Timber Skyscraper Challenge Jury Panel

Buildner is pleased to announce its jury for the SKYHIVE Timber Skyscraper Challenge!

Hayri Atak, Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio (HAADS)
Charley Brentnall, Xylotek
Sam Brown, O’DonnellBrown
Thomas Corbasson, Chartier+Corbasson Architectes
Jürgen Mayer H., J.MAYER.H und Partner
Claudia Munk-von Flotow, Key Development
Nicolas Sterling, Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers
Elke Sterling-Presser, Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers
Hans Jakob Wagner, University of Stuttgart
Luo Yujie, LUO Studio

Hayri Atak leads Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio (HAADS). He is an architect, designer and instructor who conducts his works in several different scales such as environment, city, building and industrial design. He graduated from Istanbul Technical University department of Interior Architecture and studied architecture in Auburn University in part of his undergraduate education. He had the opportunity to participate in various workshops at Rural Studio. Afterwards, he completed his master’s degree in Istanbul Technical University “Facade Design and Technology” and then completed his “Hotel Design in Interior Architecture” education at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA). In addition, he was awarded numerous awards in many competitions he participated in during his student period and professional business life. Hayri Atak who carries out workshops with different concepts in universities also participates in various courses as a guest lecturer and teaches at many different universities such as ITU, IMU, FSMVU. In addition to the aforementioned workshops he takes part as a jury member in many national and international competitions. He adopts concepts such as futurism and informatics in architecture and stands out with his modular and organic formed works in line with these sense of design. He closely follows many topics such as parametric design, prototyping techniques, robotics in architecture.

Charley Brentnall is Director of UK-based Xylotek, which specializes in the design and delivery of advanced timber structures.Charley is an internationally recognised leader in timber construction and conservation. With work spanning four decades and four continents, he has established a unique professional approach which combines intimate understanding of material with the ability to lead the delivery of large and complex timber structures.Since 2000 his work has evolved to embrace new technologies and he seeks, as a founder of Xylotek, to marry depth of knowledge with wood with the opportunities of advanced fabrication. In 1987 Charley also founded Carpenter Oak and Woodland, Charley pioneered the renaissance of timber-framing in the UK and became the country’s leading expert in traditional construction. Having led projects internationally and in a range of cultural and educational contexts, Charley has particular expertise in forming and enabling teams to deliver exceptional projects.

Sam Brown is co-founder of Glasgow-based O’DonnellBrown. ODB is a growing studio with a strong social conscience and a mission to bring about positive change. Sam oversees projects of various scales throughout the UK, including large-scale housing, commercial refurbishment and extension, master planning and education schemes. He also manages all areas of the practice. Prior to founding the studio, he was architecture team leader at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for seven years. There he was responsible for all projects, involving coordination, design management, client liaison, dispute resolution and consultant appointments, as well as project liaison, cost management and contract administration. During his time at Tower Hamlets, he also fulfilled the role of Client Design Advisor, attending regular project meetings to comment on design, check drawings and technical details, advise on any direct design queries and how best to resolve obstacles. Sam is also actively involved in architectural education, having filled the roles of Associate Lecturer, Study Support Tutor and Professional Practice Examiner at Central Saint Martins in London, and more recently as Studio Design Tutor at the University of Strathclyde. He currently teaches at Glasgow School of Art as a Studio Design Tutor. Sam has lectured around the UK at various education institutions, conferences and events and is also a judge for the Glasgow Institute of Architects’ annual design awards.

Thomas Corbasson is an associate architect of the Paris-based agency Chartier+Corbasson Architectes. The agency was the winner of the ‘albums de la jeune architecture’ and received an honorable mention for the Mies van der Rohe Prize. More recently, The London Organic Skyscraper, the Picardy Chamber of Commerce and the winning project for the redevelopment of the Eiffel Tower site have opened up the agency to an international dimension.

Jürgen Mayer H. is the founding partner of J.MAYER.H und Partner. After studying architecture at the University of Stuttgart, The Cooper Union New York and Princeton University, he founded his Berlin office in 1996. J.MAYER.H und Partner is a renowned architectural practice working at the interface of architecture, communication design and new technologies. In cooperative teams, multidisci-plinary spatial research on the relationship between body, nature and technology is developed and reali- zed, from installations to urban planning designs and competitions. J.MAYER.H has realised a wide range of different projects worldwide. Recent notable projects include the parking garage in Miami Design-District, the FOM university building in Dusseldorf, Germany, a court building in Hasselt, Belgium and various public and infrastructural buildings in Georgia, such as the airport in Mestia and the border crossing in Sarpi. The most prominent project is the internationally renowned Metropol Parasol, the re- design of the Plaza de la Encarnacion in Seville, Spain with its expansive sculptural wooden construction.

Claudia Munk-von Flotow is COO of Oregon, US-based Key Development. Since 1996, Key has been building uncommon places using a development approach that prioritizes social and environmental sustainability and highly-considered design. Key works closely with public agencies such as housing, economic development, and planning departments, to respond to regional issues.

Elke Sterling-Presser is Co Founder and Director of Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers in Berlin. She is a licensed German Architect and Entrepreneur, and holds an advanced Master of ­Architec­ture degree from the SAC-Städelschule at the “Staatliche Hochschule für Bildene Künste, Städelschule”, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under the supervision of Prof. Ben Van Berkel, Prof. Johan Bettum and Prof. Mark Wigley. She completed her degree in architecture in Heidelberg, Ger­many in 2001. Between 2006 and 2015, she worked at Zaha Hadid Architects in London. Her completed projects include the Riverside Museum project, Museum of Transport in Glasgow, the Sackler Gallery Serpentine in Hyde Park, London and the Neil ­Barrett stores in Tokyo, Seoul, Daegu, Osaka, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hong Kong and London. She is the project architect for all Neil Barrett stores and for private residences in San Diego and Brussels. She currently teaches at the UdK in Berlin, and has taught at the University of Greenwich in London between 2013 and 2015. She has been invited for reviews at various schools of architecture, including the AA Architectural Association, UCL Bartlett, Metropolitan University MET, University of Greenwich, London, Städelschule, Frankfurt and the University of Applied Sciences, Heidelberg.

Nicolas Sterling is Co Founder and Director of Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers in Berlin. He is a structural engineer and architect, qualified and chartered. He is a graduate of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris and the Paris La Villette School of Architecture. He was previously Associate Director of AKTII Adams Kara Taylor, managing a group delivering buildings and special structures. He joined ARUP AGU’s Advanced Geometry Unit in 2005, a team of specialists within ARUP led by Cecil Balmond, and was part of the ARUP Building Engineering Group in London until 2011. His design-oriented approach and interest in innovative forms and structures has enabled him to work on cutting-edge design projects with leading architectural and design firms such as Zaha Hadid, Shigeru Ban, Ron Arad and Anish Kapoor, and has been involved in a wide range of programmes such as sculptures, canopies, buildings and walkways in a design approach. Prior to 2005, Nicolas worked with Hugh Dutton in the HDA office in Paris on lightweight structures, long span walkways and facades, developing technical concepts and details as a key point in the architectural process. Nicolas regularly gives lectures and reviews in architecture and engineering schools.

Hans Jakob Wagner is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Institute for Computational Design and Construction, University of Stuttgart. He has a special focus on advanced computational wood building systems and associated robotic production systems and -processes. He is working on his dissertation titled "Project-based Robotic Timber Construction: A framework for the integrative co-evolution of building- and automation systems in computational wood construction" and core projects within the DFG Cluster of Excellence IntCDC.

Luo Yujie is Chief Architect and founder of LUO Studio and Lecturer at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in China. Luo and his studio have been invited to many exhibitions at home and abroad, such as the “Beyond Architecture” Exhibition in Venice, the itinerant exhibitions of Today Art Museum and CBC Architecture Museum, and the “Unknown City” Chinese Contemporary Architectural Installation Art Exhibition. Luo has been invited to deliver lectures at Universidad de Buenos Aires, Tsinghua University, Tianjin University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Hunan University, CUBE STATION and other colleges and institutes worldwide. His design works and articles have been published in domestic and overseas magazines that include Architectural Review, AV Monographs, A+U and World Architecture. His major works include Children's House in Dong'anshang Village, Timber Bridge in Gulou Waterfront, Youth Entrepreneurship Center in Sange Village, Shu Di Huang Craftsmanship Exhibition Hall, Natural Library in Zheshui Village.

The SKYHIVE Timber Skyscraper Challenge is the sixth annual architecture competition searching for iconic and unique designs for a high rise structure. The SKYHIVE Challenge series has always been about seeking out and implementing new technologies, new concepts and new materials to reimagine what a state-of-the-art skyscraper would look like and how it would function.