Student and University Involvement

Alan co-founded MASS with classmates at the Harvard Graduate School of Design to build a more just and beautiful world. Under his leadership, MASS has garnered international acclaim for its innovative approach to addressing global challenges through design.

Alan regularly teaches advanced architecture studios, including at Harvard and Yale, where he was most recently the Louis I. Khan Visiting Professor. As a sought-after speaker, Alan has presented at universities, conferences, and events around the globe. He has authored books, op-eds, and essays, as well as produced films, focused on the role of architecture in catalyzing social change. Chris Anderson, chief curator of TED, described his TED talk as“a different language about what architecture can aspire to be.” 

He lives in a house he designed in Cambridge, MA, with his wife and three children, who provide him with regular design critiques. Before architecture, he tried many other fields but is mainly asked to tell stories about a stint as a commercial fisherman in Alaska.

Alan holds a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and aBachelor of Arts from Colorado College and is a member of the Design for Freedom Working Group.

Antonio is a PhD candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. Under the supervision of Professor Sarah Billington, his research has broadly explored the impact of the built environment on human well-being at different scales. During his master’s, he collaborated on a publication in the field of urban studies, using online surveys to examine how affordable housing design influences public perception and support. His dissertation research focuses on fostering supply chain transparency and ethical sourcing for imported construction materials such as cement and ornamental stone. Collaborating with geochemists and supply chain experts, he hopes to integrate isotope geochemistry to fingerprint imported materials and apply machine learning to assess labor risks in their supply chains. Antonio also has a design background as a structural engineer, with internship experience at firms such as ARUP and WSP.

Chris is a founding principal of SHoP Architects who brings his focus on the public realm to the design of some of the firm’s most demanding projects, including the Uber Headquarters in San Francisco and theBarclays Center in Brooklyn. Chris co-leadsSHoP’s work designing embassies and other diplomatic facilities for the U.S. Department of State. His work emphasizes next-generation environmental and materials systems supporting a revolutionary shift in building delivery that is environmentally driven. He continues to propel this movement forward through his teaching and lecturing to students and professionals about public responsibility and technological inventions in building.

He is a member of the Design for Freedom Working Group.

Farida Abu‐Bakare is a licensed architect with the Ontario Architects Association and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. She is celebrated for her leadership and commitment to advancing architecture in Canada and internationally. As the Associate Principal and Director of Global Practice at WXY Architecture + Urban Design in New York, she spearheads projects that merge innovative design with community and social impact. Her career, which includes roles as Project Director at Adjaye Associates in Accra, Ghana, and Associate at HOK in Toronto, has given her a unique global perspective on architecture and urban design. Central to Farida’s practice is the integration of art and architecture. Her international collaborations with artists, curators, and cultural institutions have produced transformative exhibitions, installations, and pavilions that challenge conventional boundaries. She brings extensive experience and passion for inclusivity, innovation, and sustainability to shape the future of design.

Ina Dajci is an architectural designer and Ph.D. researcher at the Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture. Her interdisciplinary research integrates art, culture, material science, and technology to advance the development of regenerative building materials and energy systems. She investigates biological and natural systems to not only reduce environmental impact but also actively contribute to ecological regeneration, redefining architecture’s approach to metabolizing energy, water, and materials in innovative ways. Her research elevates system performance by hybridizing ancient biomaterial cultivation techniques with new, environmentally responsive functions emerging from contemporary material science and nanotechnology. Dajci’s work highlights the connection between nature and architecture, advocating for a future of coevolution, ethical decarbonization, and the preservation of traditional cultivation methods in harmony with environmental sustainability. She emphasizes the importance of global cultural landscapes—shaped by a deep, intimate relationship between people, culture, and nature—as key to the future of materials and biodiversity enhancement

Julia Gamolina is dedicated to advancing the built environment and to celebrating the extraordinary people transforming it. She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Madame Architect, a digital magazine and media start-up focused on the extraordinary women that shape our world for the better. Trained as an architect herself and with a decade of experience across all aspects of design and business development, Julia stays engaged in professional practice as an Associate Principal at Ennead Architects. Previously, Julia worked in business development at FXCollaborative, and in design at Studio V, Gabellini Sheppard, and Rockwell Group.

She is a member of the Design for Freedom Working Group.

Kai-Uwe Bergmann is a Partner globally at BIG, bringing his expertise to proposals around the world, including work in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Working out of the New York office, Kai-Uwe coordinates with BIG’s five international offices, helping lead work in over 40 different countries. Licensed as an architect in the U.S. (sixteen states) and Canada (one province), Kai-Uwe most recently contributed to the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (the BIG U), a resiliency plan that will protect 10 miles of Manhattan’s coastline. Additionally, his work expands to the exhibition and publication of BIG’s literary portfolio by way of Hot to Cold, Yes Is More, Formgiving, and the newest Culture book. He complements his professional work through teaching assignments at Pratt Institute and Georgia Tech. Kai-Uwe is also an AIA Fellow and past board member of the Van Alen Institute, and participates on numerous international juries and in lectures globally on the works of BIG.

He is a member of the Design for Freedom Working Group.

Michael J. Crosbie, PhD, FAIA, has made significant contributions in the fields of architectural journalism, research, teaching, and practice.
Having served as an editor at Architecture: The AIA Journal, Progressive Architecture, ArchitectureWeek.com, and is editor-in-chief of Faith & Form, a quarterly journal on religious art and architecture, he is also a frequent contributor to Architectural Record and writes about architecture and design for the Hartford Courant.

While he has appeared as an architectural expert on The History Channel, he is also the author of more than 20 books on architecture (including five books for children) and has edited and contributed to more than 20 others. Crosbie’s work is also frequently featured on CommonEdge.

Additionally, he has served as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University and Catholic University and has lectured and served as a visiting critic at architecture schools in North America and abroad, including the University of California (Berkeley), the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and the Moscow Architectural Institute.

Crosbie is a registered architect in the State of Connecticut and has practiced with Centerbrook Architects & Planners and Steven Winter Associates.

Crosbie is a member of the Design for Freedom Working Group and has been recognized for excellence in architectural education by ACSA. He is also the author of several articles that focus on Design for Freedom and its principles.

Nina Cooke John’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Dwell, NBC’s Open House, the Center for Architecture’s 2018 exhibition, Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture and PBS NewsHour Weekend.

Born in Jamaica, Nina has always been inspired by the creativity she witnessed in her homeland: the art of people transforming everyday hardships and limitations into innovative solutions through multiple spheres of life. She imbues the spirit of transformation and innovation into every design project, from the structure of a home’s interior to the streetscape of a city block.

Nina began her professional career designing houses in Connecticut, Arizona and Virginia with the architecture firm Voorsanger and Associates. She went on to work on large cultural institutional projects like the New York Botanical Gardens master plan, the Clinton Library and the Biltmore Theater at Polshek Partnership (now Ennead).

Cooke John is the designer of the With Every Fiber exhibit at Grace Farms, the first exhibit to bring Design for Freedom to the public, and is a member of the Design for Freedom Working Group.