Mark van Loon is Senior Vice President Sustainability & Innovation at Wienerberger AG and coordinates sustainability management and the Group’s innovation agenda.

Photo Credit : ©wienerberger

Dr. Seppe De Blust is a post-doctoral researcher at Newrope (ETH Zürich) and program agent at 51N4E. As a sociologist and urban designer, he tends to believe in the potential of things. In our ability as a society to creatively respond to the conditions we find ourselves in. Sometimes through bold moves, often from a humbler entangled understanding of our human condition. At 51N4E he works on this complexity of transformation on the scale of a landscape, an infrastructure or a temporary moment. Helping others to navigate in the complexity of transformation is a challenge he commits himself to.

Photo Credit : ©Marieke Dilles

Arya Arabshahi is the program agent of Territories in Transition at 51N4E, where he oversees projects that push the boundaries of conventional spatial planning in light of the climate crisis. The domains of his work span across the fields of decarbonization, stress-tolerant landscapes, planning, innovation management, CSR and meanwhile use. He has developed and delivered pioneering strategy toolkits for authorities in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Iran and UK.

Photo Credit : ©51N4E

Simon Tschannett is a meteorologist and expert for urban climatology, climate change adaptation and ambient human comfort. As co-founder and CEO of Weatherpark he works with cities, municipalities, architects and urban planners on urban climate resilience at an interdisciplinary interface between climatology, planning, science and business. He is dedicated to public responsibility serving as a Climate Council member in Vienna and Linz, a board member of CCCA, writing a monthly column in Vorarlberger Nachrichten and participating in panel discussions, podcasts and interviews.

Photo Credit : ©Weatherpark

The landscape architect Daniel Zimmermann is a partner at 3:0 Landschaftsarchitektur. The Viennese planning office specializes in public projects, the design of large urban open spaces such as parks, squares and streets, and above all in climate-sensitive planning. The contemporary use of plants is a special concern for Daniel Zimmermann and so he is intensively committed to urban trees. He is a co-founder of the Arbeitskreis Schwammstadt (Sponge City Working Group).

Photo Credit : ©Julia Stix

Prof. Daniel Baur is a landscape architect and urban developer. His career began with training as a landscape gardener and continued with studies to become a landscape architect. He gained his first professional experience in San Francisco in open space/urban development. His experience in urban development shaped his further work and thinking. Back in Switzerland, he founded the office Bryum. Since 2017, Daniel Baur has held a chair for area development at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, Department of Architecture, and lectures in CAS Sustainable Building.

Photo Credit : ©Bryum

Petra Marko is co-founder of Marko&Placemakers, a city design consultancy with offices in London and Bratislava. As architect and placemaking expert Petra Marko has worked between client-side enabling, placemaking and design advocacy in London for over 15 years. Marko&Placemakers have a growing portfolio of projects in Central Europe shaping public spaces in new masterplans, town centers and riverfront regeneration schemes with focus on walkable and inclusive neighborhoods. Petra Marko sat on the inaugural UK National Infrastructure Commission Young Professionals Panel; led think tanks at The London School of Architecture; co-authored VeloCity, an award-winning strategic vision solving critical issues facing the countryside; and Meanwhile City - a how to guide of best practices in temporary interventions.

Photo Credit : ©Marko&Placemakers

Wojciech Czaja studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology, works as a freelance journalist for daily newspapers and specialist magazines and is the author of numerous books. He is a moderator in the fields of architecture, urban culture and real estate management as well as a lecturer at several universities and technical colleges in Austria.

Photo Credit : ©Florian Albert