Big Names, Bigger Ideas: Meet the 13 Global Firm Leaders Judging the 2025 Vision Awards

The 2025 Vision Awards are now open and the Final Entry Deadline is coming up fast on July 11th. This global awards program celebrates the most compelling architectural visuals and ideas, from renderings and models to unbuilt projects, photography and more. Entries are reviewed by an international jury of experts shaping the future of design across disciplines and scales.

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Among this year’s jurors are 12 standout firm leaders — principals, founders and design partners whose work has made a global impact. From boutique studios to internationally renowned firms, they bring deep insight and influence to the table as they help define this year’s most visionary architectural work.

Each of these jurors is a principal, founder, or design partner at the forefront of architectural practice and they’re here to select the boldest visual and conceptual work of the year.

Lyndon Neri

Co-Founder, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

Lyndon Neri co-founded Neri&Hu Design and Research Office with Rossana Hu in 2006, an inter-disciplinary architectural design practice based in Shanghai. Through his practice, Neri has reinforced a core vision: to respond to a global worldview incorporating overlapping design disciplines for a critical paradigm in architecture, while believing strongly in research as a design tool, as each project bears its unique set of contextual issues.

Alongside his design practice, Neri has been deeply committed to architectural education, and has taught and lectured in numerous universities. He was recently appointed as Visiting Faculty at Princeton University School of Architecture, starting spring semester 2024. He was appointed the Howard Friedman Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of California, Berkeley in 2023, the Design Critic in 2023 and the John C. Portman Design Critic in Architecture in 2019 and 2021 at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor in 2022 and Norman R. Foster Visiting Professor Chair in 2018 at the Yale School of Architecture.

Neri is also Founding Partner of Design Republic in Shanghai since 2004, a design platform incorporating retail concept, design and cultural exhibitions, and education. In 2015, he was appointed as the Creative Director of Stellar Works, and has been a board member of Roll & Hill LLC. in Brooklyn since 2010. Neri received his Master of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and his Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley.

Follow Lyndon Neri and Neri&Hu Design and Research Office on Instagram.

Sanjay Puri

Principal at Sanjay Puri Architects

Sanjay Puri is the principal architect of Sanjay Puri Architects, a firm that was established in 1992 and has won over 360 international awards. Sanjay graduated in 1988 from the Academy of Architecture, Mumbai and has been on the jury of a plethora of competitions. Sanjay has been a speaker at numerous architectural and design events in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Singapore, Barcelona, Venice, Milan and more. With a current firm strength of 108 architects and designers, Sanjay Puri Architects have ongoing projects in 54 Indian cities currently. The current projects include master planning, architecture, interior design, event design and product design across various typologies.

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Winka Dubbeldam

Principal Partner at ARCHI-TECTONICS NYC

Winka Dubbeldam, March, MsAAD, is the founder and partner of the WBE certified New York firm Archi-Tectonics NYC, LLC with offices in the US, the Netherlands and China. Dubbeldam is widely known for her award-winning work, recognized as much for its design excellence as for its use of smart building systems, sustainable materials, and innovative structures. Archi-Tectonics has designed many mixed-use and residential buildings and commercial spaces, including aellness, art galleries and retail, including the Ports1961 flagship stores in London, Paris and Shanghai among others. Archi-Tectonics won the Asian Games Invited Design Competition in Hangzhou China, with a 116 acre Eco park, 5 buildings, and 2 hybrid stadiums, which opened in 2023, now after the games it is a cultural and recreation space for the city of Hangzhou. The project has since garnered numerous awards.

Dubbeldam was also the Chair [2013-23] and Miller Professor at the Weitzman School of Design’s Department of Architecture and Director of the Advanced Research and Innovation {ARI] Lab at the University of Pennsylvania where she has gathered an international network of innovative research and design professionals. She previously taught at the graduate architecture programs at Columbia, Cornell and Harvard Universities, and was named one of the Design Intelligence 30 Most Admired professionals in their Field 2015. Currently Dubbeldam is the External Examiner at the Architectural Association and Bartlett UCL London, and on the AIANY Committee, and on the jury for the ULI and PLAN Awards. This year she was named Advisor to Bogotá’s Mayor for the Bogotá Architecture Biennale 2025. She has spoken on innovation and sustainability internationally, including a TED talk, the recent UIA World Form for Architects in Copenhagen 2023, and at Cop 28 in 2023.

The work is published in numerous international architecture and design periodicals, as well as in the four monographs; Winka Dubbeldam, Architect (010 Publishers, Rotterdam, 1996), AT-INDEX (Princeton Press, NYC, 2006), Archi-Tectonics (DAAB publishers, 2010), and “Strange Objects” with Actar, Spain [2021], with a new monograph with Park Books coming out this Fall.

Follow Winka and Archi-Tectonics NYC on Instagram.

Suchi Reddy

Principal for ReddyMade

Suchi Reddy, FAIA, is an architect and designer exploring neuroaesthetics — the impact of design on perception and well-being. As founder of Reddymade, she integrates neuroscience and architecture to create environments that foster connection, rest, and empowerment. Guided by her philosophy, “form follows feeling,” her work spans public art, healthcare, and research on neurodiversity. Notable projects include A Space for Being, an installation with Google demonstrating consciousness. A professor at Columbia University and frequent lecturer on design and wellbeing, she champions design’s role in shaping empathetic, equitable, and enriching environments.

Follow Reddymade on Instagram.

Amaury Greig

Partner/Director of Operations, Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Amaury Greig earned degrees in Geography from the University of Victoria BC, and in Political Science from the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po) before completing his studies in Architecture at the University of British Columbia. After gaining professional experience in Canada and France, he joined the Workshop in 2012, where he played a key role on the Paris Courthouse project, from design phases to its completion in 2017.

In 2016, Amaury served as the Lead Architect for the New Toronto Courthouse competition, overseeing the project through to the final delivery. Over the years, he has led high-profile competitions and projects across Europe and North America.

In 2022, he was appointed Director of Operations taking on a firm-wide role overseeing the Workshop’s operations, communications, and business development. Amaury was named Partner in 2024.

Instagram: @rpbw_architects

David Godshall

Co-Founder and Principal at Terremoto 

David Godshall is a landscape architect, horticultural theorist and the co-founder and design director of the TERREMOTO office in Los Angeles, which he founded with Alain Peauroi in 2012. Over the past twelve years, TERREMOTO has grown quickly and established itself as a driving force in the world of landscape architecture. David’s strategic approach to design is inherently rooted in philosophy and the idea that ecology, horticulture and landscape have transformative physical and spiritual impacts upon humans and non-humans. Follow TERRMOTO on Instagram.

Olin McKenzie

Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

As a designer, Olin McKenzie is influenced by his experience of cities — the spaces, patterns, and buildings that contribute to the novelty and wonder of urban living. His architectural sensibility is invested in restraint and clarity, and by the belief that layered work can be most powerfully achieved through an economy of design moves.

When he joined SOM in 2006, Olin initially worked in the education sector, with projects including the Raffles American School in Iskandar, Malaysia, and student activity and athletic facilities for Kuwait University. He went on to design dynamic and influential transportation projects, including Brightline, which encompasses three passenger rail stations in South Florida, and the Philadelphia 30th Street Station District Plan.

A human scale and distinct visual identity are throughlines in Olin’s work. From the curving glass façade which masks the structural columns at Pendry Manhattan West to the locally sourced timber screens that enable passive shading and air flow at the Raffles American School, Olin is known for finding unexpected formal and material solutions that enrich a building’s function and surroundings. Follow Skidmore, Owings & Merrill on Instagram.

Luca Bussolino

Partner, Head of Strategy & Innovation at Carlo Ratti Associati

Luca is a trained architect and licensed engineer. He completed his Master in Architecture in September 2018, obtaining a double master degree with honors at Politecnico di Torino and Politecnico di Milano. Luca joined CRA in December 2018. Since late 2019 he is part of the Strategy and Innovation team.

In 2022 he became Head of Strategy and Innovation for the firm, managing the team in charge of developing future projects and the long-term strategy of CRA – Carlo Ratti Associati. During his studies, he spent one year in Paris, at ENSA La Villette, and a semester at TU Delft, in The Netherlands. He holds a post-degree Diploma in Innovation Management from the highly selective Alta Scuola Politecnica which led him to deal with themes ranging from design thinking to industry 4.0. In June 2019, he completed his second humanitarian project in Cambodia, managing the process from needs evaluation to fundraising and building construction of a multi-family house in Sihanoukville. Follow CRA — Carlo Ratti Associati on Instagram.

Katherine Chia

Co-Founder of Desai Chia Architecture 

Katherine Chia FAIA is a founding principal of Desai Chia Architecture. Since 1996, she and her partner & husband, Arjun Desai, have established the firm’s reputation for authentic design, creating inspiring environments expressive of light, materials, and spaces that foster collaboration. Desai Chia’s projects have been published extensively and received many accolades including numerous AIA Design Awards and American Architecture Awards, numerous Interior Design Best of Year Awards, and an AIA Institute Honor Award. Architizer ranked Desai Chia as one of the top 100 US architecture firms, and Forbes ranked Desai Chia as one of the top 200 US residential architecture firms. In 2018, ARCHITECT Magazine ranked Desai Chia Architecture #19 in the nation for Design. The book “The Women Who Changed Architecture” by Princeton Architectural Press included Katherine and her work in the chapter titled “Raising the Roof.”

Katherine grew up in New York State and Belgium. She earned her Master of Architecture degree from M.I.T. and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College. Prior to founding Desai Chia Architecture, she worked for Maya Lin on numerous art and architecture commissions. She is a Trustee Emerita of Amherst College, a board member at the Center for Architecture, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Follow Desai Chia Architecture on Instagram.

Arjun Desai

Co-Founder of Desai Chia Architecture 

Arjun Desai AIA is a founding principal of Desai Chia Architecture. Since 1996, he and his partner & wife, Katherine Chia, have established the firm’s reputation for authentic design, creating inspiring environments expressive of light, materials, and spaces that foster collaboration. Desai Chia’s projects have been published extensively and received many accolades including numerous AIA Design Awards and American Architecture Awards, numerous Interior Design Best of Year Awards, and an AIA Institute Honor Award. Architizer listed Desai Chia Architecture as one of the top 100 US Architecture firms, and Forbes listed the firm as one of the top 200 US residential architecture firms. In 2018, ARCHITECT Magazine ranked Desai Chia Architecture #19 in the nation for Design Excellence.

Arjun grew up in New Delhi and Mumbai, India. Prior to founding Desai Chia Architecture, he worked at SHCA/NY on numerous civic projects in New York and Washington, D.C. He earned his Master of Architecture degree from M.I.T. and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Bennington College. Follow Desai Chia Architecture on Instagram.

Sean Shen

Architect and Cofounder of ZJJZ Atelier China

Sean Shen, co-founded ZJJZ — a Shanghai based architecture design studio — with Xuanru Chen and Yu-ying Tsai in 2017. The studio focuses on design solutions for different spaces, while studying the creative uses of the space. Its areas of expertise encompass cultural and public projects such as art galleries, libraries, community centers and hotels. ZJJZ has also played an active role in the rural development of China. Follow ZJJZ atelier on Instagram.

James Biber

Founder/Principal of Biber Architects

James Biber, an architect and author, was a partner in the New York office of Pentagram for nearly 20 years before founding Biber Architects. His projects are wide ranging both in scale and type; from the Harley-Davidson Museum to the USA Pavilion at the 2015 Expo in Milan, from elaborate ocean front homes to a 100 sf cabin in upstate New York, and from architecture to essays to books.

While it often takes more time to publish a book that to build a building, Biber has been focusing on writing since the pandemic, and likely will into the future. After a lifetime of architectural work, only possible with the best (and numerous) collaborators, he derives enormous satisfaction from doing something entirely solo, that can be done virtually anywhere and with no schedule or client! Follow Biber Architects on Instagram.

Georg Windeck

Architect, Professor of Design & Construction of Rhein Main University of Applied Science

Georg Windeck is a German-American architect, practicing in New York and Berlin, with a focus on high end residential and institutional projects. He has been teaching at Cooper Union, SVA and IIT Chicago, and recently received a position as chair of Design and Construction at Rhein Main University in Wiesbaden, Germany. Follow Georg on Instagram.

Architizer’s Vision Awards are back! The global awards program honors the world’s best architectural concepts, ideas and imagery. Start your entry ahead of the Final Entry Deadline on July 11th. 

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