CityScraper 2020

Stefan Al is a Dutch architect and urban designer, currently serving as Senior Associate Principal at the global design firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) in New York. Al has worked as a practising architect on renowned projects such as the 600-meter-high Canton Tower in Guangzhou and the preservation of world heritage in Latin America at the World Heritage Center of UNESCO. He has dedicated his career to designing and researching innovative and sustainable built environments that improve the quality of life for everyone. He frequently gives keynote speeches and presentations to audiences ranging from architects to business executives to institutions including the United Nations. Over the years, Al has served as a TED Resident and professor at the University of Hong Kong and The University of Pennsylvania, where he directed the urban design program and co-taught an online course, Designing Cities, with more than 70,000 students. In addition, he has served in various capacities to major institutions, such as the World Heritage Center of UNESCO, working on the preservation of world heritage in Latin America, the Hong Kong government, consulting on the development of the city’s harbour and external lighting guidelines, and to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, serving as an expert on compact city design.

Information Based Architecture (IBA) was set up in London in 1998 as partnership between architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit. IBA challenges conventional thinking and seek to exploit new opportunities to enrich our cities with conceptually interesting, well thought through environmentally responsible sensitive architecture. Irrespective of scale, we attempt to extend the boundaries of Artistic design. IBA won the competition for the world's tallest TV tower, the Canton Tower in Guangzhou, completed in 2010. IBA is based in Amsterdam, with a subsidiary in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Barbara Kuit, Co-founder and Director of Information Based Architecture, Worked prior to IBA as local architect on projects of Philippe Starck in London, and as Senior designer at the office of Zaha Hadid in London, on the Mind zone in London Millennium Dome; the Wolfsburg Science Centre; the competition for the Contemporary Arts Centre in Rome. IBA stands for true integration of the newest technology into architecture, to generate an environment that is in balance with its context and of the highest possible quality. IBA are indeed dedicated to its smaller scale projects such a private houses, as well as larger projects - giving us the opportunity to develop new experimental concepts into detailed physical environments. Based in Amsterdam, IBA continues its work on both large and small projects in Europe and Asia, as the 2019 awarded second prize in the competition for Shenzhen Bay Square.

Mark Hemel is director of Information Based Architecture, Amsterdam. Mark taught for over 20 years at a diverse range of universities all over the world; the Architectural Association in London, CUHK and HKU in Hong Kong, Chalmers in Sweden, TU Delft & TU Eindhoven. His office, Information Based Architecture (IBA) was set up in London in 1998 as partnership between architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit. Using the newest technologies the practice challenges conventional thinking and seeks to exploit new opportunities to enrich our cities with conceptually interesting, and well thought through environmentally responsible architecture. The practice is specialized in high-profile public buildings as museums, theatres, concert halls and large-scale projects like hotels, towers and infrastructural projects. IBA has won several high profile competitions, the most famous one being the design for the Canton tower, completed in 2010. IBA’s work was published and exhibited widely. In 2002 IBA was short listed for the Young Architects of the Year Award in the UK. They have received support from Dutch Department of Trade and Industry and received several encouragement-grants from the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design & Architecture. In 2010 Mark was awarded the title of most influential designer in China. Based in Amsterdam, IBA continues its work on large and small projects in Europe and Asia, including urban master-planning, architecture, landscaping and furniture design.