MEXICAN-ARCHITECTS - Key Persons
Adẹ́pọ̀sì Adéọ̀gùn, a Doctoral Student at MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, explores urban design, governance, and resilience in African cities. His background in environmental design and architecture, coupled with personal experiences of displacement, drives his mission to reimagine African urbanity with a focus on equity, co-production, and sustainability. His research delves into the relationship between civil society organizations and informal communities in sub-Saharan African cities, aiming to understand infrastructure planning beyond goals of economic development to one focused on justice. With extensive experience in project management and data-driven interventions, he evaluates developmental cooperation among diverse stakeholders, envisioning cities that embody equity and shared prosperity. Adeposi is the Co-Curator of African-Architects.
Oluwadamisi Akinnubi holds a BSc.Arch from the University of Lagos and is currently pursuing a Masters in Environmental Design at the university of Lagos. Passionate about sustainable architecture and urban design, he strive to improve lives by creating spaces that blend creativity with environmental responsibility. His work focuses on integrating green technologies, interesting philosophy and inclusive urban planning. He is eager to contribute to the global conversations on the transformative power of architecture. Oluwadamisi, based in Lagos, is the Content Manager Nigeria.
Job Titles:
- Architect
- Engineer
- Editor and Curator Italy
Antonio La Gioia practices as a free-lance architect and engineer, with studies at "La Sapienza" university in Rome and a Master in Sustainable Architecture at InArch. With more than ten years of experience he has been dealing with many aspects of the profession, in different roles, both in design and in project management. His specific interests are related to history of architecture and issues of sustainability, with a passion for new software and specific skills to approach sustainability at different scales, from urban planning and architecture to interior design. His professional profile is focused on a specialised field but with a vast and wide-ranging expertise. As a part of Labóh team, Antonio joined PSA Publishers in September 2015.
Born in 2001 and raised in Winterthur, Switzerland, Buena always had a passion for the arts. She loves to draw and paint. She is a competitive cheerleader for the Winterthur Warriors. After visiting the Kantonsschule im Lee, Buena decided to pursue an education as mediamatician and successfully seized her chance to start an apprenticeship with PSA Publishers in August 2020.
Born in East Africa. Swiss-Italian upbringing. Studies in Business, International Marketing and Management. Degrees in Commerce and in Business Management, HWV, Zurich. Master of International Management, AGSIM Thunderbird, Arizona. From 1985 until 2000 he consulted and managed companies in New York in areas such as finance, music, fashion, healthcare, science and art. Joined PSA Publishers in 2000 in order to develop the American market for newyork-architects.com. Moved to PSA's Zurich Head Office in 2001 to support the extension of world-architects.com. Why is architecture important to me? Because architecture has a profound impact on our quality of life. It shapes the human experience. Learning about architecture is learning about balance and harmony… key elements to being successful in business and in life!
Chika graduated from Musashino Art University Tokyo where she studied design of all stripes. She then joined Klein Dytham Architecture as their office manager, handling also their PR and organizing Pecha Kucha Nights. In 2006 she founded Neoplus Sixten Inc., a PR and Communications agency specialized in architecture and design, to offer her professional services to more architects and designers. In 2016 she joined PSA Publishers Ltd. as representative of japan-architects.com, together with Ryogo Utatsu.
Born in 1960 in southern Germany. Studied Urban Design and Urban Planning in Germany and France. Working as critic, publisher, content manager and curator in the field of architecture and urban development. The focus of his work is the development in Asia and the Pacific Rim. Joined PSA in 2006 as a project manager for China. The only criteria for good architecture are quality. What does that mean? In some cases it is the urban surrounding that was changed by the implementation of a new building. In other cases it is the quality of space, or the detailing, the materiality, the integration into the existing natural or urban environment. But in some rare cases it is exactly the opposite - the rejection of neighbouring structures and the invention of a new approach in a contemporary expression that changes the surrounding. Architectural critic is not a sugar cube on top of the physical structure, but an essential part of the discourse on contemporary culture.
Antonio La Gioia practices as a free-lance architect and engineer, with studies at "La Sapienza" university in Rome and a Master in Sustainable Architecture at InArch. With more than ten years of experience he has been dealing with many aspects of the profession, in different roles, both in design and in project management. His specific interests are related to history of architecture and issues of sustainability, with a passion for new software and specific skills to approach sustainability at different scales, from urban planning and architecture to interior design. His professional profile is focused on a specialised field but with a vast and wide-ranging expertise. As a part of Labóh team, Antonio joined PSA Publishers in September 2015.
Job Titles:
- Editor in Chief - Swiss and Austria Magazines
Elias comes from Bavaria. He studied architecture in Innsbruck and received his diploma in 2015 under Bart Lootsma. During this time, he discovered his great passion: writing about and discussing architecture. During his master studies, he worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Architectural Theory. After graduating, he moved to Zurich to become an editor at archithese. There he acquired his journalistic skills and played a decisive role in shaping the magazine as a multimedia platform for discourse. Elias joined PSA Publishers in 2019 as Editor in Chief of Swiss-Architects.
Job Titles:
- Chairman at the University of Pennsylvania
Enrique Norten has lectured all over the world and is a regular speaker at the Urban Age Conference, dedicated to shaping the thinking and practice of urban leaders and sustainable urban development through a worldwide investigation into the future of diverse cities around the world. Throughout his career, Enrique Norten has balanced the practice of architecture with a constant participation on international juries and award committees such as the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition in New York City and the Holcim Foundation Awards for Sustainable Construction. In 2006 he was appointed member of Deutsche Bank's Board of Trustees and on successive years he has become a board member of the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York and the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
Enrique Norten holds the Miller Chair at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia since 1998. He has held the O´Neal Ford Chair in Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, the Lorch Professor of Architecture Chair at the University of Michigan, and the Elliot Noyes Visiting Design Critic at Harvard University. He was Professor of Architecture at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City (1980- 1990) and has served as a Visiting Professor at Cornell University, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, Sci-Arc, Rice University, Columbia University and as Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor of Architectural Design at Yale School of Architecture.
The work of Enrique Norten/TEN Arquitectos has been presented on several international exhibitions such as "inTENtions: Process and Variations" at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Monterrey, Mexico in 2008; "Old City - New Architecture" at the XI St. Petersburg World Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia; "La Rue Est A Nous Tous" at the Val de Seine National School of Architecture in Paris, France; "The Guggenheim Architecture" in Bonn, Germany, 2006; and the Venice Biennial in 1996, 2002, 2004 and 2006. In addition to numerous articles on national and international publications, the work of the firm has been published on several monographs. Among the most significant are: "Working: Enrique Norten/TEN Arquitectos" published by the Monacelli Press in 2007; "Enrique Norten: Temas y Variaciones" by Landucci Editores in 2004 and reprinted in 2005; and "TEN Arquitectos", by the Monacelli Press New York printed in 1998, and reprinted in 2002.
Escobedo Soliz Studio established in Mexico City, 2016 by classmates Pavel Escobedo (Tepic, 1988) and Andres Soliz (Mexico City, 1990). Their practice is based on a continuous exploration on materials, structures and construction systems to find particular solutions for each particular situation. The specificities on each project define their design and construction approach. Their Architectural language is based on a sensible reading and interpretation of the project's specific characteristics: site, program, human-material resources, socio-cultural background and memory. Doing more with less (time, resources and impact) has become a constant factor in their work; a way to achieve a strong tectonic and sensorial language while fulfilling the client's time and budget.
Job Titles:
- Co - Curator Africa
- Professor of Urban Design at the Stuttgart State Academy of Art
Fabienne Hoelzel is Professor of Urban Design at the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design (since 2017) and Founding-Director of FABULOUS URBAN | Nigeria Foundation, an urban design practice and think-tank specializing in Southern regions, following a research-led design approach (since 2014). From 2010 to 2012, she was the head of the urban design and planning team at the Housing and Urban Development Authority of the City of São Paulo (Brazil), responsible for the city's slum upgrading program. Between 2008 and 2010 as well as between 2013 and 2017 she was research associate at the Institute for Urban Design at ETH Zurich. FABULOUS URBAN | Nigeria Foundation is involved in civil-society-led urban planning policy development and in strategic small-scale upgrading projects in low-income communities in Lagos (Nigeria). Fabienne's research focuses on so-informal/ de-facto planning processes in slums and informal settlements, resulting in advocacy work for hybrid/ dual planning approaches and new forms of acquiring citizenship. Fabienne is the Co-Curator of African-Architects.
Falk Romano was born in Switzerland in 1977. He was self-employed as a freelance programmer for different Web Companies, specialized in the Open Source CMS Joomla.
Born in Romania and raised in Munich, Uschi studied visual communication and industrial design in Schwäbisch Gmünd where she graduated with a masters degree in design (Dipl. Des.). Uschi worked in renowned agencies in Germany and Brazil before founding UTOUP Büro für Gestaltung in Munich with her husband in 2005. Always interested in spatial themes, architecture has been a faithful and exciting companion for Uschi. She will now bring this interest and her many years of project experience to PSA Publishers as Project Director.
Gus Wüstemann is internationally active in the field of Architecture and Urbanism. He runs practices in Barcelona and Zürich since 1997. He obtained a Master Degree at the ETH Zurich and did an exchange in Ahmedabad, India. Prior to this, his work experience has led him to places such as Sydney, New York, Paris and Bombay. He is a member of SIA and COAC. Gus Wüstemann builds program free and open design concepts, which understand all elements as equal actors of a play and sets the frame of each concept. Simple materials in a new context and latest construction methods enable sophisticated architecture with a reasonable economical outlay. He sees architectural and urban design as an instrument to catalyze life on all levels of society with no hierarchy of aesthetic, moral or material, through experiment and analysis. Living rooms become outside spaces, Mediterranean lifestyle find its way into the Northern hemisphere.
James Watts is an Internet survivor, having been involved in professional software development for almost 2 decades, from high-iteration start-ups to large-scale enterprises. He was previously core member of the CakePHP framework, as well as author of the CakePHP 2 Application CookBook, published by Packt Publishing (ISBN 978-1-78216-008-3), and has written various technical specifications, such as the Extended Hyper-text Transfer Protocol (XHTTP) and the Documentation Markup Language (DocML). He currently lives in Madrid, Spain, with his wife and son, while maintaining and contributing to various Open Source projects in his free time.
Job Titles:
- Editor in Chief - International Magazin
Born in 1973 near Chicago, Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Architecture in 1996 from Kansas State University, where he worked as an editor of Oz Journal. After working for a large architecture firm in Chicago, he attended the City College of New York, receiving a Master of Urban Planning in 2007. He has over ten years of architectural experience in Chicago and New York and is a registered architect in Illinois. Living in New York City and working as Country Representative for PSA Publishers, he is also a freelance writer and blogs (almost) every day at A Daily Dose of Architecture. As architects can now build just about any design they envision, the relationship between a building and its context is commendably coming to the fore in discussions about architecture and cities. This is not to say that the design of individual buildings is not important, but, like people, they are incomplete when divorced from the world around them. How a building relates to its neighboring buildings, its urban context, the sun, the trees, the ground it sits upon, and increasingly the social, economic and political context are all important. While it is difficult to express these relationships in the architectural media, if an architect seriously and critically takes these factors into consideration then the resulting design will exhibit such and be that much closer to being a truly successful piece of architecture.
Born in Zurich with Finnish roots. After finishing his studies in architecture at the ETHZ he worked in various offices in Switzerland. Juho runs his own office since 2008 in Zurich and has added a post-graduate master in Business Administration at the School of Management and Law in Winterthur.
Job Titles:
- Editor in Chief - German Magazin
Katinka Corts studied architecture in Leipzig. After receiving her diploma she moved to Zurich in 2004, was a freelancer for Hochparterre and an editor at TEC21 until 2012. Lighting and accessible building design, as well as the interdisciplinary collaboration between architects and building engineers belong to her core interests. As an architectural journalist, Katinka writes articles for journals, special issues and books. Since 2010, she has been a member of the expert panel awarding the Foundation Award for up-and-coming Swiss architects.
Born in Málaga and raised between Spain and Switzerland, Leticia decided to pursue an apprenticeship in mediamatics following her mandatory schooling. This choice led her to the doorstep of PSA Publishers Ltd. Over the course of the 4-year-long apprenticeship, she delved into different areas such as IT, administration, marketing, and design. This enabled her to discover her areas of interest and pinpoint her desired specialization. Following her four-year apprenticeship, she embarked on a two-year international journey. Today, Leticia has come full circle, rejoining PSA Publishers as the Head of Administration.
Job Titles:
- Head of Institutional Relations
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Madeline lives in Barcelona, where she has worked as a literary translator, arts administrator, and political aide. From 2011 to 2017, she served as senior policy advisor and speechwriter to three Catalan ministers of culture.
Madeline has over fifteen years of experience working in, and with, cultural institutions in Spain and Europe. Currently she is responsible for audience development at MACBA in Barcelona.
Her interests and skills include campaigning for cultural funding at the municipal, regional, and European level as well as working to make fine art museums more inclusive of disciplines such as architecture, design, and literature.
Born and raised in Zurich. Office clerk, government official in and outside of Switzerland, followed by studies and a Master of Architecture from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH). Editor in charge of Swiss print publication architektur+technik from 1997 to 2013. Founding of company Bau-Auslese Manuel Pestalozzi in 2013. Since then active as an independent journalist and writer. The built environment shapes every-day events. It constantly wields influence on our state of mind. Architects have the power to set the rhythm of life and to procure moments of happiness. Theirs is a big responsibility.
Maurici Ginés (APDI, PLDC, IALD) has been a lighting professional since 1994. He founded the lighting design practice Artecluminotecnia, later renamed artec3 Studio, to introduce and promote the independent lighting design profession in Spain. He is the current President of the Professional Lighting Designers Association (APDI) in Spain and a professional member of the international associations PLDA and IALD. He has won many national and international prizes and his work has been widely published. Maurici also teaches in the Lighting Design postgraduate course at the Politecnic University of Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona.
In 2012 Miriam Giordano founded Labóh, a boutique consultancy studio dedicated to promote design and architecture for international manufacturers and brands as well as for professional studios and institutions, providing services from brand strategy to PR, events and business development. In 2013 she joined PSA Publishers in order to develop the Spanish and Italian markets for world-architects.com.
Driven by her inquisitiveness and her desire to learn new facts, she is always eager to discover interesting stories which she enjoys sharing with others. Who are the people behind the public figures? What drives them to embark on their chosen path? These questions and many more are at the heart of her in-depth accounts on such topics as photography, history, literature and culture in its broadest meaning. After completing her education in the field of arts, she went on to deepen her knowledge by attending a number of post-graduate courses in graphic art, typography, editorial design and branding, and was privileged to be able to learn from some of the big names in the creative arena. With time, her passion for (visual) communication has extended to include writing. This winning combination makes for an exciting professional life.
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Content Manager Nigeria
Oluwadamisi Akinnubi holds a BSc.Arch from the University of Lagos and is currently pursuing a Masters in Environmental Design at the university of Lagos. Passionate about sustainable architecture and urban design, he strive to improve lives by creating spaces that blend creativity with environmental responsibility. His work focuses on integrating green technologies, interesting philosophy and inclusive urban planning. He is eager to contribute to the global conversations on the transformative power of architecture. Oluwadamisi, based in Lagos, is the Content Manager Nigeria.
Job Titles:
- Editor - Italian Magazin
- Journalist and Architect. Partner
Paola Pierotti, journalist and architect. Partner of PPAN. Former Il Sole 24 Ore, journalist and architect. For ten years Paola has worked for Progetti e Concorsi, Il Sole 24 Ore weekly magazine dedicated to architecture and urban regeneration (Construction and Territory - Projects and Contests), collaborating at the present with the Italian financial newspaper also on themes related to real estate and urban regeneration. She has a deep knowledge of the Italian design and construction industry market. Paola is frequently called to be part of juries for national and international architectural awards and to chair events which investigate sustainable innovation and energy efficiency within the built environment. With PPAN she is co-author and editor of PPANthebrief on line newspaper dedicated to architecture, engineering and more generally for the built environment and Pantografo a magazine which explores on issues and present trends of the cities, investigating with a modern eye themes linked to lifestyle.
After an arts degree at the University of Bologna, Patricia Lunghi now works for various magazines including «Espaces contemporains», the main Swiss French journal for architecture and design. She was involved in setting up Design Days, a meeting platform for everything associated with design in French-speaking Switzerland.
Job Titles:
- Curator and Director Germany, Partner
Born in Germany. After a lengthy stay in South America, studies in Geography, Empirical Cultural Studies and Architecture. 1993 diploma in Architecture at the University of Stuttgart. Cooperation with architecture offices in Stuttgart, Zurich and London. Lives in Stuttgart. Since 2004 project manager at PSA Publishers. Architecture is a cycle. (An ideational reflection.) Good architecture depends on good cooperation of the responsible architects with the engineers of all disciplines on the one hand, on the other hand on a disputatious discourse of architects and their clients. If architecture photography shows architecture in a favourable light and conveys it to the viewer, in an ideal case interest and pleasure in more (good) architecture arises. Contact: Obere Wiesenstraße 4/3 DE - 72459 Albstadt
Born in Zurich, Renato has held various national and international executive positions in the marketing and communications sector. Particularly in publishing, communications, media sales and licensing. Renato holds a commercial degree from the KV Business School in Zurich, Masters of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Leadership and Management from the University of Applied Sciences in Zurich and in Applied Ethics from the University of Zurich.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager, Editor, Curator Japan
Ryogo was born in Tokyo where he graduated from the master course of Department of Design at Tokyo University of the Arts. He then worked for various design offices before joining Neoplus Sixten Inc. in 2006, a PR and Communication agency specialized in architecture and design. In 2016 he joined PSA Publishers Ltd. as representative of japan-architects.com, together with Chika Muto, the founder of Neoplus Sixten Inc.
Born in Spain, Silvia has studies in Architecture in Madrid (ETSAM) and in Landscape Architecture in Barcelona (ETSAB). Passionate about communication 2.0., Silvia focuses on projects that combine architecture, public space and social networks. She received the Award AJAC VII - Catalonia Young Architects Award and has conducted and participated in numerous projects that integrate landscape, citizen participation and social networks. Since 2013 Silvia is part of Labóh team developing social marketing for architecture and in September 2015 joined PSA Publishers as curator and editor.
Born in Zurich, grew up in Italy, France and Switzerland, studied German literature, comparative literature, philosophy and art history in Zurich and Paris. After graduating (lic. phil. ph.), worked as a teacher and lecturer for several years. Interdisciplinary interests gave rise to a desire for more creative and varied work, which led to a move into journalism. Between 2008 and 2016, editor and later deputy editor-in-chief at Archithema Verlag (Das Ideale Heim / Atrium). Then set up as a freelancer. Writes for NZZ, Hochparterre, Atrium, Das Ideale Heim, and Modulor, among others, on architecture, design and art. Also active as a consultant and curator. Nomad with a base in Zurich. In architecture, it is not only the buildings that count for me, but also the spaces between them. It is the balanced interaction between these complementary elements that turns the built environment into a place in which people can feel at home. I never think of architecture as a single discipline. I am interested in the interaction of architecture with all of the disciplines and sciences that are related to it or touch on it, from art and design to sociology and ecology.
Born in Romania and raised in Munich, Uschi studied visual communication and industrial design in Schwäbisch Gmünd where she graduated with a masters degree in design (Dipl. Des.). Uschi worked in renowned agencies in Germany and Brazil before founding UTOUP Büro für Gestaltung in Munich with her husband in 2005. Always interested in spatial themes, architecture has been a faithful and exciting companion for Uschi. She will now bring this interest and her many years of project experience to PSA Publishers as Project Director.
Born and raised in Zurich, Vincenz was influenced by his parents (interior designer & photographer). Early on, art and design played an important role in his life. After completion of his mandatory school years he is highly motivated to learn more about creation and technology. He joined the team of PSA Publishers in the summer of 2022 as an apprentice mediamatician for a duration of 4 years. In his free-time Vincenz is passionate about sports, gaming and traveling.
Born in 1979 in Vilnius, Lithuania, Vlad has been a professional software developer since he was 16. After completing his master degree in Computer Science in 2003, Vlad solved software performance issues in several companies, took a significant part in numerous software development projects, and provided his own search engine optimization and user experience enhancement products to thousands of website owners. For me, architecture is about people, both architects and the rest of us. And I like people!
After three years practical experiences in a large architecture firm in China, Yao attended the ETH in Zurich where she graduated with a masters degree in architecture and digital fabrication in 2018. Currently living in Beijing and Zurich, Yao joins World-Architects as Content Manager for Chinese-Architects.com. In addition she is also working as a freelance architect in China.
Studies in Bachelor of Feng Chia University (FCU) and Master of Advanced Studies ETH in Architecture and Digital Fabrication (ETH Zurich). As an architect his works are related to computational design and digital fabrication of architecture as well as environmental issues and sustainability. ZongRu strongly believes architectural aesthetics are closely related to geometry logic and tectonic systems. By cooperating with computer scientists, structure engineers and young architects from ten countries, he was working on several projects and interdisciplinary fields. Currently living in Taiwan and Switzerland, ZongRu joins World-Architects as Content Manager for Chinese-Architects.com.