Katrina Simon is a designer and artist with a background in architecture, landscape architecture and fine art, with research and teaching interests in design research, mapping and cemetery history and design. Katrina is currently a senior lecturer in the Faculty of the Built Environment at UNSW Australia, teaching in the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, which was judged as one of the top 13 schools at last year’s Barcelona Landscape Biennale. She is currently co-chair of the Design Research Cluster in the faculty and has presented research and design work in several recent international conference. Katrina has received numerous design awards for individual and collaborative design competitions, has exhibited work in New Zealand, Australia, and the US, and has had residencies in Paris and New York. She will also be exhibiting a collaborative project with Simon Twose at this year’s Prague Quadrennial.
Paola Trapani, architetto, PHD in Industrial Design al Politecnico di Milano, dal 1995 svolge attività di ricerca nell'ambito delle nuove tecnologie della comunicazione. Ha uno specifico interesse all’applicazione della semiotica nell’organizzazione del contenuto e della corrispondente espressione grafica di siti web d’ingente dimensione e complessità, di proprietà d’istituzioni culturali e aziende multinazionali. In quest’ambito collabora con il Teatro alla Scala, Triennale di Milano, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Festival dei due Mondi, Ministero degli Affari Esteri. Dal 1998 collabora con Costa Crociere e nel 2001 e 2002 vince il prestigioso Internet Key Award per la realizzazione del sito Internet aziendale.
Dal 2002 tiene il l’insegnamento di Comunicazione Visiva nell’ambito del corso di laurea in Comunicazione Digitale presso l’Università Statale di Milano. Tiene inoltre numerosi corsi FSE per l’insegnamento delle piattaforme per la grafica digitale 2D.
Sempre più interessata ai temi della sostenibilità ambientale, della progettazione partecipata e delle comunità creative, dal 2005 collabora con Anna Meroni e Tommaso Buganza al Laboratorio di Design Concept al 4° anno del corso di Laurea Specialistica in Design dei Servizi presso il Politecnico di Milano.
Mike Thomas, Principal Jasmax. Mike has over 16 years’ experience as a Landscape Architect, working predominantly in New Zealand, Hong Kong and China. He has extensive experience as a project design leader with a focus on design and delivery of public realm projects for local and central government agencies and commercial precincts. Mike set up and leads the Landscape Architecture team, one of the largest in New Zealand, in addition, he was a co-founder of the Jasmax Christchurch office, managing the regional studio for four years. Mike has led and participated in the successful design and delivery of streetscapes, civic plazas, parks, campuses and transportation infrastructure. He is as adept at the high level masterplanning of precincts and transportation infrastructure as he is with the detailed design of furnishings, plantings and surface finishes. His ability to craft individual designs for each project reflects his skills at listening and collaboration and the value he attributes to ‘sense of place’. Mike is able to engage in productive partnerships with clients, consultants and in-house designers to deliver ‘whole of site’ solutions that are comprehensive and complimentary to their urban and natural environments. He has championed an integrated design culture in Jasmax, where architecture, urban design, interiors and landscape coincide to deliver meaningful living and working environments.
Stuart Houghton, Urban Designer, Associate Principal, Boffa Miskell. Stuart has over 10 years experience in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. His experience ranges from preparing urban design frameworks, structure plans, and site master plans as well as strategic and conceptual design proposals for streets and public spaces. Stuart bridges the professional and disciplinary divides between planning and design, strategy and implementation, and public and private interests, to deliver higher quality, more liveable cities and urban places.
Tommy Honey, Dean of Collage, Whitcliffe Collage of Art. Tommy is a director, designer, educational manager, architectural critic, cultural commentator and occasional architect. He received his B.Arch from Auckland University in 1986 and has worked in a variety of careers. Tommy has worked in the theatre as a designer and director, taught architecture and design at Wellington Polytechnic, Victoria University, Massey University, Toi Whakaari, CIT, Unitec, and Weltec, project managed at the City Gallery Wellington and was the director of the New Zealand Film and Television School for eight years. He writes regularly for Architecture New Zealand and Urbis and is the resident urbanist on Radio New Zealand’s Nine-to-Noon.
Desna Whaanga-Schollum, Rongomaiwahine, Ngati Kahungunu, has been a practising artist and designer for ten years since completing a bachelor in design (visual communications) in 1997. She is currently a partner in the graphic design company 360 Degrees and exhibits her fine art work regularly in various solo and group exhibitions around Aotearoa. Desna’s art and design work is accredited with the inaugural toi iho mark of Maori arts authenticity and quality. She is a committee member of Tidal Arts Inc. who organise the annual Mahia Arts Exhibition GIFTED SANDS. Her artworks are held in public and private collections in NZ, Australia, U.K. and the USA
Juan Molina is a senior architect and urban designer at CPRW Fisher. Juan is a graduate of the Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona and a Spanish Registered Architect, member of the Collegi Oficial d’Arquitectes de Catalunya. Juan was taught by luminaries, Enric Miralles and Ignasi de Solà-Morales and worked with Viaplana and Pinon on the early days of the ‘Plazas duras’ in Barcelona. He has over 20 years of experience as a practicing architect in New Zealand and Spain, projects include the master planning of Britomart with Cheshire Architects and designing a NZIA award wining projects with CPRW Fisher. His latest urban intervention was the instigation of the Candy Chang ‘Before I die...’ wall in St Patricks Square.
Bill McKay is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Head (Student Relations) in the School of Architecture and Planning. He has taught in all subject areas and currently supervises postgraduate theses, coordinates the teaching of architectural technology and some design courses, and teaches the Professional Studies courses. Bill writes extensively on New Zealand architecture in books, journals and magazines and has received a New Zealand Institute of Architects President's Award, as well as being named Best Architectural Writer by Urbis magazine. He is a regular critic of architecture and commentator on urban design issues as well as being very involved in local Auckland issues. Bill’s research is in the area of New Zealand historical and contemporary architecture, with a special interest in Maori architecture. His current funded research projects range from state houses to post-war marae development and war memorial halls (as part of his PhD). He continues to practice both architecture and public sculpture with current projects in Auckland and the Chatham Islands. He is also working on Cloudland, a history of New Zealand architecture that focuses on the buildings most of us live and work in, and is editing Awkward City, a collection of essays about the history and development of Auckland.
Bob Dey, creator & writer of The Bob Dey Property Report and its email newsletter. Bob has worked on numerous New Zealand newspapers since 1965 — the Otago Daily Times, Evening Star, Evening Post, Dominion, Hawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune, NZ Truth, Auckland Star, NZ Herald, National Business Review, Sunday Star, Sunday Times and their merged entity, the Sunday Star-Times, edited Auckland Business and Building News magazines. His writing has also appeared for a time in the Southland Times, Christchurch Press and the Australian.
Will Thresher Director Thresher Associates. Will has 25 years experience in the design and construction of urban design and landscape projects. He has worked on a wide range of multidisciplinary projects for a variety of local authority, institutional and developer clients in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Will holds a post-graduate diploma in Urban Design, with distinction, from Oxford Brookes University in the UK. He also holds a post-graduate diploma in Landscape Architecture and a degree, with honours, in Landscape Design from Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. Will is a Registered Landscape Architect, an Associate member of the NZILA and a chartered member of the UK's Landscape Institute. Will was elected to the NZILA National Executive in April 2005 with responsibility for the Practice Support Documentation and Graduate Affairs portfolios and has been a member of Auckland City's Urban Design Panel since 2004. Will's Urban Design Panel role has been extended by participation in specially convened advisory groups for key projects including Sylvia Park, Mt Wellington Quarry redevelopment, Wynyard Point [Tank Farm] and Eden Park 2011 upgrade. Will's local and overseas experience includes work on projects as diverse as urban design plans and guidelines, business parks, campus redevelopments, sports facility design, highways, historic parks, park design, reserve management plans, housing estate design and urban renewal. Will has also prepared detailed designs for unique streetscape elements and facilitated community art projects.
