SPEAKERS SPEAKERS Co-Chairs:

CLAUDIA ESCALA - Co-President / Carrier Johnson + CULTURE

Claudia Escala earned a Master of Architecture degree at the University of California, San Diego. With 26 years of experience, Claudia is a leader in the firm’s crafting and execution of a diverse design portfolio.

ALEX GUTIERREZ - Design Director / Carrier Johnson + CULTURE

Alex Gutierrez graduated from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, holds a Master of Architecture and has 15 years of experience in awardwinning design for projects in the workplace, mixed-use and academic sectors. His expertise in design technology affords him the ability to transpose his designs into both visual and technical illustrations.

ALEX KACUR - Associate Principal / Carrier Johnson + CULTURE

Alex Kacur graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Architecture. During his 28 year career, Alex has specialized in residential and hospitality projects from single family homes to 42 story towers. Alex has a keen understanding of design, documentation, and construction administration, including BIM parametric modeling and digital technology.

CHRIS BETTS VP Engineering/ Vision Systems

Chris Betts brings over 35 years of experience in design, drafting, and computer programming to Vision Systems’ engineering department. Chris lives with his wife in Lakeside, and has two grown children, a daughter in El Cajon and a son in Fort Collins, Colorado. He loves cycling, backpacking and paddle boarding. He enjoys living outdoors during his annual backcountry mountain biking or wilderness backpacking trip.

ALEX FALCÓN Building Engineer / Eckersley O'Callaghan

Alex is a facade engineer at Eckersley O’Callaghan, having joined in 2019 with a background in architecture and building technology. His expertise lies in solving complex design challenges through computational analysis combined with knowledge of emerging building technologies. Alex is a project engineer on the Downtown San Diego’s IQHQ R&D District, focused on coordinating consistent facade detailing and engineering across all 5 buildings of the campus.

JAMES VON KLEMPERER President and Design Principal / KPF

James von Klemperer, President & Design Principal at KPF, leads a staff of over 600 architects in nine global offices. Jamie has led the design of projects across many typologies and scales, from city plans, to mixed-use towers and academic buildings. His work focuses on promoting social connection through creating shared spaces. In addition to his work as a designer, Jamie has lectured at universities including Harvard, Columbia, Tsinghua, and Yale.

SNEH KUMAR Product Management & Marketing / Kawneer

Sneh is the Product manager for Kawneer’s Curtain wall, Window-wall, Sun-control, Finishes and Arconic Architectural Products. With 20 years in this industry, Sneh has gained deep building envelop domain expertise and helped in commercialization of 40+ highperformance building façade products. Sneh is an actively engaged externally with industry organizations, architects, and customers.

Ethan Martin

Director of Sustainability and Mass Timber / DCI Engineers

Ethan Martin brings a wealth of engineering design experience to the team of developers, architects, and contractors. Driven to inform his team and professionals in the AEC industries, Ethan quickly becomes an asset to any multi-discipline project team looking for answers on proformas, construction types, constructability, supply chain, and product usage. He also co-founded the International Mass Timber Conference with Forest Business Network in Portland, now one of the leading mass timber conferences in the world.

IRENE MARTIN

Facade Team Leader / Arup

JEFF OGDEN Principal / Vision Systems

Jeff grew up in Pittsburgh and went to school at Penn State University, graduating with a degree in Architectural Engineering. Jeff joined Vision Systems in 2017 after spending 23 years working for a general contractor where he managed a wide variety of large-scale commercial projects. Jeff lives in south Orange County with his wife and their two daughters.

CHRIS O’HARA

Founding Principal / Studio NYL

O’Hara is facade director for the Skins Group, a division of Studio NYL, established to provide full service facade design specializing in thermal modeling, moisture/condensation analysis, and in-depth detailing. Although Studio NYL is recognized for its skins work with cutting-edge glass and glazing, their team also specializes in digitally fabricated metal skins, GFRC, reinforced polymers, stone, ultra high performance concrete, terra cotta, and traditional precast. O’Hara is currently working on multiple projects in the Boston area.

Mauricio Ortega

Associate Principal / Flad

Mauricio has 32 years of extensive experience on a variety of building types, including science and technology, healthcare, workplace, and residential. As a project leader, he incorporates the latest technology and communication tools and is involved in all aspects of the design process. Mauricio holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Rhode Island School of Design and Master of Urban Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design.

KERSTIN KRAFT Associate

/ Gensler

Kerstin Kraft is a licensed architect with 15 years of experience and an expertise in façade design and execution. She is a Project Architect on Downtown San Diego’s IQHQ Research and Development District, focused on delivering a unique but harmonious façade for all 5 buildings of the 1,700,000+ sq ft mixed-use campus.

Irene Pau Martin is an Associate at Arup with an Environmental and Mechanical Engineering background. She leads the Building Envelope Physics subdiscipline within the Americas Region and co-leads the Los Angeles Facades team. Having worked in London and Los Angeles, Irene has 16 years of experience on international projects ranging from historic buildings to new-build museums and office towers. Her passion for environmental considerations and occupant comfort has led her to advocate for thoughtful envelope designs that balance architectural delight with responsible resource consumption, particularly that of carbon and energy.

Philip Ra

Associate Principal / Flad

With over 25 years of experience, Philip is a talented design leader capable of project execution from conceptual design through project completion. He leads the design studio in San Francisco on projects throughout California. He has taught and served on juries / lectured at UC Berkeley, USC, SciArc, Woodbury, Cal Poly, AAU, and CCA. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from University of Southern California and Master of Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design.