Brian Court, FAIA

Brian Court has brought sustainable design to the forefront of the public realm with his performance-driven design process that works in harmony with natural forces, shaping our environment and establishing a low-impact, regenerative future. Since joining Miller Hull in 2001, Brian has led the design of numerous high profile and complex landmark projects using a deft combination of time-tested and innovative design strategies and emerging technologies. This has earned him the reputation as an advocate for groundbreaking sustainable design.

Brian has a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Washington and continues to give back to the program as a guest reviewer and thesis critic. Pushing the boundaries of current practice make him a highly sought-after speaker and instructor who regularly shares his insight and experience with other designers and students. Additionally, Brian was honored with the distinguished and singular Young Architect Award by AIA Seattle in 2013.

Hiroshi Jacobs, AIA

Hiroshi Jacobs, AIA is an award-winning architect and artist who finds joy in analyzing challenging sets of constraints and synthesizing creative solutions. An Associate Principal with Studios Architecture in Washington, DC, Hiroshi has led the design for a number of high profile and award winning projects. Hiroshi has a passion for design-excellence that is accompanied by an in-depth knowledge of design technology, building systems, and regulatory constraints, and the skillset to shepherd projects through complex entitlement processes. Outside of the practice, Hiroshi is committed to community action in the arts as President of the Board of Directors for CulturalDC (an arts non-profit), a member of the Art Review Panel of Montgomery County’s Department of Planning, and a member of Amtrak’s DC Union Station Art Advisory panel. He is currently serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, having previously taught design at Catholic, Tulane, and Harvard. Hiroshi is a 2014 recipient of the AIA National Associates Award and the 2012 AIA DC Emerging Architect Award. He founded the AIA DC Design Technology Committee and served on the jury for the 2015 AIA National Awards for Collaboration and Achievement.

Claire Weisz, RA, FAIA, Hon. RAIC

Claire Weisz, RA, FAIA, Hon. RAIC, is a founding partner of WXY, a New York based studio globally recognized for its community-centered approach to design. Combining architecture and planning the practice works at all scales. WXY was one of Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019 and Most Innovative Companies in Urban Development and Real Estate for 2023. WXY was AIA New York State Firm of the Year Award in 2016. With her partner Mark Yoes, she received the Architectural League of New York’s Young Architects Award and the Emerging Voices Award. Weisz was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business in 2017, awarded the Medal of Honor from AIANY in 2018, honored with the Women in Architecture Award by Architectural Record and recognized as ENR’s New York Legacy Award Winner in 2024.

David Franco, moderator

David Franco is the director of the School of Architecture at the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs of the University of Texas Arlington. He holds a Ph.D. in Architectural and Urban History and Theory and a M.Arch. degree from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. His research focuses on how social inequalities and political conflicts affect the built environment and, more specifically, how they have played a usually ignored role in the development of modern architecture. This basic frame has informed both his creative practice—mostly centered on projects of social infrastructures, affordable housing, and public spaces—and his scholarly research. David’s design work has received 16 national and international awards, including two of the prestigious EUROPAN prizes. He is co-founder of the Environmental Justice Design Lab at Clemson School of Architecture, whose student work has received 26 National Awards, including 13 COTE AIA Top Ten Awards.

Neil Denari, FAIA

Neil M. Denari is principal of the Los Angeles based office Neil M. Denari Architects and is a Professor of Architecture at UCLA. He received his B. Arch from the University of Houston in 1980 and an M. Arch from Harvard in 1982. With NMDA, Denari has designed and built projects in Asia, North America, and Europe. In 2015, Denari was elected to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows. He is the recipient of the AIA-LA Gold Medal in 2011, AIA-LA Educator of the Year in 2019, and was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 2010. Denari is the author of Interrupted Projections (TOTO, 1996), Gyroscopic Horizons (Princeton, 1999), and Mass X (AADCU, 2018). He exhibits and lectures worldwide on his work.

Andrew McGee, AIA

Andrew is a principal and co-founder of Format. He is a LEED Accredited Professional, and an NCARB-certified architect, with registration in the state of New York. He contributes to the design of all architectural projects in the office and is equally adept at managing both the design and execution of a variety of project scales and types.

Prior to founding Format, Andrew gained over a decade of experience designing and delivering architectural projects in New York City at leading architectural firms like Studio Gang Architects and Deborah Berke Partners. At Studio Gang Architects he co-managed the design and programming for the Gilder Center extension at the American Museum of Natural History. Prior to that, he was a designer at Deborah Berke Partners, where he helped manage the design and delivery of a variety of residential projects in and around New York City, and was a project manager on the competition-winning design for the Cummins employee offices in Indianapolis, IN.

He holds a Master of Architecture with Distinction from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Bachelor of Arts in Literature from the University of Michigan.

Azadeh Sawyer, LEED AP

Azadeh Omidfar Sawyer is an Assistant Professor and the Chair of Building Performance & Diagnostics (BPD) program at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture. She also serves as a Faculty Affiliate at the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.

Azadeh holds a PhD in Architecture Building Technology from the University of Michigan, where she was also a Rackham Predoctoral Fellow and received the Distinguished Dissertation Award. She has a Master of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan, a Master of Design Studies in Sustainable Design from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and was the 2011 recipient of the Harvard Daniel L. Schodek Award for Technology and Sustainability. Her research focuses on building facades, daylighting, energy performance, and evaluation through simulation and immersive virtual environments. She received a Bachelor of Architecture from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco with distinction in 2008, where she also received the Technology Book Award. Azadeh has been a LEED-accredited professional since 2008.

Eddie Abeyta, AIA LEED AP

Eddie Abeyta, AIA, LEED AP is the co-founder of Abeyta Tibbs Architecture, a boutique design firm in Dallas, Texas launched in February 2022. Abeyta brings three decades of architectural design experience to his work which focuses on connecting people and place, while creating urban landmarks that transform and enliven cities, foster accessibility, revitalize neighborhoods, and celebrate the public realm on a human scale. Prior to founding Abeyta Tibbs Architecture, Eddie served as chief design officer for HKS, based in Dallas, Texas, where he began his architecture career.

From boutique hotels to transit-oriented developments, to live-work communities and large convention hotels, Abeyta’s work has been recognized for its creative solutions to complex design problems and urban site constraints. His award-winning work includes the W Hollywood + Vine MTA, an urban mixed-use project in Los Angeles that revitalized the neighborhood while enhancing urban connectivity and pedestrian access to mass transit; the LEED Gold-certified Hall Arts Hotel & Residences in Dallas, the first Texas high-rise to receive Well Building Certification and only fourth in the country; the W Dallas mixed-use development, built on a former brownfield site that rejuvenated the Victory Park neighborhood and spurred hundreds of millions of dollars in subsequent development over the next 20 years; and MGM National Harbor, an iconic urban resort sited along the Potomac River.

Eddie strongly believes in community-centered design and demonstrates leadership through his participation with not-for-profit organizations and the City of Dallas. Serving as a member of the Dallas Urban Design Peer Review Panel, he elevated design excellence with his thoughtful and contextually sensitive design critique, impacting nearly 70 new projects across the city’s urban core. Through his participation with the Dallas Arts District, he enhanced accessibility to arts and cultural treasures throughout Dallas and advocated for improved pedestrian connectivity between public transportation, hike-and-bike trails, parks, museums, and cultural venues. As a member of the Trinity River Corridor’s Local Government Corporation Board, he is shepherding a comprehensive plan for development and green-spaces along the Trinity floodplain near downtown Dallas.

Eddie’s leadership and commitment to designing for a more sustainable future is indicative of his partnership with the DOE-NREL Solar Decathlon – SDPro program as a pilot program leader. He has served as a presenter and ambassador of the program at the Dallas AIA Speaker Series in 2021, NOMA National Convention in 2021, and Greenbuild 2022.

Throughout his career, mentorship and creating opportunities for the next generation of design leaders has been a driving passion whether he’s speaking to high school and college students about design career opportunities or mentoring young architects in his studio.

Andrew Barnes, AIA

Andrew received his Masters of Architecture degree from Kansas State University in 2010. After arriving in Dallas in 2011, he spent time at a large international retail design firm, followed by a local boutique firm. In May of 2017 Andrew launched Agent Architecture. After 7 years of operation, Agent has grown to a team of four working on projects across DFW, receiving design awards for both speculative conceptual work and built projects. Across varied sectors that include adaptive re-use, ground-up commercial/retail, commercial interiors, hospitality, education, and residential, Agent has a proven track record of delivering both a responsive client experience and high quality thoughtful spaces. As a co-owner of Agent with his wife, Sara, Andrew leads the firm's Architectural/Core and Shell projects. Andrew enjoys writing, reading, and sandwiches.

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is owner at Agent Architecture, an award-winning Dallas-based architecture and interior design practice that is on a mission to elevate project potential beyond what is expected to truly enrich lives. The firm prides itself on excellent customer service - valuing its clients as part of the design team. Currently working in a wide array of sectors including hospitality, office, industrial, education, and residential, the firm brings a diverse background of experience to enrich each project type. Sara holds a Master’s in Interior Architecture and Product Design from Kansas State University.

Formerly a Senior Designer with both a boutique interior architecture firm and a large corporate firm, Sara’s design leadership and dedication to question the status quo has consistently led to happy clients with spaces that are functional, beautiful, and unique. In her free time, Sara advocates for stronger communities by volunteering with various local organizations, serving as a board member for a human-trafficking prevention organization, and serving as a liaison for a Deep Ellum art gallery focusing on emerging artists.

Fernando Andrade, AIA

With over 30 years of professional experience, Fernando Andrade leads GSR Andrade Architects, Inc., where he oversees design management, programming, master planning, and the design of a diverse range of project types. His major efforts are focused on ensuring each project meets client requirements by coordinating the initial program, budget constraints, and project schedules.

Fernando graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Environmental Design in 1982 and continued his education with a Master’s in Architecture in 1984. His career spans several architectural firms in Illinois and Texas, as well as time as a self-employed architect. Notable DFW projects include Dallas Fire Station #38, Trophy Club Medical Center, North Texas Hospital, Flower Mound Town Hall Masterplan, North Central Medical Plaza/Carrell Clinic Surgery Center, H.W. Lang Middle School, and Baptist Health Medical Center.

Founded in 2000 with a staff of 6, GSR Andrade Architects now employs over 35 professionals. The firm has been recognized with several awards, including the 2024 AIA Dallas Firm of the Year Award, the AIA Dallas 2023 Built Award for Able Pump No. 6, and rankings among the top 25 minority-owned businesses and top 50 architectural firms in Texas by the Dallas Business Journal.

Fernando was honored as an outstanding alumnus by the Texas A&M University School of Architecture in 2021. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is actively involved in the Dallas Chapter of AIA.

He strives to reflect people in all his designs, believing everyone deserves to be personified by their surroundings. Fernando adds individual elements to every project to make inhabitants feel at home, his designs aim to provide purpose and refuge in an ever-changing world.