Shaping Contemporary Realities | Day 1: Innovative Adaptation

Stefania Becheanu is a sound and performance artist and a laureate of the 2026 Villa Albertine Music Grant. Her work operates at the intersection of experimental music, field recording, visual arts, and contemporary dance. Emphasizing the concept of active and empathetic listening, she utilizes an array of raw sounds captured from cities and natural environments to “paint” immersive, multi-channel soundscapes. By breaking down the barriers between acoustic creation and spatial perception, her installations and performances invite audiences to physically feel vibrations and explore their emotional connections to the surrounding space.

Cesar A. Constantino is senior director of innovation for Chryso North America, a Saint-Gobain company. A recognized leader in sustainable construction materials and resilience, he serves as chair of the International Finance Corporation’s Building Resilience Index Technical Advisory Panel, a member of the ACI Foundation’s Concrete Innovation Council, and a board member of the Resilience Action Fund. His work focuses on helping create a more sustainable, resilient, and people-centered built environment.

Cyril Desroche joined the Ateliers Jean Nouvel in March 2000. He participated in numerous projects during their phases of conception, study, and construction: the Nantes Law Courts, the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac Museum in Paris, the Danish Radio Concert Hall in Copenhagen, the Le Havre Aquatic Complex, and Bucklersbury House in London, a 150,000 m² project directed by the Atelier Foster Nouvel, an agency that teamed Jean Nouvel and Norman Foster, created specifically for this project. In 2005, Cyril Desroche left the Ateliers Jean Nouvel for California, where he joined Frank Gehry’s studio. For six years, he worked principally on the development of the Louis Vuitton Foundation, and then on projects for the Luma Foundation in Arles and the Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi. In 2011, he returned to the Ateliers Jean Nouvel and joined the team for the Paris Philharmonic Hall project. In 2015, he was appointed project director in the team for the creation of new exhibition spaces for the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris.

Lynda Dossey graduated from University of Cincinnati and worked at KPF, DeStefano Partners, and Studio Gang before joining JAHN in 2011, where she is a director. Projects include 1000 Michigan, Thompson Center, 1900 Reston Plaza, and One Freedom Plaza. She has been an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology and an External Monitor for Skyscraper Studio at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. Lynda has served on crits, juries, and panels for universities, the AIA, and CAC. Lynda served at the AIA Chicago Board for six years, including being VP of Awards and President. She appeared on Architectural Digest’s YouTube channel and the PBS NOVA “Build It!” episode.

Sarah Dunn is the cofounder of UrbanLab and a professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago. After working at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam, she and partner Martin Felsen established UrbanLab, a collaborative architecture and urban design firm. UrbanLab blends design and research to produce progressive, site-specific buildings, spaces, and places. UrbanLab’s projects set in motion new lifestyles, vibrant spatial experiences, and more sustainable environments. From large urban designs to small residential projects, built work to date includes mixed-use commercial buildings, housing, houses, restaurants, art galleries, large-scale resilient infrastructural projects, recreational landscapes, and cities.

Justin Félix is the project manager for architecture and urbanism (Chargé de projet Architecture et urbanisme) at the Institut Français. Operating within the visual arts, architecture, design, and fashion division, he plays a key role in the organization's international artistic dissemination programs and the 2026 Cultural and Creative Industries (PICC), focusing on architecture, urbanism, and landscape. He also coordinates the “Résonances” program in architecture for the French Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, fostering cross-country connections and debates. Prior to his current institutional role, he worked as an urban planner at SPL Val de Seine Aménagement, where he led the execution of a public art walk designed to promote industrial heritage.

Mathieu Forest joined the Ateliers Jean Nouvel in 1997. He has participated in numerous projects, such as the Zlaty Andel building in Prague, the Danish Radio Concert Hall in Copenhagen, the Archipel Theatre in Perpignan, the Nouvel KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, as well as various competitions, among them the redevelopment of the Halles district in Paris and the new Gazprom headquarters in St. Petersburg. From 2007 to 2015, he was project director for the construction of the Paris Philharmonic Hall, then for the preliminary studies and competition for the National Art Museum of China in Beijing and the Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai. Since 2015, he has been the studio director in charge of the transformation of the Palais-Royal building for the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.

Iker Gil is a founding partner at MAS Studio and founder of the nonprofit MAS Context. Iker has edited or coedited several books including Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio and Shanghai Transforming. He has curated multiple exhibitions including Nocturnal Landscapes, Poured Architecture: Sergio Prego on Miguel Fisac, and BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago, part of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial. He was Associate Curator of the US Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale and cocurator of Exhibit Columbus 2020–2021. He was the 2024 Morgenstern Visiting Chairs at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and the Escola da Cidade (São Paulo).

Béatrice Grenier, currently Director of Strategic Projects and International Programs at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, is a Paris-based curator, author, and editor working at the intersection of art, architecture, and cultural policy. From 2020–2025 she served as lead curator for the expansion project of Fondation Cartier in Paris. In 2025, she curated a monographic exhibition of Jean Nouvel as part of the collateral program of the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale. She was the cocurator of Exposition Générale, the inaugural exhibition dedicated to the Collection of the Fondation Cartier in its new spaces. In 2026, she curated The Louisiana Manifesto: 20 Years at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, an international symposium bringing together the voices of world-renowned architects on the legacy of the eponymous text. Grenier is the author of books and essays at the intersection of global contemporary architecture and art, such as Architecture for Culture: Rethinking Museums (Rizzoli, 2025), Tashkent: A Modernist Capital (Rizzoli, 2024), and Infinite Memory (ed) (Lenz Press). Her new book, New Natures, coauthored with philosopher Emanuele Coccia and architect Jeanne Gang, is published by Park Books (Fall 2026). She is the Paris desk editor of ArtAsiaPacific and a regular contributor to contemporary art and architecture publications such as Domus, PIN-UP, and the Journal of Curatorial Studies.

Reed Kroloff is the dean of the School of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. A leader in architecture and design for over thirty years, he previously directed the Cranbrook Academy of Art and served as dean of the Tulane University School of Architecture, guiding it through Hurricane Katrina. He is also the former editor-in-chief of Architecture magazine and a frequent speaker at major events like TED.

David Lo Buglio is a professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Faculté d'architecture La Cambre Horta, where he codirects the AlICe lab. His research addresses the digitization and characterization of built heritage and the critical role of digital representation, the subject of his book Numériser l'architecture (2026). The lab is known for its 3D reconstructions of major heritage, including Victor Horta’s Maison du Peuple (1899–1965). His own work on Josef Hoffmann’s Palais Stoclet (1911, UNESCO World Heritage) produced the film Stoclet 1911, seen by close to 75,000 visitors, and received the FNRS Wernaers Prize for science communication in 2025. Cofounder of DéDal architectes, he chairs EAEA17 (Brussels, 2026).

Donna Robertson is a Professor Emerita in the College of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology. She stepped down recently after forty years in academia. Her focus is on the political and social benefits of design excellence. When Dean of IIT Architecture (1996–2012), she played a key role in IIT’s comprehensive program of physical renewal, resulting in new designs by Rem Koolhaas/OMA, Helmut Jahn, Michael Van Valkenburg, and restoration of Mies’s masterpiece S. R. Crown Hall and the IIT Chapel, following on her career interest in building “adaptation.” The resultant transformation to programs, enrollment, fundraising and campus vitality has been widely recognized. Her partnership in macrodesign has projects throughout the USA, such as restoration and addition to a Neutra house in the Hollywood Hills. When Dean at Tulane (1992–1996) she served on the New Orleans CBD-Historic District Landmarks Commission. She has been a Board member of DoCoMoMo Chicago, and a Peer Reviewer for the GSA.

John Ronan is the founding principal of John Ronan Architects in Chicago, founded in 1999. He serves as Lead Designer on all projects the office undertakes and is known for his abstract yet sensuous work which explores materiality and atmosphere. His firm has been the recipient of three AIA Institute National Honor Awards—for the Poetry Foundation and The Gary Comer Youth Center, and the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at the Illinois Institute of Technology. John is currently the John & Jeanne Rowe Endowed Professor in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Mark Sexton is a founding partner at Krueck Sexton Partners and is integral to the design and management of all the firms work. His dedication to design, detailing, and responsible project delivery ensures firm-wide quality and consistency of all projects. Whether designing a US Embassy or reimagining an existing building, Mark brings both curiosity and experience to his work. He embraces the ideas of colleagues, investigates possibilities, and engages with community, constantly evolving and advancing projects.

Cynthia Vranas is co-principal of Olsen Vranas Design, CEO and Executive Director of the Mies van der Rohe Society, and an adjunct professor at the IIT School of Architecture. She holds an education in architecture, interior design, furniture design, and architectural history and theory, and her Ph.D. research explored the influence of the arts on architecture in 19th-century France. This work reflects a broader understanding of how architectural forms and spaces were shaped by artistic movements, as seen in projects like the Palais Garnier, where the architect’s design was deeply informed by the needs and aesthetics of theater, music, and dance. Her career has combined architectural practice with a commitment to preservation and education, underscoring the interplay between built environments and the arts.