Jason Carlow

American University of Sharjah
Head of Department of Architecture

Jason is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at the American University of Sharjah. He holds a BA in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University and a Master of Architecture from Yale University. He has taught architecture for more than two decades at institutions including AUS, the University of Hong Kong, Parsons School of Design in New York, and the Yale School of Architecture.
Jason’s research focuses on high-rise, high-density urbanism. He recently published Cities of Repetition (AR+D Publications, 2024), which provides a comprehensive documentation and analysis of Hong Kong's massively scaled, highly standardized private housing estates.
In addition to his academic leadership, Jason is an award-winning designer. His design work has been published widely and exhibited internationally at the Hong Kong/Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, Dubai Design Week, the Venice Biennale of Architecture, and the Beijing Architecture Biennial. He is the recipient of an AIA Honor Award and the 2020 AIA/ACSA Housing Design Education Award.
PM Stream C: Digital & AI - The Future of the Built Environment
Panel Discussion: Protection of Professional Titles - From Education to Practice
2:00 - 2:30PM
Additional session details to be announced. Check back soon.

Mustafa Chehabeddine

KPF
Principal

Mustafa has designed internationally significant projects, including supertall towers, airport terminals, and urban districts. Managing multi-disciplinary teams across KPF’s global offices and collaborating with leading consultants, his projects have been widely recognized for their monumental spaces, cultural sensitivity, and technical innovation.
Mustafa’s designs are characterized by dramatic scales and curvilinear forms that blur the boundaries between inside and outside space. He is recognized as an industry leader in the adoption of new technologies, championing the use of computational design to deliver complex geometries and spatial magnitude while optimizing efficiency of form for buildability and cost. The design team for Zayed International Airport pioneered the use of parametric design to construct an award-winning terminal.
Mustafa’s work in rapidly urbanizing countries in Asia and the Middle East addresses complex city-making challenges, such as accommodating transportation infrastructure, anticipating future changes, and defining the character of neighborhoods. In Kuala Lumpur, the KLCC Cultural Hub—a major new cultural and retail center—was designed with future densification in mind. The structure is engineered to support the construction of a supertall tower above it at a later date, while ensuring the podium remains operational throughout. Shenzhen Centre, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development in Shenzhen, was envisioned to establish a unified core for the new city district.
Mustafa is a frequent speaker at organizations and conferences including Advanced Building Skins, CTBUH, MIPIM, and the MSc in Sustainable Urban Development, run in partnership by The King’s Foundation and the University of Oxford.
AM Stream A: Citymaking
Presentation: Designing for context across multiple scales
11:30am - 12:00pm
This presentation will consider how architects can design for integration with the urban context across multiple scales and locations. It will span the “urban acupuncture” approach guiding London’s Covent Garden, the creation of new centres such as Gemdale Center in Shenzhen, and the urban condition of the periphery as seen at Atlantis The Royal Dubai. It will also reflect on the design process for Zayed International Airport, a building on a truly urban scale, created to serve as a symbol for Abu Dhabi.

James Chin

PNCA
Associate Director

James is an accomplished architect with nearly 30 years of global design experience, including more than two decades in the Middle East. He currently serves as Associate Director at PNC Architects, the consultant arm of Sobha Realty in Dubai, where he oversees design leadership, project management, and operational performance across the region.
Throughout his career, James has been instrumental in advancing architectural excellence and has been nominated for several prestigious industry awards in recognition of his innovative contributions. He leads the firm’s internal innovation hub along with initiatives that focus on modular construction technologies and advanced sustainability strategies, while also working in close alignment with the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
James has played a central role in Sobha’s evolution toward larger, more complex towers and masterplans. To date, he has led the design of more than 30 tower projects with a combined built-up area exceeding 20 million square feet, encompassing over 19,000 residential units. Many of these developments have earned accolades across regional platforms for their design excellence and impact.
Currently, James is spearheading the design and delivery of Sobha Hartland II, a transformative masterplan featuring Sobha’s upcoming global headquarters and a 10-million-square-foot canal-lagoon district anchored by 14 residential towers. The project was recently recognized as the Mixed-Use Development of the Year 2024 by Design Middle East MENA, further underscoring James’s commitment to innovation at scale.
Among his most recent landmark projects is Sobha Central, a bold reimagining of high-density urban living through a pioneering “city within a building” concept. This integrated development unites six residential towers over a podium that seamlessly incorporates key community amenities, including a mosque, mall, medical center, nursery, park, and more. With intuitive indoor and outdoor connectivity across all spaces—from the rooftop urban park and amenity deck to ground-level retail and prayer halls—Sobha Central exemplifies a people-centric approach to design, setting new benchmarks for livability and vertical community planning in Dubai.
Recognized for his visionary approach, James continues to shape human-centric, high-density living through purposeful design and innovation.
AM Stream B: Pushing the Boundaries
Presentation: From Fragmentation to Integration - A Strategic Study of End-to-End Real Estate Development
12:00 - 12:30PM
The real estate sector has long struggled with inefficiencies stemming from fragmented delivery models, in which planning, design, construction, and operations are managed by separate entities. This session examines how Sobha Realty has pioneered a vertically integrated approach that unifies the entire development lifecycle—from concept design through to long-term community management—within a single organizational structure.
Using the Sobha Hartland II development in Dubai as a case study, the session will explore how both backward and forward integration can enhance coordination, reduce costs and delays, ensure consistent quality, and strengthen brand trust across every phase of a project. Participants will gain insight into how vertical integration not only improves execution but also enables developers to maintain design intent, advance sustainability goals, and create cohesive, value-driven communities.
Far from being unique to one developer, this model presents a scalable framework for urban transformation globally—one that responds to the growing demand for efficiency, resilience, and human-centered design in the cities of tomorrow.

Dr. Roy Denoon

Denoon Consulting
Wind Engineering Consultant

Roy has specialized in wind engineering for more than 30 years, working on a wide range of projects around the world, from major sports stadia to some of the world’s tallest buildings. In the Middle East, his most notable projects include fieldwork during the construction of Emirates Towers; wind engineering design input for Aldar Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, and the UAE Pavilion for Expo 2020 in Dubai; and work on Lusail Stadium in Qatar, among others. Roy also led the instrumentation of Burj Khalifa to measure its long-term responses to wind loading.
He has published numerous magazine and journal articles in the field, serves on multiple committees, and has contributed to the development of standards and guidelines in many jurisdictions. He co-authored the CTBUH Guide to Wind Tunnel Testing of High-Rise Buildings and was a primary author of both the ASCE Manual of Practice on Design and Performance of Tall Buildings for Wind and the ASCE Pre-standard for Performance-Based Wind Design. Roy is a Fellow of CTBUH.
PM Stream A: Stitching the Cities
Presentation: A quarter century of wind engineering in the Middle East: lessons learned and where next?
2:00 - 2:30PM
Dr. Roy Denoon will share his experiences in wind engineering for high-rise buildings—primarily, though not exclusively, in the Middle East—gained over nearly 30 years. He will provide historical context on the development and adoption of design approaches, highlighting how these have influenced various aspects of building performance.
Topics to be covered include wind loading, stack effect, field experiences of building performance, and outdoor wind comfort. Looking ahead, Dr. Denoon will outline the future needs associated with increased urban densification, the integration of new approaches to mobility, and the potential for artificial intelligence technologies to shape urban planning and design.

Alexander Drachenberg

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Design Lead

Speaker biography will be published shortly. Check back soon for more information.
PM Stream C: Digital & AI - The Future of the Built Environment
Presentation: Title to be announced
2:30 - 3:00PM
Session details to be announced. Check back soon for more information.

Roberto Fabbri

Zayed University
Associate Professor and Chair of Design

Roberto is an architect, Associate Professor, and Chair of Design at the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi. His work focuses on architecture, heritage, and urban development in Gulf cities and the broader non-West. A former consultant for heritage-related projects with the United Nations Development Programme, ICOMOS, and the Goethe Institute, he is also a current member of the UAE Ministry of Culture’s Modern Heritage Technical Committee. In 2024, he was the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture Fellow at MIT and received the Hasan-Uddin Khan Paper Award from the International Journal of Islamic Architecture.
Roberto’s recent research on the quotidian architecture of Abu Dhabi is currently featured in the 2025 Architecture Biennale in Venice. He has published Max Bill in Italia (Mondadori, 2011) and Max Bill. Espaces (inFolio, 2017); co-authored the double volume Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949–89 (Niggli, 2016/2017); and co-edited Urban Modernity in the Contemporary Gulf (Routledge, 2021) and Impatient Cities of the Gulf (HPA, 2022).
PM Stream C: Digital & AI - The Future of the Built Environment
Panel Discussion: Protection of Professional Titles - From Education to Practice
2:00 - 2:30PM
Additional session details to be announced. Check back soon.

Yahya Jan

NORR Group
President & Design Director

For Yahya, design is a creative process that challenges us to combine our understanding of life, science, and art. Where these aspects overlap, he believes First Principle thinking can reveal solutions that expand our understanding of reality.
Based in Dubai, Yahya is President & Design Director at NORR. With 37 years of global experience, he leads the firm’s design efforts in the Middle East and Asia. Yahya completed both his undergraduate and graduate studies at Princeton University. A licensed architect in New York, he lived and worked in the United States for 14 years before moving to Dubai in 1996. Since then, he has played a pivotal role at NORR, bringing to life visionary projects throughout the region.
Yahya believes that great design, done right, can solve many of humanity’s challenges. For this to happen, he advocates an inclusive approach—one that invites open-minded exploration where owners and designers fully participate in the process.
He promotes integrated design as a way to transform the built environment, seeing it as a patient search—equal parts analytical and intuitive. Central to his philosophy is a multidisciplinary approach that brings together owners, architects, engineers, and others to unlock hidden potential. Today, Yahya leads a highly motivated and multicultural team of designers and doers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Manila, all dedicated to excellence.
Yahya’s built work includes signature office, residential, and hotel towers, retail malls, and mixed-use developments. A winner of numerous international awards, his design and research have been featured at conferences and in leading publications worldwide.
AM Stream C: Tall Towers - Legacy and Lessons
Presentation: The Story Of Ciel
11:30AM - 12:00 PM
This presentation offers a behind-the-scenes look at the dynamic push and pull of the design process, told through the fascinating and honest story of designing Ciel, now nearing completion in Dubai. At 373 meters in height, this signature tower is set to become the tallest hotel in the world.
In a city renowned for its verticality, the design of Ciel is ambitious: redefining vertical living by introducing naturally ventilated, landscaped terraces throughout the tower’s height. The presentation emphasizes the design “process” as much as the final “product,” sharing the story of a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary effort.
It recounts how a team of architects, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers, alongside interior designers, worked together to make the project a reality. A study in simplicity amid complexity, this presentation details the many forces—contextual, structural, environmental, and programmatic—that shaped the design of Ciel.

Shaun Killa

Killa Design
Design Partner

Shaun is an award-winning architect with more than 29 years of international experience. Driven by design excellence, his philosophy focuses on innovative, low-carbon, sustainable buildings and on challenging architectural norms to create expressive and timeless forms. This approach has led him to design numerous highly recognizable projects, including Almas Tower, Dubai Opera House, and Bahrain World Trade Centre—the world’s first large-scale integration of wind turbines on a building.
In his early career, Shaun received multiple global awards, including the ENR Newsmaker Award in New York, the Global Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction for the Lighthouse Tower, and the CTBUH Best Tall Building in the Middle East Award for Bahrain World Trade Centre.
Shaun established Killa Design in Dubai in 2015. Since then, he has delivered signature projects including the award-winning Museum of the Future, Shebara Resort, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, the Address Beach Resort, W Hotel Namaste, Vida Dubai Marina & Yacht Club, Aykon Twin Towers, and the Office of the Future—the world’s first occupied 3D-printed building.
Shaun has been ranked the “Most Powerful Middle East Architect” by Construction Week in 2017, 2021, and 2022, and his firm was named “Architectural Firm of the Year” in the Middle East for four consecutive years, most recently in 2023. Killa Design also won “Best Young Firm” at the Architizer A+Awards in 2023 and was recognized among the world’s leading architectural practices in Building Design’s WA100 in both 2024 and 2025.
Throughout the design process, Shaun devotes significant time to mentoring and supporting the next generation of architects. The studio fosters a flat “design-led” dialogue that encourages collaboration across teams. Shaun is also a keynote speaker at multiple global conferences, inspiring architects and developers to question the status quo and to focus on sustainable buildings and masterplans that improve urban habitats, enhance livability, and reduce carbon emissions from the built environment.
Today, Killa Design is home to more than 120 architects.
AM Stream B: Pushing the Boundaries
11:30 - 12:00 PM
Presentation: Title To Be Announced
Session details to be announced. Check back soon for more information.

Ron Klemencic

Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA)
Chairman and CEO

Ron is Chairman and CEO of Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), an award-winning structural and civil engineering firm founded in 1920 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington. He has worked on projects in 29 states and 25 countries, including multi-block developments as large as 11.5 million square feet and buildings as tall as 112 stories. Widely regarded as one of the preeminent high-rise structural engineers practicing today, Ron is sought after by developers, architects, and contractors worldwide for his creativity, big-picture approach, and ability to consistently deliver cost-effective and inventive designs. His portfolio includes iconic projects such as Salesforce Tower in San Francisco; 150 North Riverside, Aqua, and St. Regis Tower in Chicago; and Rainier Square in Seattle.
Ron has championed numerous innovations throughout his career—from implementing performance-based seismic design for high-rise buildings in the mid-1990s, to developing and applying the first-of-its-kind, non-proprietary SpeedCore structural system in the early 2000s, to advancing performance-based wind design and structural fire design in recent years.
A past five-year Chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Ron was named a Fellow by CTBUH and received the organization’s Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal in 2016 in recognition of his excellence, leadership, and impact in structural engineering for the design and research of tall buildings and the built urban environment.
AM Stream B: Pushing the Boundaries
12:30 - 1:00 PM
Presentation: SpeedCore: Game Changer!
The Rainier Square development in Seattle features a 1.4 million-square-foot, 58-storey, 260-metre-tall mixed-use tower as its centrepiece. Bracing this tower against wind and seismic demands is a new structural system: the Concrete-Filled Composite Plate Shear Wall (CF-CPSW) system, more widely known by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) as SpeedCore.
Early estimates suggested the system would reduce the original 32-month construction schedule by eight months. In reality, the project was completed in just 22 months—10 months ahead of schedule—marking a groundbreaking achievement in tall building delivery.
A second SpeedCore project, 200 Park Avenue in San Jose, California, has also recently been completed. This 20-storey office tower, featuring large 5,000-square-metre floor plates, realised cost savings of USD 10 million and a three-month reduction in its construction schedule, building on the success and lessons learned from Rainier Square.
Several new projects in Boston and New York City are now being designed and constructed using this revolutionary system.
Developed by MKA in collaboration with Purdue University and the University at Buffalo, with generous support from the Charles Pankow Foundation, AISC, and the Steel Institute of New York, SpeedCore is now ready for global implementation. Ron Klemencic will share details of these projects, the system itself, research findings, lessons learned, and prospects for the future.

Dr. K. Suresh Kumar

RWDI Group
Principal & Vice President - Global Consulting

Currently based in Dubai, Suresh is a recognized leader in wind engineering, serving as Vice President – Global Consulting. With more than 35 years of international experience as a wind engineering researcher and consultant, he has made significant contributions to the field.
Suresh spearheaded the establishment of RWDI’s fifth wind tunnel in Trivandrum, India, where he successfully led a team of 50 technocrats for 15 years before moving abroad. He has worked as a wind consultant on many iconic structures worldwide, including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai—the world’s tallest tower—and several confidential supertall towers.
Suresh has published and presented numerous papers in international journals and conferences, and he remains professionally active worldwide.
PM Stream B: ESG Factors - Beyond Sustainability
Presentation: Exploring the Nuances of Wind Load Calculations on Tall Buildings
3:30PM - 4:00PM
Wind load is one of the primary lateral forces acting on tall buildings, with significant influence on their structural design. Accurate assessment requires careful consideration of multiple parameters, including return period, wind speed, wind profiles, aerodynamic coefficients, structural dynamics, and damping ratios. This presentation explores the complexities and nuances involved in calculating wind-induced responses in tall buildings.
Particular focus will be given to the ambiguity surrounding the selection of key parameters such as return period, damping ratio, minimum load limits, and diaphragm configurations in complex structures. The discussion will address how these choices can be navigated by relying on well-established engineering practices, unless compelling new research indicates more effective approaches.
The objective is to apply pragmatic engineering judgment while avoiding unnecessary conservatism, in alignment with broader sustainability goals. This ensures both structural integrity and responsible material use in the design of modern tall buildings.

James Marvin

PNCA
Chief Executive Officer

James is the Chief Executive Officer of PNCA Architects, with more than 40 years of experience in architecture, construction, and design leadership. A graduate of the University of Texas School of Architecture, he began his career with a hands-on approach, combining practical experience in design and build practice with a deep passion for architectural innovation.
Since taking the helm at PNCA in 2015, James has guided the firm through a period of exceptional growth and transformation. Under his leadership, the practice has expanded from a 60-member team to a multidisciplinary studio of more than 900 professionals across eight disciplines. PNCA’s portfolio today includes design contributions to more than 95 projects—over 55 completed and 40 ongoing—spanning 50 million square feet across a diverse range of typologies and geographies. This growth has been achieved while preserving a flexible, project-led team structure, allowing for agility and precision in execution.
James has been instrumental in evolving PNCA into a fully integrated practice with in-house expertise across architecture, structural engineering, MEP, interior design, landscape architecture, façade engineering, POD design, master planning, and more. His leadership fosters a culture of design excellence, sustainability, and collaborative innovation, enabling the firm to deliver forward-thinking solutions that respond to both local context and global benchmarks.
With a career shaped by international exposure, including collaborations across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa, James brings a global perspective to his work. He has been recognized with several prestigious honors, including CEO of the Year at the Architecture Leaders Awards 2025, Outstanding Achievement at the Future of Architecture Summits and Awards 2025, and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Design Middle East Architecture Leaders Awards 2024.
Driven by a belief in purposeful, human-centric design, James continues to steer PNCA with a vision rooted in creativity, adaptability, and long-term impact within the built environment.
AM Stream B: Pushing the Boundaries
Presentation: From Fragmentation to Integration - A Strategic Study of End-to-End Real Estate Development
12:00 - 12:30PM
The real estate sector has long struggled with inefficiencies stemming from fragmented delivery models, in which planning, design, construction, and operations are managed by separate entities. This session examines how Sobha Realty has pioneered a vertically integrated approach that unifies the entire development lifecycle—from concept design through to long-term community management—within a single organizational structure.
Using the Sobha Hartland II development in Dubai as a case study, the session will explore how both backward and forward integration can enhance coordination, reduce costs and delays, ensure consistent quality, and strengthen brand trust across every phase of a project. Participants will gain insight into how vertical integration not only improves execution but also enables developers to maintain design intent, advance sustainability goals, and create cohesive, value-driven communities.
Far from being unique to one developer, this model presents a scalable framework for urban transformation globally—one that responds to the growing demand for efficiency, resilience, and human-centered design in the cities of tomorrow.

Shonn is a long-standing champion of design and innovation with more than 30 years of experience in the design and management of large-scale building and transport infrastructure projects. He began his career as a bridge designer, working on several long-span bridges in California and across the West Coast of the United States.
After relocating to London in 2007, Shonn shifted his focus to building engineering, delivering a wide range of long-span projects such as stadiums, airports, and metro stations in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. This work led to the design of complex, multidisciplinary building structures, including high-rise buildings.
In 2014, Shonn relocated to Singapore to establish Ramboll Buildings Asia, where he continued to apply his expertise to tall building structures, modular buildings, and prefabrication. Four years later, he was appointed Global Director of High-Rise Buildings at Ramboll Group, where he grew the team from 50 to more than 250 employees and expanded the group’s footprint to nine countries, including Australia and the United States.
In 2023, Shonn co-founded his own global practice, Whitby Wood Mills, which focuses on impact engineering design. He has been active with the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat for more than a decade and has served as a member of its Board of Trustees since 2021. Shonn has participated in multiple international conferences and co-authored the CTBUH Guide: Smart Technology for Tall Buildings.
PM Stream A: Stitching the City
3:00 - 3:30 PM
Presentation: Ctrl + Alt + Build: Rebooting the City
Session details to be announced. Check back soon for more information.

Shonn Mills

Whitby Wood Mills
Managing Director, &
CTBUH Board of Trustees Chairman

Dr. Kevin Mueller

Thornton Tomasetti
Vice President

Kevin is a Vice President in the Protective Design and Security practice at Thornton Tomasetti. He specializes in physical security, structural and façade blast analysis, hostile vehicle mitigation, explosives safety, and structural fire engineering. He has managed projects across a wide range of sectors and clients, including the Royal Saudi Air Force, Royal Norwegian Air Force, US Federal Government, US Federal Reserve, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago Department of Aviation, Amtrak, the Smithsonian, professional sports teams, aerospace research facilities, and various confidential private developments.
Kevin is a voting member and former chair of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) 216 Fire Protection Standards Committee, a voting member of ACI 133 (Disaster Reconnaissance) and ACI 370 (Blast and Impact Load Effects), and an active contributor to the CTBUH Fire and Life Safety Committee. He is also involved with AISC TC8 (Fire Protection) and the SFPE CPQ (Professional Competency, Credentialing & Qualifications) Committees.
PM Stream A: Stitching the Cities
Presentation: Role of Protective Design and Security in the Middle East: From Master Planning to Construction
2:30PM - 3:00PM
The history of the Middle East is complex, tracing back to ancient civilizations such as the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, whose rise and fall have shaped the region’s geopolitical rivalries, territorial disputes, and present-day security concerns. Today, threats to the built environment continue to evolve—from vehicle-borne explosives and suicide bombers to active shooters, hostile vehicles, commercial aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
As architects and engineers, we share the responsibility to collaborate with local authorities and project stakeholders to design safe and secure buildings and infrastructure. Yet the wide range of threats and the constantly changing security environment often result in a highly complex design process for high-profile buildings in the Middle East.
This presentation will address the implementation of protective design and security throughout the entire design process, including the determination of design basis threats and the establishment of an acceptable level of post-event building damage.

Parvathi Nampoothiri

Buro Happold
Partner - Middle East Urban Strategies Lead

Parvathi is a planner, urban designer, and strategic thinker with 20 years of experience working in the UAE, KSA, Canada, and the USA. She leads Buro Happold’s Urban Strategies team in the Middle East, delivering a range of projects across cities in the region. She draws on her deep experience as a city planner with the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipality and Transport and the City of Markham in Canada.
Her work spans the development of strategic plans and policy through to detailed planning, consultation, and delivery focused on urban transformation and placemaking at the district and block level. She has led a wide range of projects including master plans, urban regeneration plans, public realm strategies, smart city plans, urban design guidelines, street design manuals, streetscape plans, and development regulations, integrating multiple disciplines and stakeholders.
Parvathi is passionate about making cities better for people and the planet, striving to create places and communities that are vibrant, healthy, and sustainable.
AM Stream A: Citymaking in the Desert
Presentation: From Neighbourhoods to Streets: Placemaking for Vibrant Urban Life
11:00AM - 11:30AM
Placemaking helps shape urban environments by fostering vibrant, inclusive communities through human-scale design, community engagement, and the integration of buildings with public spaces. This presentation will explore how placemaking can transform neighbourhoods, streets, and open areas into places where people feel welcome and inspired to connect. Emphasizing collaboration across all scales—from city-wide plans to individual spaces—it will highlight strategies that support social interaction, accessibility, and a strong sense of belonging. Attendees will gain insight into how practitioners can work together to create environments that invite people to linger, participate, and thrive.

Andreas Klok Pedersen

BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group
Partner & Design Director

Andreas is the Design Director of BIG London and a member of the practice’s global Board of Directors. He has been with the firm since its founding and has led projects of all typologies and scales in locations around the world, with a focus on Europe and the Middle East. Key recent work includes Google’s new UK Headquarters, now in the final stages of construction in King’s Cross, London; Ocean House on the Palm in Dubai; the Saadiyat Island Cultural Masterplan and related assets in Abu Dhabi; and the new Chedi Wadi Safar Hotel in Riyadh.
In Amsterdam, Andreas recently completed the riverside Sluishuis residential development, where residents can access their homes by car, foot, or boat. In Denmark, he led the Aarhus Harbour Masterplan, a mixed-use redevelopment of a former industrial site featuring housing, a hotel, a theater, public spaces, and a harbour bath. He has also been responsible for the Qiddiya Master Plan, an entertainment-focused city for 600,000 people west of Riyadh; MÉCA, a sculpted cultural centre in France; and the 220-meter-tall Shenzhen Energy Headquarters in China.
Andreas has spearheaded several of BIG’s strategic planning projects with a focus on sustainability, including Plan for the Planet, the firm’s ongoing research program to create a blueprint for a carbon-neutral planet, as well as Loop City and Mars Science City.
In addition to his architectural and master planning work, Andreas lectures internationally on BIG’s current research and projects. He has taught at the Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, the AHO School of Architecture in Oslo, and served as Studio Director at the Strelka Institute for Architecture and Urbanism in Moscow.
Plenary Presentation: Plan for the Planet
9:30-10:00AM
This presentation will outline a global plan for achieving a carbon-neutral planet while addressing the fundamental challenges of energy, transport, industry, biodiversity, resources, pollution, water, and food security. The session will consider what it would actually take to stop the net emission of greenhouse gases and the practical implications of this ultimate goal. By framing the steps required for a 100% sustainable human presence on Earth—capable of supporting up to 10 billion people—the project aims to highlight the scale, urgency, and opportunities of building a truly sustainable future.

Patrick Rouse

Deyaar Development
Chief Development Officer

Patrick is a seasoned real estate executive with more than 20 years of experience in developing and delivering complex, large-scale mixed-use projects across multiple markets and asset classes. He is currently the Chief Development Officer at Deyaar Development. Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer of LITE Development & Consulting, a company that provides innovative and customized solutions for real estate development and investment opportunities.
Patrick has extensive expertise across all aspects of real estate development, from feasibility and design to construction and handover. He has worked with leading clients, consultants, and contractors including Emaar Properties, Dubai Holding, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate, John Sisk & Son, and WSP. He has played an instrumental role in the success of notable projects such as Address Skyview, Burj Vista, Oasis Hospital, Cairo Festival City, and Dubai Festival City. His core competencies include contract management, cost management, and project control. Patrick holds a BEng in Civil Engineering, an MSc in Real Estate Investment and Finance, and two Postgraduate Diplomas in Construction Law and Contract Administration, and Project Management.
Passionate about creating value and delivering excellence for clients and stakeholders, Patrick brings a global perspective and strategic vision to his work. He has worked in Ireland, Australia, Egypt, and the UAE, and is driven by the challenge and opportunity of developing and transforming real estate landscapes while enhancing the quality of life for communities.
AM Stream A: Citymaking
Presentation: Title to be announced
12:00PM - 12:30PM
Session details to be announced. Check back soon for more information.

Kourosh Salehi

LWK & Partners
Global Design Principal

To be published shortly. Check back again soon.
PM Stream C: Digital & AI - The Future of the Built Environment
Panel Discussion: Protection of Professional Titles - From Education to Practice
2:00 - 2:30PM
Additional session details to be announced. Check back soon.

Mithun Varghese

LWK & Partners
Director

Mithun is a Director at the Dubai studio, recognized as a motivated and ambitious post-contemporary design thinker with more than 20 years of international experience spanning all aspects of architecture and master planning. His career reflects a profound understanding of the architectural process from inception to realization, encompassing a wide range of project types and scales.
His involvement in landmark projects across the Middle East demonstrates his ability to integrate innovative concepts with regional specificity, embodying the fusion of thought, architecture, and technology. This approach facilitates the creation of environments that not only respect but also enhance the human experience within built spaces.
Mithun’s passion for design extends beyond the traditional boundaries of architecture, embracing objects of human interaction across diverse scales, including industrial, graphic, and toy design. This multidisciplinary perspective reflects a philosophy that imbues every artifact with meaning through a reconstructive, global, and human ethos. By championing interdisciplinary thinking, he ensures that his work resonates on functional, aesthetic, and emotional levels, contributing to the broader discourse on design and architecture.
His ability to balance creative vision with practical application across urban, public, cultural, and commercial developments further underscores his significant contributions to the field.
PM Stream C: Digital & AI - The Future of the Built Environment
Workshop: Title to be Announced
3:00 - 4:00 PM
Additional session details to be announced. Check back soon for more information.

Andy Veall

WSP Middle East
Structural Design Director

Andy has more than 28 years of experience as a structural design engineer. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with leading architectural firms to provide innovative solutions for large-scale, complex structures, specializing in tall buildings. His portfolio spans landmark projects across the United Kingdom, United States, India, Pakistan, and the Middle East.
Notable contributions include his involvement in iconic projects such as Atlantis The Royal, the Sheikh Zayed Museum, Nakheel Tower in Dubai, Seven World Trade Center in New York, and the United Tower in Kuwait, among others. Andy’s career has been enriched by extensive international experience, with significant tenures at WSP offices in London, New York, the UAE, and Mumbai.
Driven by a passion for structural efficiency and aesthetics, Andy champions the use of hand sketching in the early phases of design and leads the WSP Middle East technical working group, which is dedicated to fostering technical excellence across the team.
AM Stream C: Tall Towers - Legacy and Lessons
Presentation: Title To Be Announced
11:00AM - 11:30AM
Additional session details to be announced. Check back soon for more information.

Ollie Wildman

Ramboll
Head of Design, High Rise & Complex Buildings

Ollie is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers based in the UK. Since joining Ramboll in 2007, he has led the design and creative direction of the UK business, shaping engineering solutions from the earliest stages of each project. His approach blends innovation with a deep understanding of client needs, and he is a passionate advocate for design thinking—leading critiques, mentoring junior staff, and tutoring at the Bartlett School of Architecture.
Ollie brings extensive experience in managing multidisciplinary engineering teams across diverse sectors and scales, including multiple tall buildings. He leverages digital tools to develop dynamic concepts and communicates ideas with clarity and flair. A recognized leader in offsite construction and DFMA strategies, Ollie has delivered signature projects using precast concrete, timber, and modular systems. He also advises clients on the strategic adoption of offsite methods and champions the reuse of structural materials and low-carbon design.
Plenary Presentation: Grounded Sustainability: Beyond Buzzwords in Tall Building Design
10:00AM - 10:30AM
In an era where sustainability must move beyond aspiration into action, this presentation will explore how the Middle East—particularly Dubai—can lead by example in delivering grounded, realistic progress in the built environment. The presentation will challenge conventional approaches to sustainable design and execution, urging clients and stakeholders to embrace responsibility not only in concept but also on-site, where quality often falls short of intent.
Drawing on global lessons while remaining rooted in local realities, the presentation highlights the urgent need for performance-based energy frameworks—such as NABERS—over spreadsheet-driven models like BREEAM. With energy prices rising and climate resilience becoming a cornerstone of long-term asset value, the message is clear: using less is more impactful than offsetting more.
Dubai’s reputation for labor-intensive delivery presents a unique opportunity to invest in education and skills development, transforming the city into a beacon of upward mobility and technical excellence. Circularity, still elusive in practice, becomes attainable when site-level skills are elevated. This presentation invites the audience to rethink sustainability—not as a checklist, but as a culture of performance, equity, and resilience.

Hala Yousef

JLL Project & Development Services
Director, Sustainability Engineering

Hala leads the sustainability engineering arm of JLL UAE. As Director of Sustainability Engineering, she heads a team of professionals delivering world-class solutions for some of the UAE’s leading developers across a range of project portfolios.
With more than 15 years of experience in sustainability across the MEA and APAC regions, Hala has worked on pioneering projects involving WELL, Fitwel, LEED, GSAS, Green Star, and NABERS certifications. She holds a Master’s in Environmental Engineering and a Bachelor’s in Mechatronics Engineering.
Hala’s expertise spans sustainable building design, decarbonization implementation, sustainability certification, ESG and GHG reporting, One Planet Living, business analysis, corporate sustainability strategies, net zero carbon commitments, and both construction and operational sustainability.
PM Stream B: ESG Factors - Beyond Sustainability
Presentation: Delivering a Residential Tower with Low Carbon Steel
3:00PM - 3:30PM
Additional session details to be announced. Check back soon for more information.

Speakers

Voices Defining the Future of Cities

Keynote Speaker