Jury 2026

Evan Jahn serves as President of Jahn Studio, where he leads the firm’s strategic vision with a strong emphasis on sustainable technical architecture and its capacity to enhance the urban and built environment. Evan’s combination of expertise in virtual design, sustainability and construction informs his holistic approach to project leadership, ensuring that critical coordinated decisions are made early in the design process to achieve optimal outcomes. Since joining Jahn as Vice President in 2020, Evan has been instrumental in guiding the firm’s growth and evolution, assuming the presidency in 2021. Evan holds a Bachelor of Arts from Union College (NY) and a Master of Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Trained industrial designer with a great passion for materials, Efrat is the founder of materialscout, a Munich-based consultancy that helps market-leading companies generate value through creative, competitive and sustainable implementation of materials and technologies. Focusing on consumer tendencies, materials sourcing, processing, implementation, emotional attachment and end usage with a circular approach, materialscout connects the materials industry with the creative industry. Efrat is also the co-founder of Positive Plastics, a toolbox and platform for designers and engineers, introducing them to commercially available polymers with a lower environmental impact.

Jeeyeon Choi received a Bachelor’s degree in Housing and Interior Design from the College of Human Ecology at Yonsei University, and a Master’s degree in Design Management from Yonsei Graduate School of Human Environmental Science, Korea. She is currently working as Director and Design Executive in the Home Remodelling Design Strategy Department at the Research and Design Lab of Hanssem, the largest company in the Korean interior industry. Since 2002, she has developed expertise in design and lifestyle trends, furniture product design, planning and development processes under an online–offline O2O distribution strategy, launching and directing key seasonal products and commercialising them through the brand’s in-house design studio.

Studio Besau-Marguerre stands for a holistic design approach that combines disciplines such as product design, visual communication, styling, colour consulting and interior design. Founded in 2011 by Eva Marguerre and Marcel Besau, the Hamburg-based design studio has made a name for itself with its attention to detail, sensitivity to colour, form and materials, and its interdisciplinary team. Whether it is bespoke exhibition concepts, iconic furniture designs or projects such as the Elbphilharmonie concert hall, each project reflects the studio’s unique signature. Numerous awards and prestigious clients such as Vitra, Artek and Thonet are testament to the creative excellence and passion with which Studio Besau-Marguerre rethinks design and brings it to life.

Li Xiang studied Architecture at Birmingham City University and launched her firm in 2011, later moving into interior design. Her work across retail, culture, entertainment, and hospitality combines artistic insight with emotionally rich spaces, strengthening brand identity. She has won over 100 international awards and was named by Fast Company as one of the “Most Creative People in Business” (2020) and listed in the PMI Future 50 (2021).

Sonja is an architect and designer with 10 years of experience specialising in workplace strategy, including a focus on digitalisation and interior design. Based in Gensler Berlin, she is a Studio Director and supports major companies and organisations with the implementation of new workspace concepts in their global portfolio. As project lead, she regularly engages with clients at all levels and takes overall responsibility for the successful delivery, balancing stakeholder needs with project and company priorities. Prior to joining Gensler, Sonja spent significant time abroad in China and Ethiopia, expanding her design skills and engaging in numerous projects of all types and sizes. Her drive for identifying innovative approaches and her experience in international project environments adds significant value to global clients.

Peter founded Ippolito Fleitz Group alongside Gunter Fleitz in 2002. Today, this multidisciplinary design studio has 120 employees in Stuttgart, Berlin and Shanghai. Its projects have won over 470 international design awards. It is listed as number one studio worldwide in the office interiors specialism in the iF Design Award Ranking. In this field, and across over 1,800 projects from a wide range of sectors, we demonstrate the realisation power behind a unique vision: designing spaces of possibility for the diverse tasks of transformation within companies and society. Peter and Gunter’s greatest personal achievement was being inducted into the ‘Interior Design Hall of Fame’ in New York in 2015, which made them the first German interior designers to join these illustrious ranks.

Ana Relvão founded the Relvãokellermann studio together with Gerhardt Kellermann in 2014 in Munich. She was the award winner of the INOV-ART scholarship of the Portuguese Ministry of Culture and was nominated for the Design Award of the City of Munich in 2016 and 2020. She was a guest professor at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart in 2018. Relvãokellermann works in the field of industrial design, spatial design and art direction. Some of their clients over the years include Auerberg, Bulthaup, COR, Gumpo, Holzrausch, Huawei, LIGRE and Samsung.

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Hannes Bäuerle was born in Stuttgart in 1974. After a school education, a subsequent trip around the world and a basic degree in mechanical engineering, he switched to studying interior design in Trier and Stuttgart, graduating with a degree in interior de-sign (Dipl.-Ing. (FH)). In 2002, he co-founded the interior design studio LINIE ZWEII together with Claudia Miller. In 2005, he went on to co-found raumprobe together with Joachim Stumpp. Hannes Bäuerle is a lecturer at universities and educational institutions, gives keynote speeches as a specialist speaker, is the author of numerous specialist books, and is a freelance journalist with regular publications in trade journals. Since the merger with Material Bank in 2023, Hannes Bäuerle has been Managing Director DACH, bringing his in-depth knowledge of surface materials, his keen curatorial eye, and his commitment to innovation to an international context—connecting designers with the right materials at the right time.

Prof. ZHANG Jie, Professor at Tsinghua University, is a distinguished practitioner and scholar who has focused on urban regeneration and heritage conservation in China for over thirty years. Pioneering the "Associative Renewal" framework, his work utilizes "Micro-Surgical Urbanism" and "Memory-Led Regeneration" to bridge heritage conservation with sustainable innovation. Notable works include Taoxichuan Park, recognized by RIBA and AIA, and the Pengjia Alley Compound. Both projects serve as influential benchmarks for heritage-driven development. By transforming cultural fragments into future-oriented resources, Zhang creates a resilient synergy between historical continuity and modern urban vitality, earning him extensive recognition from international architecture institutions.

Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen is a founding partner of Norm Architects with over a decade of experience as an architect, designer, art director and photographer. Jonas shares his passion for phenomenology - the philosophical study of human experience - and striking spaces, objects and images with clients ranging from established design brands to international magazines and private homeowners. Educated at both the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and Copenhagen Business School, Jonas combines business-oriented and strategic thinking with the conceptual thoughts and visions that bring creative projects to life. I have a strong calling to create thoughtful projects that make a difference and stand out in an understated, refined way,' he says of his work, which has won awards including the Red Dot, IF Design Award, Design Plus Award and Good Design Award.

Caroline Nagel is an architect, associate, design director and member of the management board at COBE. She graduated from the Technical University of Berlin in 2004 and has more than 20 years of professional experience in architecture, urban planning and landscape design in Denmark and Germany. Her award-winning projects include the adidas HALFTIME building in Herzogenaurach, The Silo and Karen Blixens Plads in Copenhagen. In addition to large construction projects, she has managed significant urban and public space developments such as Israels Plads and Nørreport Station. She is currently managing the "Quartiere am Volkspark" project in Hamburg, a comprehensive urban development project ranging from master planning to landscape design.

Lara Katscher has been a Board Member of Werner Sobek AG since 2025 and Managing Director of Werner Sobek Green Technologies since 2022. Previously, she held leadership roles in building physics and sustainability at Werner Sobek Frankfurt. Her academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Energy-Efficient Building Design and a Master’s degree in Sustainable Construction. She has been part of Werner Sobek AG since 2016.