Ben van Berkel studied architecture at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and at the Architectural Association in London, receiving the AA Diploma with Honours in 1987.

In 1988 he and Caroline Bos set up an architectural practice in Amsterdam, extending their theoretical and writing projects to the practice of architecture. UNStudio presents itself as a network of specialists in architecture, urban development and infrastructure. Current projects include the design for Doha's Integrated Metro Network in Qatar, ‘Four’ a large-scale mixed-use project in Frankfurt and the Wasl Tower in Dubai.

With UNStudio he realised amongst others the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Arnhem central Station in the Netherlands, the Raffles City mixed-use development in Hangzhou, the Canaletto Tower in London, a private villa up-state New York and the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

In 2018 Ben van Berkel founded UNSense, an Arch Tech company that designs and integrates human-centric tech solutions for the built environment.

Ben van Berkel has lectured and taught at many architectural schools around the world. Currently he holds the Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor's Chair at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he has led a studio on health and architecture. In 2017, Ben van Berkel also gave a TEDx presentation about health and architecture. In addition, he is a member of the Taskforce Team / Advisory Board Construction Industry for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Biba Dow is a director of Dow Jones Architects. Current projects include a new building for Maggie’s Cancer Care in Cardiff, St Mary Magdalene Living Heritage Centre in Paddington and the redevelopment of Bevis Marks synagogue in London. She writes about architecture, is an external examiner at Kingston School of Architecture, a design review panel member, competition judge and was shortlisted this year for the Architect of the Year in the Women in Architecture Awards for the Garden Museum.

Daniel Hoheneder, born in 1983, studied interior design at the university of Applied Sciences in Rosenheim and architecture at the Technische Universität München where he graduated in 2011.

In 2013 he founded together with Lisbeth Fischbacher the start-up company flissade based in Munich.

Daniel is focused on new forms of urban living concepts and flexible living spaces with an holistic view on architectural sustainability and on parametric processes for design and manufacturing in the future building sector.

Daniel and Lisbeth are also architects, with their office OACHA Architektur Denkmalpflege Bauforschung.

Since 2017 he is also voluntary active in the preservation of regional traditional building culture and heritage preservation for the district of Rosenheim in Upper Bavaria.

Alexandra Georgescu, MA.

Is Interior Design Director and Founding Partner at KOGAA. She worked at SPARK Architects in Beijing and for Studio Brioschi in Milan. She holds an Interior Architecture and Retail Design Master Degree at Piet Zwart Institute in Holland after carrying out her studies in the U.K., Denmark and Italy. Her projects were presented at Milan Design Week and Beijing Design Week. Alexandra has won CORE77 Interior Design award and was published by FRAME and other Interior Design magazines. Alexandra is the main curator of project Brno Design Days a Italian Design Act.

Tomas Kozelsky, MSc.

Is currently Project Architect and Founding Partner at KOGAA. He worked for international firms such as O.P.E.N. Architecture, AS.Architecture Studio in Beijing, ILA in Amsterdam and Mueller-Reimann Architecten in Berlin. Tomas completed his Masters in Architecture and Urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture of TU Delft after his studies in France and Czech Republic. He was nominated for Archiprix, published on E-Volo and tutored to several lectures and workshops. Tomas leads leads the Urban Dynamics studio on the Faculty of Architecture at TU Brno. He is also the apllied reserach co-ordinator of the Next Institute platform.

Viktor Odstrcilik, Ing. arch.

Before joining KOGAA team Viktor was Architect and Founder of Jednapulka, Architect and Engineer at Flexibuilt and Technical Manager at Freedomky. Viktor has a Master Degree in Architecure and Engineering at the Faculty of Architecture of UT Brno, Czech Republic. He is also founder and director of the student comunity at the Faculty of Architecure and was lecturer at PechaKucha in Brno, Czech Republic. Viktor is an official member of the Cultural Parliamnet of City of Brno and mannager of the Next Institute.

David Zhai is a co-founder and the Director of Design and User Experience at CO-Office, a spatial design consultancy based in New York City working at the intersection of live, work, and play. David leads research, strategy, and design for collaborative work environments, experiential retail, hospitality, and community-driven residential projects.

Prior to this role, David was the BIM and computational technologies lead for the design of World Trade Tower 2 at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), where he also led research and development in virtual reality.

David is a recipient of the Graham Foundation grant on his research into company and organizational culture and its effects on workplace environments, domestic life, and urban transformation.

David holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University GSAPP, where he was the recipient of the Kinne Fellowship Award, the Lowenfish Memorial Award, and the Design Excellence Award, and where he has taught in the Masters program since 2012.

Simon McGown is a co-founder and the Director of Design & Development at CO-Office. Simon leads acquisitions, new business, and project management by combining user-centered design with business development and real estate expertise.

Simon is also a licensed real estate agent with Compass, focused on developing joint venture and investment opportunities that benefit the social bottom line in the New York City region.

Prior to cofounding CO-Office, Simon was a project designer for the Bloomberg Center for Cornell University’s new Roosevelt Island campus and for the Bill & Melinda Gates Hall for Cornell University’s Ithaca campus at Pritzker Prize award winning architecture studio, Morphosis Architects in New York City.

Simon is a recipient of the Graham Foundation grant on his research into company and organizational culture and its effects on workplace environments, domestic life, and urban transformation.

Simon holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University GSAPP, where he was the recipient of the Kinne Fellowship Award and the prestigious Housing Studio teaching assistantship. He also holds a Bachelors in Science in Architecture from Texas Tech University where he graduated summa cum laude with Honors and was the valedictorian of his class. He currently teaches as an adjunct instructor at NJIT's School of Architecture and Design Fifth Year Architecture Studios and is a guest critic at Columbia University, Pratt Institute, and Texas Tech University.