Archives: Speakers

Prof.dr.ir. Arjan van Timmeren  is full professor Environmental Technology & Design at TUDelft, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Department Urbanism. Besides he is Scientific Director of Resilient Delta Initiative in Rotterdam (a joint initiative by TU Delft, Erasmus University and Erasmus Medical Center),  Academical Portfolio Director ‘Sustainable Cities’ for the TUD Extension School  for continuing education, and was (co)founding Scientific Director, and now Principal Investigator at AMS Institute in Amsterdam (Institute for ‘Advanced Metropolitan Solutions’, a joint initiative by TU Delft, Wageningen University and Research and MIT). His work focuses on sustainable development in the built environment, with emphasis on Urban Metabolism, Circular and Biobased Economy, Urban Climate and environmental behaviour, and Nature based technologies. He leads several (inter)national projects and has seats in (inter)national steering groups, quality teams and scientific boards.

Astrid Piber, Partner and Senior Architect at UNStudio, graduated from the Technical University Vienna in 1997 and received her MS in AAD from Columbia University, New York, in 1999. Since joining UNStudio in 1998, Astrid has worked closely with Ben van Berkel on a wide range of projects globally. Her first was the now completed Arnhem Central Station masterplan. In the intervening years, she has worked on numerous projects in Asia and Europe, from the initial urban study and competition phase, through to realization. She is currently in charge of several large-scale design projects globally. In transport and mixed-use projects, such as the Raffles City development in Hangzhou, China, the interdependency of functional, economic, and future-proofing criteria led to organisations that go beyond segregated typologies. In such projects, Astrid has worked with a trans-scalar approach—from infrastructure and urban design to custom-crafted interiors—where user experience adds value to design and becomes distinct to its location. Such sophisticated place making strategies form part of the design approach for numerous integrated transport and mixed use projects.

Enno Zuidema (Kampen, 1968) studied at the Delft University of Technology where he graduated in 1992 with an honorable mention. In 1993 he founded his firm, Enno Zuidema Stedebouw. His strengths are in social and spatial strategies, he focuses on finding sustainable and suitable solutions by social participation and stakeholder cooperation. The emphasis of his work lies on regional and municipal visions, structural plans, landscape assignments, re-structuring of urban areas in need and infrastructure. Enno is an active urban planner and leader for the developments and challenges in the northern areas of the Netherlands. He is also often invited as a guest lecturer at the Academy of Architecture in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Tilburg, and at the University of Delft. He was also the Chief of Urbanism at the Academy of Architecture in Rotterdam. Since the 1st of September of 2018, Enno is the head of urban development studio at MVRDV.

Hélène Chartier is the Director of Urban Planning and Design at C40, the network of global mega-cities committed to the fight against climate change.   The team she leads develops various programs to support cities across the world to accelerate sustainable and resilient urban planning policies and design practices, and to bring together cities and progressive players in the built environment industry in order to accelerate the decarbonization of buildings and urban development. Hélène’s team especially leads the C40 Land Use Planning network which supports cities to institutionalize climate action through urban planning regulations; the Reinventing Cities competition that delivers decarbonized and resilient urban regeneration projects across the world; as well as the Green and Thriving Neighbourhoods program and C40’s workstream on 15-minute City. In the past, Hélène was advisor to the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, she also worked for the Paris urbanism agency and the global consulting firm, Arup. Helene has a Master’s degree of Science and Engineering from the renowned French College, Ecole Centrale, with a specialization in building and civil engineering. In the past 15 years, Helene has lived and worked in Paris, London and New York.

Growing up multilingual with Norwegian, German and Danish, Jette Cathrin Hopp is the director for acquisition and new projects and part of the executive management of Snøhetta. Jette has extensive experience in complex both Norwegian and international projects, leading major international project developments and competitions. She regularly lectures at architectural symposia, conferences and international institutions, sharing Snøhetta´s philosophy and design ideas and she is also a jury member for several architecture competitions and prizes. Jette is also regularly invited as critic to international architecture universities. Jette is member of the Board of Trustees of the Schelling Architecture Foundation and the President of Jury for the Italian Architecture Award 2021. She is holding a teaching position at the University of Technology and Design, Wismar, Germany. Examples of her experience are her leading role a the museum in the King Abdul Aziz Center for Knowledge and Culture, Dharhan in Saudi Arabia and as project leader for the Opera tower in Düsseldorf. She has led major international developments with focus on sustainability as Astana Expo 2017 ” Future Energy “, Kazakhstan and Lingkong Soho Shanghai, China, in Norway innovative environmental projects in Norway as Powerhouse One in Trondheim and Powerhouse Kjørbo concept phase in Sandvika which is the world first rehabilitated energy-positive building.

Michael is a Managing Partner of Medidata’s Patient Cloud solution sales team, providing leadership and subject matter expertise in decentralized clinical trials and patient centric technologies. Over the last decade, Michael has worked collaboratively with sponsors, CROs, regulators, ethics committees and researchers around the world to pioneer the use of decentralization technologies for hybrid and virtual clinical trials. He was involved in providing solutions for the first decentralized clinical trial with FDA oversight in 2011 as well as PCORI’s ADAPTABLE study with more than 15,000 patients, and many other fully decentralized and hybrid clinical trials. His 33-year career in medical research includes nearly a decade with the US government conducting and supporting surgical & preclinical research and more than two decades working in the commercial sector to provide technology solutions that improve and support preclinical and clinical research. Michael is a decorated veteran of the United States Navy and resides in Brushy Creek, Texas where he is also an elected official serving his community.

Adam has built his career in the commercial workplace industry, working at various scales, and in a range of locations around the world. But most importantly, there is a driving force behind all his designs – creating democratic workplaces that are sustainable for the future. As we spend the majority of our day working, Adam is passionate about delivering places that make people happier, and better able to do their job. Coupled with this, he is keenly aware that as a society we are using too many resources, and he aims to limit his impact on the planet through environmentally responsible design. His care for the environment goes beyond his working life too. As a sustainable and healthy way to travel, he is an advocate of cycling, and believes it will be the future of commuting for most people. For Adam, it is a great way to get in some exercise, drop his kids off at school, and still get into work with time to sp

Aidan is a Board Director and Design Partner at John McAslan + Partners with extensive experience in the design and management of complex urban developments, masterplanning and architecture. He is one of the founding designers of the practice, first joining as a student in the early 1980s. Across the years he has contributed to many of the practice’s most esteemed projects, including the multi-award-winning Roundhouse, King’s Cross Station, and The Olympic Energy Centre in London, and was masterplanner for Lancaster University and The University of Manchester. Internationally, Aidan notably led the transformation of two significant industrial heritage sites in Moscow, the Stanislavsky Factory and the Bolshevik Factory, and also led the practice’s award-winning design of Kericho Cathedral in Kenya. Aidan currently leads the practice’s residential, commercial and urban design studio. Aidan’s signature design skills, drawings and his enthusiasm for finding ‘new ideas for old building,’ is a cornerstone of the practice’s portfolio and long history of adaptive reuse at all scales, as well as its environmental, social and urban philosophy. His work has been reproduced in numerous books, international periodicals and exhibited and awarded at The Royal Academy of Arts, RIBA, The Royal Scottish Academy, L’Arsenal in Paris, The Architecture Foundation and the Institute of Contemporary Art in London and Boston. Aidan is also a visiting critic for several notable institutions including The Strelka Institute in Moscow, The London School of Economics, The Bartlett, Edinburgh School of Art and a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and the Royal Incorporation of Scottish Architects.

Andrew is a Founding Director of Waugh Thistleton Architects, a practice dedicated to delivering beautiful buildings and places that acknowledge their effect on the environment. He is a world-renowned spokesperson for low impact architecture and innovative construction, and lobbies and lectures internationally, communicating the urgent need for change to mitigate the climate crisis. A pivotal player in the global shift towards renewable, bio-based materials, Andrew’s innovative approach to design has been acknowledged by many awards including The RIBA President’s Award for Research and a Stirling Prize nomination in 2018. The practice is currently engaged on both research and design projects throughout Europe and North America.