Sandra is the co-founder of Furtado Sullivan, an emerging architecture practice based in Sydney.

With a design career spanning over 20 years, Sandra has honed her ability to effectively navigate and communicate complex design issues. Born and educated in Portugal, Sandra has lived and worked in Italy, the Netherlands, Cape Verde, and China before settling in Australia in 2005. In Australia she has been involved in several high-profile projects, working with renowned international practices such as Goncalo Byrne Architects, RSHP, Kengo Kuma and Associates and David Chipperfield Architects. Since establishing her practice, she has been involved in the development of several mixed-use precincts in Australia, applying an environmentally conscious and systems-oriented approach to her work. She is a regular speaker at industry events, raising awareness of sustainable practice and resilient design.

Tommy is a project leader with over 25 years of experience, with a particular focus on facade design and delivery.

Known for his technical precision and creative problem-solving, as both project leader and façade lead, Tommy has contributed to a wide range of high-profile and award winning projects - such as Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, 420 George Mid City Centre, Transgrid Head Office, 25 King St in Bowen Hills, Chanel Building at 70 Castlereagh St, 130 Hyde, 2 Bligh St, Little National Hotel Sydney, Ace Hotel Sydney and Indi Built to Rent over Gadigal Metro Station.

Currently the National Technical Lead at BVN, Tommy commenced his professional career as a project leader at Harry Seidler and Associates prior to becoming an Associate Director at Bates Smart.

Passionate about design excellence and building enclosure innovation, Tommy continues to push boundaries in the ever-evolving field of architecture. Some of his facade details have been acknowledged in Morpholio Trace top sketches, including Little National Hotel facade detail as one of the app templates.

Nick began his career as a structural engineer with Connell Wagner in 2004, before specialising in glass and façade systems during his time with Dewhurst Macfarlane in New York (2008–10). Since 2011, he has worked as a façade specialist with Arup—initially in Melbourne and now in Adelaide—where he is the Building Envelope (façade) skills leader for Arup’s Australasia region.

A passionate advocate for the Circular Economy, Nick has contributed to research, spoken on expert panels, and advised on Arup’s Circular Building Toolkit. He promotes design approaches that enable disassembly and material re-use across the project lifecycle.

Nick is committed to fostering excellence in both façade design and the consulting profession, by contributing to the industry as a member of Consult Australia’s SA Chapter Committee, a sessional lecturer at the University of Adelaide, and the SA Chair for the Society of Façade Engineers—always looking to challenge the status quo and lift the bar for the industry.

John is a façade specialist with over 30 years’ experience working throughout Australia, Southeast Asia, China, Europe and the Middle East on projects ranging in size from Shanghai Tower to single residential.

John is currently an Associate Principal at fjcstudio. He commenced his professional career as a Structural Engineer before focusing on the engineering of the façade and was the Founding Director of Arup Façade Engineering in 1989. He led Façade Consulting teams until joining Yuanda in 2010, then the world’s largest curtain wall contractor, as Technical Director for Southeast Asia.

John is attributed with developing the discipline of Facade Engineering in the region and leading the change from ‘Envelope as Exclosure’ to ‘Facade as Filter’. He is known not only for his design skills but also his collaborative approach to the delivery of facades.

Dr Eugenia Gasparri is a Senior Lecturer in Architectural Technologies and Associate Dean of Research Education in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney.

Her research is multidisciplinary, applied and industry-oriented, with an emphasis on façade design and innovation to support the transition to net-positive built environments. She has an extensive track record of research collaboration with the industry towards research translation, including her pioneering work on “Unitised Timber Envelopes (UTE)” which inspired market adoption of such systems internationally, and the awarded “ALGA Façade” presented at TEDxSydney in 2024. Eugenia led the development of “PHEBE Park”, the first façade testing facility at the University of Sydney. She is also the lead editor of “Rethinking Building Skins: Transformative Technologies and Research Trajectories”, an agenda-setting book on the future of building façades that brings together 60 global innovators from academia and industry.

Igor Kebel, Founder and Principal of XO Projects, is recognised for delivering innovative, systemic design solutions to real-life challenges. His cross-disciplinary approach merges strategic thinking with a growing command of future-proofed design, technology, and economic performance.

He leads XO Projects, a Melbourne-based studio with a rapidly expanding portfolio across Australia, Europe, and Asia. With over two decades of experience in residential, commercial, and civic architecture, Igor brings a deep understanding of design, delivery, and market context. He began his career at UNStudio in the Netherlands and, in 2003, co-founded Elastik, known for delivering Bellevue Hotel and Thermana. As Design Director at Elenberg Fraser from 2013, he supervised key Melbourne towers, including EQ Tower, Aurora Melbourne Central, and Victoria One.

Since founding XO Projects in 2016, Igor has focused on design that integrates contextual intelligence with economic pragmatism. His work is known for its design efficiency, parametric sustainability, and alignment of architectural vision with client and urban value. The pivotal work includes 400 City Road in Melbourne, 88 Ferny Avenue in Gold Coast, Twin Gardens in Jakarta, and the new city block W2 in Chengdu.

Tom leads the Sydney studio of Eckersley O’Callaghan (EOC) having previously worked as part of their London facades team. With a background in architecture and environmental design Tom embodies the integrated design and environmental performance central to EOCs engineering philosophy. Tom has experience delivering technically challenging designs for a wide range of complex projects.

Originally established to manage the Atlassian Central project EOC Sydney provides the same 50-50 split of facades and structures with a focus on design excellence, architectural collaboration, and environmental efficiency. Now with a wide range of projects in NSW, Qld, Vic and WA, Tom manages an Australian team while leveraging the global expertise of the EOC group.

David provides technical leadership for work by Inhabit on the façades of existing buildings. With over 40 years of experience in the facade industry, he has extensive experience across the design and documentation of new façades and remedial works, as well as the evaluation of performance of existing façades and diagnosis of material or system failures. David also has considerable experience with the conservation of heritage places.

David has a particular interest in design and detailing for durability and long-term performance, including the evaluation and selection of materials based on proven behaviour in use. At Inhabit, David brings a lateral-thinking approach to develop pragmatic outcomes for existing buildings, including those of heritage significance. He is keen to find ways to leverage the embodied carbon in existing buildings, through extension of service life or upgrading of existing façades, and to develop better ways to address the NCC compliance of existing buildings.

Peter Lalas is Principal Engineer, Façade Systems, of Janus Facades Pty Ltd in the new facade and remedial façade engineering disciplines. With more than 45 years of facade engineering experience, Peter has specialised in the design, manufacture and installation of new and the assessment of existing facades and their components and materials.

Peter is a fully trained Arbitrator with extensive experience as an expert witness in façade related matters. Peter has completed expert witness courses with the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators and Expert Witness Services at UNSW.

Lee maintains the role of Technical Manager – Façade for Lendlease across Australia, linking into the Lendlease international team. He has 37 years’ experience in the industry, coming from a design and project management background. Lee is a Technical Manager operating within the Lendlease Integrated Solutions Technical Team. This team of Subject Matter Experts provide clarity, value, and certainty to Lendlease projects, ensuring that the most effective solutions are integrated across all trades design and delivery.

Lee has a broad base of experience working as a façade contractor, specialist consultant and main contractor across projects located in Australia, Asia and the Middle East. He has design, project management, production management, and general business management skills obtained within the glazing industry in Australia and Singapore.

Lee has an in-depth knowledge of façade solutions, elements and materials including glazing, precast concrete, masonry (including brick inserts or slips), roofing and many cladding materials and solutions. This knowledge extends beyond the technical matters of materials and construction techniques and importantly leverages the complex supply chains behind what are typically Design, Supply and Install façade solutions.

Associate Professor Arianna Brambilla was awarded a Ph.D. with honours in Building Engineering from Politecnico di Milano (IT). Her background in both architecture and engineering allows her to establish her research field at the merging borders of architecture, construction, building physics, and engineering. Drawing upon the different disciplines to assess and interpret construction as a holistic concept, with a strong focus on sustainability.

Dr Matthias Irger is an experienced architect and urban designer specialising in regenerative design and planning, carbon reduction and climate adaptation, who champions an evidence-based, collaborative, and interdisciplinary approach. He is driven by a passion to reconcile the objectives of liveability and a zero-carbon economy, and its practical application in architecture, urban design, and strategic planning.

As the National Head of Sustainability at COX Architecture, Matthias creates strategies, objectives, actions and tools that reduce the embodied and operational carbon emissions across all services and projects. Matthias is a co-founder of the Australian Architects Declare Product Aware platform and actively engaged in bridging science, design practice and climate action through collaboration and research partnerships with the University of NSW, the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre at the University of Wollongong, and the Living Future Institute of Australia.

Samantha has spent more than 30 years delivering complex projects for Tier 1 contractors globally, and now leads a team of more than 50 design managers at Richard Crookes Constructions. With a background in architecture and extensive industry experience, she is committed to the delivery of design management excellence in her current position as General Manager – Design and Innovation.

Exposure to all aspects from work-winning to delivery has provided Samantha with a strong technical expertise and appreciation for all facets of the industry, while experience in managing a spectrum of projects up to $1billion underpins her portfolio. She has a supportive network of industry relationships, aspires to keep across industry change and - encourages strategic thinking, innovation and supporting others in the business to achieve their professional goals.

Spearheading initiatives to harness the power of digital software, Samantha is continually streamlining processes and building her team’s capabilities. At Richard Crookes Constructions, she is executive sponsor of our cadet program and is passionate about mentoring and guidance of our next generation. Samantha is proactively building a better industry as a respected mentor and advisor.