Brinda Somaya is an architect and urban conservationist. Upon completion of her Bachelor of Architecture from Mumbai University and Master of Arts from Smith College in Northampton, MA, USA.
From 2017 -2024 she was on the Board of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, Zurich, Switzerland. In 2022 she was chosen as one of the `75 Indian women in STEAM on India’s 75th Anniversary of Independence. In January 2023 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU) Hyderabad. She is also the A.D. White Professor-at-Large emerita, Cornell University, U.S.A. She is the first Indian woman to receive the Indian Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) in 2025. Over four decades she has merged architecture, conservation and social equity in projects ranging from institutional campuses, rehabilitation of an earthquake-torn village to restoration of an 18th
century Cathedral, showing that progress and history need not be at odds. Her belief is that ‘The Architect’s role is that of guardian – hers is the conscience of the built and un-built environment’, underlines her work that encompasses large corporate, industrial and institutional campuses and extends to public spaces, some of which she has rebuilt, and others reinvented as pavements, parks and plazas.
Barbara is the former president of Walt Disney Imagineering, where she led the global team behind Disney’s theme parks, resorts, cruise ships and immersive entertainment experiences. Known for fusing story with technology and design, she’s directly shaped some of the most memorable experiences across the globe. At the heart of all of her work, at Disney and with some of the most renowned design firms in the profession, is an instinct for designing authentic experiences that bring people together and leave space for wonder to unfold.
Barbara is a member of Fast Company’s Impact Council and currently sits on the SCI-Arc Board of Trustees.
Marco Villiger is a Swiss sports lawyer and the founder of MV Sports Consulting AG in Zurich. From 2007 to 2018, he served as Deputy Secretary General and General Counsel of FIFA, overseeing legal affairs, major event delivery and strategic project management, including multiple FIFA World Cups. He was also a member of the FIFA Bid Evaluation Task Force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Today, Marco advises governments, organising committees, federations, leagues, clubs and private-equity investors on a wide range of strategic, legal and commercial matters, including bidding and hosting strategies, event delivery models, venue and infrastructure planning, commercial rights structures, regulatory design, stakeholder management and risk management for major international tournaments.
He works globally with organisations seeking strategic, legal and commercial expertise for major sports, cultural and large-scale public events.
Arthi Balasubramanian is an experienced Architect, passionate about the complex discipline of Architecture. She is a creative problem solver and proficient in design and delivery. Arthi has worked for a number of renowned architectural studios in the UK, leading several prestigious and award-winning projects during that time. Arthi’s approach to design and sustainability can be summarised as the pursuit of authenticity and elegant simplicity. She joined Danish architectural practice CEBRA in 2016, and was appointed as Head of the Abu Dhabi office in 2018. In this role, she oversaw the design and delivery of all projects from the local office, which worked on bridging the cultural heritage of the UAE with contemporary architecture and was the lead design manager of DCT’s complex Al Hosn masterplan and modernisation of the Cultural Foundation Building. Having then worked as Studio Director at Gensler Middle East, Arthi has recently joined the Architecture team at the Department of Culture and Tourism as Senior Architect to pursue her passion of working on cultural and leisure building projects.
ALMANTAS SAMALAVIČIUS, PhD is professor at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University‘s School of Architecture where he teaches architectural criticism and aesthetics, architectural and urban theory and landscape aesthetics and supervises PhD dissertations. He has been a visiting professor at Illinois University at Chicago (USA), Diponegoro University (Indonesia), Rome University Sapienza (Italy), Kyungpook National University (South Korea), Kobe University and Shibaura Technological Institute (Japan), etc. He is an author and editor of many books, including Ideas and Structures: Essays on Architectural History and Aesthetics (2011), Rethinking Modernism and the Built Environment (2017), Lithuanian Architecture and Urbanism (2019), Site, Symbol and Cultural Landscape (2021), Architecture, Well-Being and the Built Environment (2025). Since 2012 he is the editor in chief of high ranking international Journal of Architecture and Urbanism. He has served twice on the jury of world‘s most distinguished The International Architecture Awards presented annually by Chicago Athenaeum in Athens.