Urban Meal Mine

Andrew Burdick is an architect, design strategist, and civic activist. He is the founding principal of Andrew Burdick Architect (www.aeburdick.com). From 2003 until 2018, Andrew was a senior designer at Ennead Architect, where he most recently was an Associate Principal and the founding Director of Ennead Lab (www.enneadlab.org), the firm’s research and design think tank. Ennead Lab partners with and consults for organizations, institutions, and communities to proactively identify challenges and opportunities of social, economic, environmental, and technological importance, collaborating with diverse professionals and experts to propose research questions and develop catalytic solutions and strategies at the cutting edge of how we live, work, play and build. Andrew received his M.Arch from the University of Virginia School Of Architecture, where he was the recipient of the AIA Certificate of Merit, the Edgar Shannon Award for academic service to the University community, and the Virginia Society AIA Prize. Andrew’s work has received numerous commendations in regional and international competitions, conferences and exhibitions, including the Philips Livable Cities Award program, Coolhunting.com’s Icons profile series, and the 2017 Architizer A+ Awards. In 2017, based on his work through Ennead Lab, Andrew was asked to write a series of articles for Metropolis Magazine. Entitled “What If…?” , the series focused on the catalytic, problem solving potentials of design through the lens of an architect and design activist.

Carey Clouse is an Associate Professor of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. After completing a degree in architecture and urbanism at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she co-founded Crookedworks Architecture with Zachary Lamb (www.crookedworks.com). The award-winning firm specializes in urban agriculture, post-crisis environments, and community-engagement projects. Clouse is also the author of Farming Cuba: Urban Agriculture From the Ground Up (Princeton Architectural Press: 2014). She has documented closely how the Cuba has developed itself from a country relying on imports, to an entity which can grow its own food by the people themselves.

Yoshimi Kono was born and raised in Japan, Yoshimi Kono studied architecture in Tokyo. He was a chief designer with Shigeru Uchida at Studio 80 in Tokyo and later became partner at Vignelli Associates in New York. He founded Kono Designs in January 2000, a practice active in architecture, interior design, corporate identity, graphics and product design. Examples of his work have appeared in numerous national and international publications including Abitare, Interni, Domus, Casa Vogue, Hinge, Interiors, Interior Design, and ID Magazine. He has won several awards including the 2001 Kitchen & Bath Business Product Innovator Awards for Hardware, the 1994 DDA award from the Japan Display Design Association, the 1994 and 1997 Award of Excellence from the Japan Sign Design Association, the 1995 Award for Best Design from the Japan Typography Association, the 2001, 2005 and 2011 Nikkei New Office Award from the New Office Promotion Association, the 2011 Promotion Award from Japan Facility Management Association and the 2013 Architizer A+ Awards.

Chris Jacobs is an architect turned interaction designer, currently working as the Director of TeleNav (Asia) – User experience division. He completed his degree in architecture from Woodbury University, which followed his explorations in the field of visual design and typography, with his education in fine arts. Since then Chris has worked on numerous real time architectural, visual, interaction, industrial, UI Design, print media etc. projects in Asia and USA, since the past 20 Years. He has always aimed to creating experiences which are immersive and go beyond a regular screen, which makes him a more holistic designer at large. One of his key architectural ideas that got worldwide recognition worldwide, was his collaboration with Dickson Despommier (Emeritus professor of Colombia University), the author of and the author of ‘The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century’, where he created one of the first vertical farming concepts published initially as a center-spread in New York Magazine in 2007. Subsequently, his designs have been published in thousands of blogs, and over 100 magazines around the world as well as featured in documentaries about the future of food. www.chrisjacobs.com

During 2018, Sepehr Mousavi has been enlisted as one of the '50 world’s most influential global smart city leaders', one of the 'Sweden’s top 33 sustainability personas' and claimed no.19 of the top 101 'Swedish super talents' list published by the leading Swedish business journal, Veckans Affärer. Sepehr is a sustainability strategist and smart city lead with competencies in multi-diciplinary planning, urban ecology, innovation and circular economy. He has been associated with such as the innovation leader in urban agriculture company Plantagon, the United Nations and multiple standardization organizations as chairman of national and international committees.

Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx educator who believes that students shouldn’t have to leave their community to live, learn, and earn in a better one. Moving generations of students into spheres of personal and academic successes which they had never imagined — while reclaiming and rebuilding the Bronx — Stephen’s extended student and community family have grown more than 40,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance. Recently named a 2015 Top Ten Finalist for the $1m Global Teacher Prize, Stephen’s accolades include a 2016 Project Based Learning Champion Award, 2016 Health Champion Award, 2016 Dr. Oz Award, 2015 BAMMY Laureate – Elementary Educator of the Year Award, 2014 Greenius Award, 2014 Green Difference Award, 2013 Latin Trends Award, ABC Above and Beyond Award, Chevrolet / General Motors National Green Educator Award, USS Intrepid Hometown Hero Award, NYC Chancellor’s Award and various others. Stephen has been invited into the panel as a hands on urban farmer who can share his expertise on how architectural design can be a driver of social change in relevance with his experience from the real time world. www.greenbronxmachine.org www.stephenritz.com