geography, every Oppenheim project is a sensitive contextual response guided by the philosophy that design follows life and form follows feeling. A graduate of Cornell University and a Fellow of the AIA, Oppenheim has served as lead designer for countless place-making assignments around the world. Working closely with clients to realize and amplify their vision, he is backed by strong technical and project teams in Miami, Aspen, Basel and Tirana. Oppenheim uncovers the power of a place to optimize how people live, play, or work in that particular environment. His monumental, timeless architecture enhances lives, realizes a site’s full potential, and protects and celebrates the natural environment. He shapes buildings and places to achieve the optimal balance between creativity and pragmatism, function and experience, construction and aesthetics.

Chunyan Cai established Atelier tao+c with Tao Liu in Shanghai in 2016. In addition to projects in architecture and interior design, they have also been involved with product design. The office has been especially active in the architecture of adaptive reuse. Their work can be found in publications such as Casabella and Architectural Review.

Cosimo Scotucci is a multidisciplinary professional whose work centers on sustainability. He approaches design and strategy as tools for systemic change, combining research, critical inquiry, and pragmatic execution. Across projects, he focuses on equitable models, environmental responsibility, and long-term impact, collaborating across disciplines to translate complex social and ecological challenges into clear, actionable, and resilient solutions.

Dr. Cristina Mateo is the Associate Dean at IE School of Architecture and Design, where she leads strategy and business development. Her work focuses on urban ethnography, tourism, branding, communication, and digital transformation, particularly the impact of technology on cities and urban innovation. She is a professor at IE University, teaching Sociology and Culture and the social implications of digital transformation. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Spanish Institute of Lifestyle Medicine. In the public sector, she worked at Madrid Global, the City Council’s Office for International Strategy and Action, leading initiatives to strengthen Madrid’s global image, including its bids for the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic Games. Previously, she was Marketing Director at VisitBritain (2002–2007), leading international campaigns to attract visitors and strengthen the UK’s tourism brand. She has also collaborated with firms such as AT Kearney, MarchFirst, and Razorfish in London and Madrid, focusing on customer experience and digital platforms. Her work explores how cities evolve in response to social, technological, and cultural change.

Dani Quesada is a Spanish architect and editor, born in Granada, Spain, in 1993, and currently based in Madrid. He graduated in Architecture from the University of Granada and completed his professional qualification at the Technical University of Madrid (ETSAM-UPM). He currently works at the Spanish architectural publishing house El Croquis, where he is involved in editorial work, layout and design, as well as digital management and publishing. Alongside this, he co-founded and co-edits [patio], an independent architecture publishing platform dedicated to emerging practices and contemporary architectural culture. His work moves between architecture, editorial practice, and critical dissemination, with a strong interest in process, context, and long-term sustainability.

David Basulto is an architect and editor. He graduated from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2006). In 2006, he founded ArchDaily and its global network of sites in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese. ArchDaily is one of the most important and influential media outlets for architecture and interior design. Its mission is to “Inspire, connect and empower the architecture and design community for a better built environment”. ArchDaily is the world’s most visited architecture website today, with offices and operations in Chile, China, Mexico, Brazil, Germany and Switzerland. As of May 2020, ArchDaily is part of DAAily Platforms owned by the NZZ Media Group in Switzerland. Basulto was the editor-in-chief until 2024.

David Gianotten is the Managing Partner – Architect of OMA, where he oversees the firm’s organizational and financial management, business strategy, and global growth, alongside leading his architectural portfolio. David currently leads significant projects worldwide, including the Museo Egizio 2024 in Turin; the Waterkant masterplan in Rotterdam-Zuid; Amsterdam’s Bajes Kwartier; Eindhoven’s VDMA; the new Koepel District in Breda; the Innovation Partnership Schools in Amsterdam; and the Metropolitan Village, a high-rise residential building in Taipei. Projects that David has delivered include the Gallery of the Kings at Museo Egizio (2024), AIR Circular Campus and Cooking Club in Singapore (2024), Apollolaan 171, a high-end office building in Amsterdam (2023), the Taipei Performing Arts Center (2022), Bali’s Potato Head Studios (2020), the WA Museum Boola Bardip in Perth (2020), Prince Plaza in Shenzhen (2020), White Cube LIRCAEI in Lusanga (2018), and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (2013). He also oversaw the final stages of the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (2012).

Dean Maltz is the Principal and Founder of Dean Maltz Architect (DMA), a New York–based architecture and furniture design firm, and a Partner at Shigeru Ban Architects, where he manages Shigeru Ban Architects America. He graduated from The Cooper Union in 1984, receiving the AIA Certificate of Achievement, and later earned his Master of Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1986. His career spans independent architectural practice, partnership with Shigeru Ban, and furniture design. Since founding DMA in 1990, he has developed a diverse portfolio of commercial and residential projects across the United States. Dean has received numerous awards, including first prize in Progressive Architecture’s International Furniture Competition, the ASID Pinnacle Award, the SARA Architectural Innovation Award, and an International Property Award, and continues to design furniture for leading manufacturers in the U.S. and Italy.

Deborah is a Founding Director of the architecture, landscape and research studio DSDHA. Known for their high-profile urban strategies, landscapes and innovative buildings, and widely-acclaimed research, they have been recognised with 20 RIBA Awards to date, shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize, and twice nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. Much of Deborah’s work is concerned with democratising architecture, having set up the Jane Drew Prize in. Architecture, and helping to redefine the role of architecture in the 21st century – addressing people’s emerging needs in the context of rapidly shifting environmental, technological and social conditions. She is a Founding Director of the London School of Architecture and regularly talks and writes on issues of diversity and innovation in the built environment. Deborah was awarded a Fellowship in the Built Environment from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 gained her PhD with the RMIT Practice Research Programme. She has held academic appointments at Yale School of Architecture, Universidad de Navarra, EPFL and the University of Cambridge.

Deisi Bernardi is the co-founder and creative director of Blackhaus Studio, with over 13 years at its forefront. Her extensive knowledge architecture, fashion, behavior, and interior design, coupled with her innate ability to foster relationships, shapes the studio’s unique approach. At Blackhaus, her know-how and skills create personalized experiences for clients and exclusive project management processes. She translates, or rather, makes various disciplines understandable through records.

Dina Vulin Ileković was born in Zagreb. She took her degree (1988) and doctorate (1996) at the Architecture Faculty of Zagreb University, where she currently is employed as a full professor and  is head of the Interior section. Since her student days she has worked professionally in collaboration with Boris Ileković and has created some thirty built works and more than a hundred designs on various scales – from lighting units that have won prizes in Japan to the second largest library in Croatia, new urban design structures and operations on the reconstruction and revitalisation of protected cultural properties. She has won prizes and commendations for works of architecture and design at home and abroad. Her area of interest is the phenomena of visual expression that comprise the formative elements of what constitutes architecture in the context of both her teaching and her professional work.

Elora Hardy is the Founder and Creative Director of IBUKU, a Bali-based design studio pioneering nature-integrated architecture. Since founding IBUKU in 2010, she has led the creation of over 200 groundbreaking structures, redefining the relationship between materiality, craftsmanship, and spatial experience. Recognized by Architectural Digest and the Royal Society, her work has earned prestigious accolades, including the Supreme Prize from the Institution for Structural Engineers and the Architecture Masterprize. A TED speaker, Elora has presented globally at MIT, the World Government Summit, the US Green Building Council, and London Design Week. Her designs have been widely published in Vogue, Elle Decor, Wallpaper, CNN, BBC, and AppleTV+’s HOME documentary. Through her work, Elora demonstrates how thoughtful design can shape the future of architecture, blending innovation with a deep connection to nature.