The Architect's Chair / Edition #2 Jury Panel!

Philippe Starck, STARCK
Boris Berlin, Boris Berlin Design
Anne Brandhøj, Bly Studio, Anne Brandhø
Sarah Hossli, product designer
Flora Lee, MAD Architects
Alexander Lervik, designer
Lorenz Noelle, product designer
Natalia Sanz Laviña, YSLA YamamuraSanzLaviña Architects
Harrison Stallan, OMA
Takeshi Yamamura, YSLA YamamuraSanzLaviña Architects

Philippe Starck is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles, produced via his company STARCK. Starck, a world famous creator with multifaceted inventiveness, is always focused on the essential, his vision: that creation, whatever form it takes, must improve the lives of as many people as possible. This philosophy has made him one of the pioneers and central figures of the concept of “democratic design”.

By employing his prolific work across all domains, from everyday products (furniture, a citrus- squeezer, electric bikes, an individual wind turbine), to architecture (hotels, restaurants that aspire to be stimulating places) and naval and spatial engineering (mega yachts, space habitation module), he continually pushes the boundaries and requirements of design, becoming one of the most visionary and renowned creators of the international contemporary scene.

Boris Berlin is a Designer and Partner of Copenhagen-based Boris Berlin Design, as well as KOMPLOT Design & ISKOS-BERLIN Design and a member of the Danish Design Council. He began his career in 1975 as an industrial and graphic designer at VNIITE in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg, Russia). In 1983 he moved to Denmark and founded Boris Berlin Design, in 1987 co-founded Komplot Design, and in 2010 co-founded partnership Iskos-Berlin Design. In his designs he focuses on experimenting with new technologies and materials exploring their possibilities and impact on design of everyday objects. The geography of his clients spreads from Denmark and Sweden to the USA and Japan including such companies as Gubi, Hay, Normann, Muuto, Fritz Hansen, Källemo, Tendo Mokko, Stylex Seating, Jot.Jot, Collect.studio, Icons of Denmark and others. 

He has received numerous design awards and his works are represented in design museums around the world, among them: Design Museum Denmark, Die Neue Sammlung - The International DesignMuseum Munich, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Vitra Design Museum, V&A Young, London. He was awarded The Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for excellence in the fields of applied art and industrial design and received The Lifelong Honorary Grant of the Danish Arts Foundation. He has curated, designed and participated in numerous design exhibitions, led master classes in several design schools and was invited as a key-note speaker at several design conferences and as a juror of several national and international design competitions.

Anne Brandhøj was Educated as a furniture designer at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen. She is a Partner at the furniture design studio Bly Studio and also works with wood sculptures under her own name Anne Brandhø. Her sculptural practice is defined by a deep connection to materiality – large sections of fresh timber are hand felled, lathed and then dried.

Sarah Hossli is a product designer based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Her design work is driven by her passion and interest in today’s cultural, societal, and ethical topics. She carefully analyzes the social impacts of products while she creates objects that are both poetic and sensuous. In all her works, she explores and uses the unique properties and distinctive qualities of the material. During her working life as a designer, she taught experimental three-dimensional sketching and furniture design at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, while at the same time working as an independent designer.

Flora Lee is an Associate Partner of MAD Architects. She has helped develop and realize a number of MAD’s major international projects, including: 8600 Wilshire in Beverly Hills; Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles; Campinas Art Gallery of Brazil; East 34th in NYC; UNIC Residential in Paris; and the Conrad Hotel in Beijing.

Alexander Lervik is one of Scandinavia's foremost designers with several products in the permanent collections at the National Museum in Oslo and the National Museum in Stockholm. He works with leading Scandinavian brands such as Designhouse Stockholm, Adea, Noon, Zero and Orrefors/kosta Boda. Internationally, he has collaborated with, among others, Moroso in Italy. In 2007, he scanned his own brain and 3D printed it into the MYBRAIN lamp in a limited edition, which is described by several auction houses as the first signature object in Scandinavia for 3D printed technology. Among his most famous products are the Brighthandle door handle that communicates with colored light and the light swing ”Sense". Alexander Lervik's design is timeless Scandinavian with a twist - often containing an innovation and often with new areas of use. Alexander has had solo exhibitions at the National Museum in Stockholm, Sven Harry's Art Museum in Stockholm and a retrospective exhibition at the Kulturhuset in Stockholm.

Lorenz Noelle is a product designer based in Switzerland. He studied art at high school, where he discovered his passion for design. He graduated with a master's degree in product design from the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne and a bachelor's degree from the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. For a short time he worked for Jehs+Laub in Stuttgart. In 2021 he founded his own studio working in various fields, from industrial design of everyday objects to furniture design and exhibition projects. In projects, Noelle searches for the essence of form through a reduction to the essential. The works embody contemporary values based on a careful research of the context, a respectful use of materials and his practical approach. His creativity leads him to collaborate with a wide range of international clients.

Natalia Sanz Laviña is a Spanish architect who holds a master’s degree from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. She worked for Kengo Kuma and Associates in both its Tokyo and Paris offices from 2008 until 2018 before opening YSLA YamamuraSanzLaviña Architects in Tokyo. Her firm designs for public and private entities and her work spans from exhibition design to residential, hospitality and offices buildings. The office has been recognized with awards such as DesignArt Tokyo 2019 for the exhibition Garden of Eden at Spiral Aoyama and the Good Design Award 2021 and 2023. Her academic pursuits include coordinating the cross-cultural workshop "Mediterranean blind and Japanese Sudare" and serving as an invited lecturer on environmental architecture at the Chuo University Faculty of Science and Engineering in Tokyo.

Harrison Stallan is an architect at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture OMA in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Contributing his architectural expertise to a range of projects at OMA, Stallan's work extends across continents including Australia, Europe, and Asia. He is currently spearheading an up-and-coming bespoke furniture line in collaboration with Kandui Technologies in Australia. This innovative furniture line explores the use of recycled materials within a circular economy framework. With a diverse portfolio encompassing architecture, landscape, and interior design, Stallan’s expertise extends from large-scale urban masterplans to intricately crafted furniture pieces. From conceptualizing forward-thinking cityscapes to designing furniture pieces with a sustainable edge, his design philosophy seamlessly integrates innovation with environmental consciousness. His extensive international experience has enriched his perspective, enabling him to approach design challenges holistically and with a keen eye for innovation. As a juror in this competition, Stallan brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for pushing the boundaries of design excellence.

Takeshi Yamamura is a Japanese architect and founder of Tokyo-based YSLA YamamuraSanzLaviña Architects, which he established in 2016 in partnership with Spanish architect Natalia Sanz. Takeshi previously worked with Dominique Perrault Architecture. He is currently an associate professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University.