2023 Awards Judges

Lisamarie Villegas Ambia

Lisamarie is Director New Business + Sales of seele, one of the leaders in the world of façade and roof construction, providing solutions for spectacular building skins and innovative façades.

Lisamarie's role is focused around providing pre-construction services to her clients; from a very early feasibility stage collaborating closely together with key accounts, architects + consultants throughout the full tender process to contract award. 

Whilst at her current position at seele she additionally completed her facade engineering degree at the University of Applied Science in Augsburg, Germany.

Being an architect herself and having studied and tutored at the Technical University in Berlin + Lima, she holds a very strong relationship with the architecture world;

Lisamarie has gained her work experience so far working as an architect on internationally-acclaimed projects for Zaha Hadid Architects including The Library Pierre Vives in Montpellier, the Evelyn Grace Academy in London and Kapsarc in Riyadh and then later as a specialist contractor having been with seele for more than a decade now, since 2010

Massimo Chies

Massimo is the façade specialist of the AECOM Cost Consultant team in the UK.

At the beginning of his career he worked in the tender departments of two of the largest cladding contractors active in the UK market.

In 2014 he joined AECOM to support their cost team in the delivery of feasibility studies and cost plans.

One of his roles is to inform quantity surveyors and project managers on the state of the cladding market. He suggests the most suitable contractors in the industry on the basis of the technical challenges of the various projects and the contractors’ workload.

Brian Eckersley

Brian is a chartered structural engineer and co-founder of Structural and Façade Engineering practice Eckersley O’Callaghan. He studied Civil Engineering followed by Part 1 Architecture and worked on some of the first pioneering glass structures with Tim Macfarlane. Brian has since built a firm of 140 staff with offices in 8 countries, and he remains passionate about good design and the integration of engineering into architecture. The work of the practice is very broad, ranging from refurbishment of historic buildings, advanced timber construction, complex roof forms and innovative glass structures, as well as tall buildings, and façade engineering for all these typologies.

Claudia Farabegoli

Claudia is a chartered building engineer with more than 20 years of international experience in façade design and consulting for a wide range of building types and in various continents. She joined Thornton Tomasetti in 2013 with experience in all stages of project development  from the initial feasibility studies to testing and site monitoring or defect analysis. She enjoys working with the whole range of materials and systems that are now available in Facades, from timber to stone to double skins. Claudia is responsible for overall design quality review, technical mentoring and knowledge sharing within her London team. Claudia is passionate about architecture and the growth of Façade engineering as a discipline, and misses no opportunity to Talk Facades to anyone willing to listen.

Ed Forwood

Ed Forwood MICE, MIStructE, MSFE is a Structural and Façade Engineer and Director with Arup.  He supports the wider façade industry through his association with CWCT where he acts as Arup’s representative on the Sponsor board and where he has been an active member of CWCT’s Sustainability committee and Chair of their Circularity Working Group.  Ed also was one of the contributory authors to the IStructE publication “Structural Aspects of Cladding”.  Ed is a passionate advocate for digital change and particularly focussed on how it can lead to both improvements in the procurement of facades and their cross-discipline optimisation.

Peter Goff

Peter joined Buro Happold in 2009, and is now an Associate Director in their UK façade engineering team. Peter’s project experience ranges from bespoke cultural buildings, residential developments, healthcare facilities and transport hubs, with a particular focus on projects where the façade poses complex technical, performance and buildability challenges. Peter also currently leads Buro Happold Facades’ technical developments in the field of fire performance of facades, and their response to the Building Safety Act.

Daniel Gruesser

Daniel, a Façade Specialist, joined Tuner + Townsend alinea in 2018. He brings more than15 years of façade experience to the London-based cost consultancy and in the past, he worked at façade consultancies, façade contractors and a main contractor. Daniel brings a wealth of façade knowledge and contributes valuable insights on cost and procurement. He has close relationships with the supply chain.

Daniel provides valuable support in developing façade cost plans and integrating value engineering concepts into the iterative RIBA Work Stage process. He also plays a role in establishing and facilitating the delivery of façade PCSAs. This helps to mitigate project risks and ensures certainty among all stakeholders.

Gerd Hoenicke

Gerd Hönicke is a senior level executive with more than 35 years of progressively responsible experience in the international facade industry. He has served as CEO of Schneider a German Façade contractor before he joined Seele in 2009 as Technical Director. The impressive project portfolio including the German Cancelory Berlin, Central St. Giles London, EZB Frankfurt, Kimbell Art Museum Dallas, 5 Broadgate London and The Broad Museum in Los Angeles reflects his façade detail handwriting. 2019 he set up his own façade consultancy business and he was involved in various prestigious projects in the US and the UK i.e., Parcel 9 Washington DC and Landmark Pinnacle London.

Glenn Howells

After studying architecture at Plymouth School of Architecture, Glenn Howells established Glenn Howells Architects (GHA) in 1990. Since its foundation, the practice has built a strong reputation for designing innovative buildings and shaping  cities through large masterplans across the UK.

GHA now has a team of over 150 people based in studios in London, Birmingham and Dublin. The practice has won numerous major design competitions and built a portfolio of award-winning projects across all sectors and across a diverse range of building types. Key projects include Savill Building, London City Island, The National Memorial Arboretum, English National Ballet HQ and a 55 storey tower in London’s Docklands.

Glenn has led some of Britain’s most complex and ambitious regeneration projects and has been particularly influential in shaping Birmingham. Influencing the Big City Plan and major regeneration projects of Paradise, Brindley Place and HS2 alongside significant projects in the city core, Jewellery Quarter, Martineau Galleries, Digbeth and the Westside area of the city.

Antony Humphrey

Antony Humphrey is Technical Director at Wintech Group and provides strategic and technical direction as part of his role. At Wintech he has been responsible for some of the largest projects, both in the UK and Internationally. Antony joined Wintech in 1991 as a Façade Design Engineer and has been instrumental in raising the profile of Façade Engineering.

Antony earned his master’s degree in Façade Engineering from the University of Bath and is a Member of the Society of Façade Engineering within CIBSE. 

Aneel Kilaire

Aneel is an Associate at Ramboll in their Birmingham office. He has been over ten years in the façade industry, gaining knowledge and experience in the design of facades in a wide range of materials, from concept design, right through to site erection and post-installation diagnostic services, for projects in the UK and abroad.

He has an MEng in Mechanical Engineering with Spanish. He also has a PhD from the University of Nottingham, where he pursued the development of an integrated façade component which globally addresses the issues of enclosure, aesthetics, energy/light transfer, weather tightness and mixed-mode ventilation principles.

He is proud to be the Honorary Treasurer for the Society of Façade Engineers, Midlands Region Event Coordinator and actively involved with the CWCT.

Steve Lo

Dr Steve Lo developed and currently teaches on the MSc Modern Building Design at the University of Bath. His research interests include: the embodied carbon of building envelopes, adaptive building skins, facade integrated PV and the design challenges of facade related building physics. He is author of 29 conference papers and 14 peer-reviewed journal papers, is one of the founder members of the European Facade Network (EFN) and a member of the editorial committee of the Journal of Facade Design and Engineering (JFDE).

David Metcalfe

David Metcalfe is a physics graduate with a Master’s degree in Façade Engineering.

As Director of CWCT he is responsible for all of the Centre’s technical and training output. 

David lectures extensively on the subject of building physics, glass and fire.

Recent work has included guidance on fire and facades, the writing of a comprehensive guidance document on the use of built-up walls in modern construction, and establishing a new Master’s course in Façade Engineering at the University of the West of England.

He is a board member of the Society of Façade Engineering and is currently chairing the Society’s fire committee.

Loreana Padron

Loreana Padron is Head of Sustainability and Associate Director at ECD Architects. As a qualified Architect (ARB, RIBA) with a Master’s degree in Sustainable Architecture, she has extensive professional experience in all stages of the design and construction process, both for new-build and refurbishment projects. She is a Certified Passivhaus Designer (CEPHD) and a strong advocate for following a fabric-first approach, as well as the re-use and retrofit of buildings.

As an Architect with a passion for evidence-based design, she integrates sustainable practices into every aspect of her work, both from a project and an architectural practice perspectives. From the sourcing and footprint of materials to designing energy-efficient buildings, her goal is to create beautiful, healthy and functional spaces that have a positive impact on both people and the planet.

Saverio Pasetto

Saverio Pasetto (MSc FCIBSE FSFE) is Head of Façades at Skanska, a leading construction company and developer. He provides building envelope technical leadership while overseeing and coordinating the façade package management on all projects.

Saverio manages façade-related matters, from procurement to design, through production to final handover. He acts as a focal point for clients, designers and suppliers alike for Skanska façade related matters. This is supported by his considerable high-rise and complex façade know-how as well as over 25 years of varied experience in the industry.

Saverio is the Chair of the Centre for Windows and Cladding Technology (CWCT) of which he is also a member of its Technical Committee.

He serves on the Society of Façade Engineering (SFE) Board of which he has been Chair and Vice Chair.

Simone Starini

Simone Starini (FSFE) currently heads the Façade Engineering business in Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM), one of the leading construction companies and is responsible for managing the façade projects from design to completion and overseas the façade related tenders within the business. Before joining SRM, he also head the façade engineering business at Laing O’Rourke for 14 years. He has also wealth of experience from his professional experience of working for Focchi, one of the well-known Façade Specialist Contractors operating in UK and other parts of the world.

Simone has delivered numerous iconic façade projects in London and the UK such as The Leadenhall Building (Cheesegrater), One Hyde Park and London Stock Exchange Building in London.

Simone possesses a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Bologna (Italy) and a Master in Architectural Engineering at Penn State University (USA).

Mark Taylor

Mark is the Director of Allies and Morrison responsible for technical quality, providing knowledge transfer, research and support on building envelope, sustainability, materials and process. Mark regularly contributes to industry through teaching, lecturing, and working on various industry committees and councils.